For Immediate
Release May 18, 2007
Woodside
Horse Trials and Jersey Fresh Three-day Event to Host Selection Divisions for
Pan American Games 
(Lexington,
KY) - The USEF is pleased to announce that the Woodside Horse Trials and
the Jersey Fresh CCI**/CCI*** will host the selection divisions for this
summer’s Pan American Games on consecutive weekends.
This year
anyone vying for a spot on the US Eventing team will have to contest a selection
division in Menlo Park, California at the Horse Park at Woodside (May 24-27) or
at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown, NJ (May 31-Jun 3). Both competitions
will showcase the country’s best horses and riders. The US will be
aiming to send a strong team to defend the team gold and sweep of the individual
medals garnered in 2003. Reigning individual gold and silver medalists Darren
Chiacchia and Karen O’Connor will be at Jersey Fresh trying to
earn a chance to defend their titles. This selection division will be held in
conjunction with the annual CCI** and
CCI*** which attract scores of horses
and riders each spring. Third at the World Equestrian Games last summer,
Amy Tryon and Poggio II headline the list of stars at Woodside. Expect
impressive performances from another pair of team veterans, Gina Miles
and McKinlaigh and relative newcomers Sara Mittleider, 21, and El Primero.
The Woodside Horse Trials will run Beginner Novice through Advanced levels of
competition in conjunction with the selection division. This is the first
time since 1991 that the West Coast has hosted a selection division, thanks, in
large part, to the rapid growth of eventing in the region. For more information
regarding the California event, please see www.horsepark.org. The selection
division in New Jersey will also showcase some of the Canada’s best riders
as they too prepare for this summer’s Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. For directions and ticketing information in New Jersey, see www.horseparkofnewjersey.com.
ENDS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
more information, contact Joanie Morris, High-Performance Communications Manager,
at (859) 225-2052 or jmorris@usef.org.
ENDS
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