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Colorado Springs, Colorado—Over 500 members of the United States Eventing Association made their way to Colorado Springs, Colorado for the 2007 USEA Annual Meeting and Convention, presented by Nutrena, held December 6-9 at The Broadmoor.

Over the weekend the association proudly honored the recipients of its 2007 Year-End awards at the Saturday evening Dinner and Dance, sponsored by Maui Jim Sunglasses.

USEA Horse of the Year honors went to Theodore O’Connor, the twelve-year-old, 14.2-hand Thoroughbred/Arab/Shetland gelding (Witty Boy—Chelsea’s Melody) owned by The Theodore O’Connor Syndicate, LLC. With three-time Olympian Karen O’Connor in the irons, the talented pony tallied several wins this year, including individual and team gold medal at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janiero. (Karen and Theodore O'Connor are pictures at the right at The Fork.)They also won The Fork CIC3* in April and were third at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*. In addition to the title Horse of the Year, Teddy’s owners received a $1,000 purse sponsored by SmartPak Equine.

The USEA is proud to present a new perpetual trophy this year in honor of the achievements of gifted eventing ponies at all levels of competition. The Theodore O’Connor USEA Pony of the Year trophy, to be given each year to the highest pointed pony at any level, is named in honor of the brilliant pony who has taken the eventing world by storm. While Teddy earned the award for 2007, as the trophy’s namesake he will not be eligible to win the trophy in the future.

The USEA Rider of the Year for the eighth straight year was Phillip Dutton, who resides in West Grove, Pennsylvania. Dutton rode internationally for his home country, Australia, for many years until lucky for the U.S., last year he became an American citizen and changed his competitive nationality so that he would be eligible to represent his adoptive home, the United States. (Phillip and the Foreman are pictured below at the left.)Phillip represented the U.S. for the first time in what promises to be a long, American medal winning career, at the Pan American Games July, 2007 where teaming with Annie Jones’ and Susan Stimson’s Tru Luck he was a member of the gold medal winning team and also brought home an individual silver medal. In addition to this achievement, Dutton outdid himself again this year with admirable performances at both horse trials and three-day events, including top placings on Annie Jones’ The Foreman (1st at Fair Hill CCI3*), Acorn Hill Farm’s Woodburn (third at the Fair Hill CCI3*, first at Wits End CIC3*, and first at Five Points Horse Trials in Advanced), Bruce Duchoissois’ Connaught (second at Rolex Kentucky CCI4* and seventh at The Fork CIC3*-W), and Tru Luck (ninth at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*, eighth at The Fork CIC3*-W, and second at the Red Hills CIC3*-W). All of these accomplishments, plus countless others, gave this amazing rider a total of 946 points, and earned him a $1,000 purse.

Karen O’Connor of The Plains, Virginia had one of the best years of her career, earning for a record tenth time the USEA Lady Rider of the Year title. Her successes this year included impressive performances at every star level, including the Pan Am individual and team gold medals with USEA Horse and Pony of the Year Theodore O’Connor (who she also teamed with to win The Fork CIC3*). Karen also had a fantastic year with several of her other mounts including Jacqueline Mars’ Hugh Knows (second at Morven Park in Advanced, first at Richland Park in Advanced, and fifth at Fair Hill CCI3*), Dick and Vita Thompson’s Upstage (first at Wits End in Advanced, second at Richland Park CIC3*, and sixth at Red Hills CIC3*-W), and Joan Goswell’s Mandiba (second at Richland Park in Advanced and second at Florida CCI2*), among numerous others. In addition to the well-earned title of USEA Lady Rider of the Year, Karen also received a $1,000 purse and product from sponsor Auburn Labs, makers of APF.

Corinne Ashton of Princeton, Massachusetts received this year’s USEA Adult Amateur of the Year honors as well as a $1,000 purse sponsored by Stackhouse Saddles. Ashton had a stellar year with her 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Dobbin winning the Advanced division at the Wellpride American Eventing Championships, the Advanced division at Millbrook, the Advanced/Intermediate division of Morven Park, and the Advanced division at Southern Pines, with high placings at other prestigious events as well.

The USEA Young Rider of the Year trophy, along with a $1,000 purse sponsored by Maui Jim Sunglasses, was presented to 19-year-old Tiana Coudray of Ojai, California. Coudray worked with primarily two mounts this year, both at the intermediate and advanced levels. She and King Street were fourth at Ram Tap in Advanced, won the Galway Downs CIC3*-W, and was second in Advanced at Twin Rivers. With Ringwood Magister she won the CCI* at Galway Downs in November and won the CCI* at Twin Rivers in May.

Jam, owned and ridden by Bruce Davidson of Unionville, Pennsylvania, earned USEA Mare of the Year honor, and a $1,000 purse, for the third year in a row. This eleven-year-old Thoroughbred mare, sired by Shar, started the year off winning the Advanced division at Poplar Place Horse Trials, then placed third at Maui Jim CIC3* in July, and this fall traveled across the Atlantic to place tenth at the Burghley CCI4*, all with owner, and eventing legend, Bruce Davidson in the irons.

These winners as well as many others were honored at the USEA Awards Dinner and Dance, presented by Maui Jim Sunglasses. Following is a list of the other final year-end USEA Leaderboard award winners:

Advanced Young Rider: Kate Luce

Advanced Adult Rider: Phillip Dutton

Advanced Adult Amateur Rider: Dana Widstrand

Advanced Master Amateur Rider: Corinne Ashton

Advanced Horse: Theodore O’Connor

Intermediate Young Rider: Tory Smith

Intermediate Adult Rider: Sarah Cousins

Intermediate Adult Amateur Rider: Fanny Lee

Intermediate Master Amateur Rider: Corinne Ashton

Intermediate Horse: Loose ‘n Cool

Preliminary Junior Rider: Missy Miller

Preliminary Young Adult Rider: Tiana Coudray

Preliminary Adult Rider: Bruce (Buck) Davidson, Jr.

Preliminary Master Rider: Sarah Cousins

Preliminary Adult Amateur Rider: Lisa Barry

Preliminary Master Amateur Rider: Shanon Baker

Preliminary Horse: Cyrillic

Training Junior Rider: Chaney Detmer-Lillard

Training Young Adult Rider: Alexa Perkiel

Training Adult Rider: Cristin Stoop

Training Master Rider: Mary Jordan

Training Adult Amateur Rider: Darrin Mollett

Training Master Amateur Rider: Mary Jordan

Training Horse: Paxton Abbey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (January 10, 2008)

Contact: Amy J. Daum, (703) 779-0440 ext. 3017

Change to USEA 2007 Year-End Leaderboard

Please note that a change has been made to the USEA’s 2007 Year-End Leaderboard. The winner of the 2007 Training Adult Rider division is Darrin Mollett, of Middleburg, Virginia, not Cristin Stoop as originally reported in the press release distributed Wednesday, December 19. Our apologies for this error.

Novice Junior Rider: Annie Read

Novice Young Adult Rider: Shannon Danahey

Novice Adult Rider: Jessica Hirleman

Novice Master Rider: Linda Walnes

Novice Adult Amateur Rider: Jessica Hirleman

Novice Master Amateur Rider: Linda Walnes

Novice Horse: Casual Friday

Beginner Novice Junior Rider: Brittany Vinson

Beginner Novice Young Adult Rider: Elizabeth Miller

Beginner Novice Adult Rider: Michele Sargent

Beginner Novice Master Rider: Tracey Montgomery

Beginner Novice Adult Amateur Rider: Michele Sargent

Beginner Novice Master Amateur Rider: Tracey Montgomery

Beginner Novice Horse: It’s a Dun Deal

In addition to honoring horses, owners, riders, and organizers, the purpose of the Annual Meeting and Convention is to give members the opportunity to sharpen their skills in order to meet the challenges of the sport. This is done in part through seminars, which featured top professionals covering topics including everything from proper stud use and current therapies in equine sports medicine to training solutions from top riders. In addition, the Convention included the G10 Summit on Saturday, a day-long national forum that included discussions led by some of the top names in the sport including USEF President David O’Connor and international competitor Eric Smiley of Ireland. The forum--which was audio broadcast live on the USEA website and moderated by incoming USEA Chairman of the Board Kevin Baumgardner—also included presentations from the various constituencies within the USEA including the Adult Riders, Young Riders, Organizers, Officials, and Instructors’ Certification Program. The audience was welcome to ask questions throughout the day and an impressive exchange of ideas took place for nearly eight hours.

The weekend also included board and committee meetings of every kind, but despite all the hard work, there was also lots of fun to be had, with Thursday evening's Board of Governors’ welcome reception sponsored by Pegasus Design Group, the Friday evening Area IX reception at the scenic Cheyenne Lodge, as well as the pinnacle of the Convention—Saturday night’s Pan Am Games Celebration Reception, sponsored by The Fork, followed by the USEA Year-End Awards Dinner and Dance, presented by Maui Jim Sunglasses, where over $3,600 was raised in a last-minute auction thanks to the support of Pegasus Design Group who offered a sustainable dog house to the auction, and Fernanda Kellogg, organizer of Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials, who donated a gorgeous Tiffany & Co. necklace and bracelet.

Additional sponsorship was provided by Adequan, Amerigo, Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Lamplight Equestrian Center, Practical Horseman, Rebecca Farm, Wellpride, Stackhouse Saddles, SmartPak Equine, Charles Owen, Horse Quencher, and SUCCEED.

For more information on the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention, including other award winners, visit www.useventing.com and click on the Convention logo on the home page.