2003 Bayer/US Equestrian Team Festival of Champions, presented by State Line Tack

WHAT: The 13th annual Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, presented by State Line Tack

WHEN: June 19-22, 2003

WHERE: USET Olympic Training Center, Pottersville Road, Gladstone, New Jersey

WHY: The 2003 Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, presented by State Line Tack, the only event of its kind in the country, showcases competition in four equestrian disciplines -- dressage, show jumping, endurance, and reining, the USET’s first Western riding discipline. The nation's best horses, riders and drivers vie for USET Championships and the right to represent the United States in international competition.

The 2003 Bayer/USET Festival of Champions will host dressage competition, the ballet of equestrian sports, featuring the USET Grand Prix and Intermediaire I Championships. The Intermediaire Championship will serve as the selection trials to choose the horses and riders who will represent the United States at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in August.

The $50,000 Rolex/USET Show Jumping Championship and the USET Junior and Amateur/Owner Show Jumping Talent Derbies, both presented by BET On Jazz, will highlight the Show Jumping Division. The USET Endurance 75-Mile Championship, an FEI-sanctioned CEI** ride, will again take place in and around the USET grounds.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Festival will feature world-class reining competition as the Bayer Reining Division returns. Teams of reiners from several countries will compete in the COSEQUIN® CRIO Nations’ Cup competition. U.S. riders will compete for the prestigious USET Reining Championship, presented by Bayer. Other reining highlights include the USET Futures Championship, and Reining Young Rider Medal Final.

For more family fun and entertainment, there will be equine demonstrations from the sport’s leading professionals, falconry and blacksmithing demonstrations, a Children’s Corral, a wide range of gourmet dining options, and a country fair with top-quality products for the home and stable.

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