Gladstone, NJ
Excitement continues to build as the United States Equestrian Team (USET) makes preparations
for the 2000Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions
which will feature Olympic Show Jumping Selection Trials for the 2000 Games.
In addition to showcasing Olympic competitions, the Festival will also host
the Selection Trials for both the Four-In-Hand Driving World Championship to
be held in Wolfsburg, Germany in August and the 2000 FEI World Singles
Championship to take place at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone, NJ in October,
2000.
Held during New Jersey's Month of the Horse, the 2000 Bayer/USET Festival of
Champion hosts the United States' elite equestrian athletes in the sport's
highest level of competition. The Festival provides a wide variety of family
entertainment for equestrian enthusiasts with various competitions in
Reining, Dressage, Combined Driving, Show Jumping, Endurance and Eventing.
Although the weekend is geared toward Olympic equestrian competition, it is
the goal of the USET to provide a weekend for families to enjoy equestrian
sports along with a more traditional country fair, celebrity presence and
participation, as well as a "Children's Corral. "The fair includes over 70
vendors offering a large selection of crafts, clothing, jewelry, gifts and
the latest in equestrian supplies for every age and interest.
Heart stopping, thundering hooves make up the Combined Driving competitions,
sponsored by the Gladstone Equestrian Association.
The nation's elite horses and drivers will compete for the opportunity to represent the United States
in the Four-In-Hand and Singles World Championships.
Spectators can soar to new heights while witnessing the exhilarating height
and speed of equestrian sports during $100,000 Rolex/USET Show Jumping
Championship. The most talented jumpers and riders in the country will need
to give their optimum performance in order to secure a coveted position on
the Olympic Show Jumping team for this year's Games.
The Festival will also host the Cosequin/USET Junior and Amateur/Owner Show
Jumping Talent Derbies both presented by BET ON JAZZ. These classes were
developed to recognize and foster promising young riders while affording them
an opportunity to compete at the USET Headquarters.
The State Line Tack/USET Intermediaire I Dressage Championship will be
presented by Rio Suite Hotel and Casino. Dressage, equestrian gymnastics, is
a beautiful display of rider and horse in unison. It is one of the most
elegant display of the athletic prowess of both man and animal working
together.
The Festival will host the Sooner Trailer/USET 50 mile Endurance Championship
which is sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference and the East
Coast Trail Riders Association.The ride will take place in and around
Hamilton Farm. Top Endurance riders are expected to compete again this year.
In 1998, the USET added Reining as its sixth discipline, and this year the
Festival will again feature the $100,000 Cosequin/USET Reining Championship
presented by Bayer. The Reining division at the Festival will also feature
the Sooner Trailer/USET Pro/Non-Pro Team Championship. The premier Reining
classes were held last year at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions and
proved to be a huge crowd pleaser.
The Honorable Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey, has agreed to
participate in the Festival again this year as the Honorary Chair.
Truly inspiring are the riders with disabilities who have agreed to compete
in the "Bradshaw Challenge of Champions." The disabled riders and their
experiences have so enriched the Festival's program for past three years.
Capping off the Festival will be an appropriately entitled Gala event on
Saturday night, "Go For the Gold", held at the Skylands in Randolph to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the USET as well as the Olympic quest for
Gold. The attire for the evening is Gold or Silver while the menu will
feature Australian cuisine. The evening will host a silent auction which
will include among other items offered for bid - exciting luxury gifts,
travel and entertainment packages as well as various specialty items.
If you want to see impressive Olympic competition in a beautiful country
atmosphere, coupled with a weekend of family fun, then the place to venture
to is Bayer/USET Festival of Champions in June. To learn more about this
spectacular event call the Festival Hotline at (908) 234-0555 or visit the
USET on line at www.uset.org.
The United States Equestrian Team is a non-profit organization that selects,
trains, equips and finances equestrians of the highest possible standard to
represent our country in major international competition, including the
Olympic Games and the World Championships. To accomplish this the USET seeks
out and nurtures the development of talented athletes - riders, drivers and
horses - and provides the support and guidance they need to help them attain
their fullest potential.For more information on the USET, please call (908)
234-1251, or visit USET ONLINE at www.uset.org
