USA Equestrian Announces USA Junior Olympic Events For 2002

The United States Olympic Committee has approved the following USA Junior
Olympic - Equestrian events for 2002:
* USA/Cosequin 2002 Junior Dressage Team Championship, August
15-18, 2002 at Devonwood, Portland, Oregon.
* FEI North American Young Riders' Championship presented by
State Line Tack, August 6-11, 2002, Wadsworth, Illinois
* USA/BET National Junior Jumper Championship, October 10-12,
2002, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
* USA National Pony Jumper Championship, August 6-8, 2002,
Lexington, Kentucky.

The USA National Pony Jumper Championship is named as a USA Junior Olympic -
Equestrian event for the first time in 2002.

The Junior Olympics are the largest grassroots youth development program in
the United States. Junior Olympic programs involve over 3,500,000
participants annually. Two-thirds of the National Governing Bodies (NGBs)
for Olympic Sports have Junior Olympic programs. USA Equestrian and the
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) support the Junior Olympics movement
because it believes that the Junior Olympics:
* Respond to America's culture and needs by providing
additional recreational opportunities.
* Provide positive goals and options, which have tremendous
public approval
* Present positive associations in the minds of the American
public, thereby drawing children and their parents and appealing to
commercial sponsors, whose contributions support further development.

USA Equestrian Inc., as the National Equestrian Federation of the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the country's largest multi-breed organization, the Federation has over 77,000 members and recognizes more than 2,800 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.