February 14, 2000

AHSA ANNOUNCES QUALIFICATIONS FOR 2000 AHSA/COSEQUIN JUNIOR DRESSAGE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

Applications are now being accepted for the 2000 AHSA / Cosequin Junior Dressage Team Championships, scheduled to be held August 10 - 13 at High Prairie Farm, Parker, Colorado. The fourth annual Jr. Championships are one of three AHSA competitions to be held in 2000 under the prestigious title of USA Junior Olympic- Equestrian event. Cosequin has been the proud title sponsor of the championships since its inception.

A panel of distinguished judges, all holding FEI judging licenses, will help prepare the young competitors for the increased levels of competition found internationally by evaluating them on the stringent requirements of FEI dressage competition as they perform several challenging FEI Junior dressage tests.

The AHSA / Cosequin Junior Dressage Team Championships were founded in 1997 at the Washington International Horse Show, Landover, MD, and are directly governed by the AHSA Dressage Committee in order to further develop the championships into an increasingly structured and challenging competition.

For more information, please contact Chris Stafford, Director of Communications, at (606) 225-6923 or via e-mail at cstafford@ahsa.org.

The qualifying period for this year’s event runs from January 1, 2000 to July 1, 2000. It is the responsibility of the junior competitor to send a letter of intent to qualify by June 1, 2000 and to also send their four best qualifying results by July 5, 2000 to the International Department of the AHSA. Based on qualifying results, twelve American Junior riders will be invited to participate at the esteemed Championships.

The American Horse Shows Association, as the National Equestrian Federation of the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports of combined driving, dressage, endurance, eventing, show jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the country’s largest multi-breed organization, the AHSA has over 70,000 members and recognizes more than 2,600 competitions nationwide each year. It governs all aspects of competition, including educating and licensing all judges, stewards, and technical delegates who officiate at these shows.