USET Names Squads for FEI World Combined Driving Pony Championships

Gladstone, NJ—June 30, 2003—The United States Equestrian Team (USET) has named two squads to compete in the first-ever FEI World Combined Driving Pony Championships, to be held this September in Karlstetten, Austria.

In accordance with the selection criteria, the following two teams have been named, each consisting of a single, pair and four-in-hand combination, and alternates in ranked order. The members of the squad are:

Single Pair Four-in-Hand

Team A Miranda Cadwell Tracey Morgan Katie Whaley

Team B Sara Schmitt Allison Meyer Esther Wright (leased team)

Alternates Jack Wetzel Allison Stroud (no alternate four-in-hand)

“We are delighted to be able to send a U.S. squad to the inaugural World Pony Championships,” said USET President Armand Leone, Jr. “We look forward to the pony drivers building on U.S. driving program’s tradition of excellence.”

This marks the first time the FEI is holding a World Driving Championship for ponies. The FEI has hosted driving World Championships for horses since 1972 when it first held the World Four-In-Hand Championship. It also hosts World Championships for Pairs and Singles. The USET has won medals in all three disciplines since first competing in a World Driving Championship in 1980. The U.S. won the team Gold Medal in Pairs in 1991, the team Silver in Singles in 1998, the individual Bronze in Singles in 2002 and the team Silver in Four-In-Hand at the 2002 World Equestrian Games.

The Driving Selectors gave consideration to placings at Selection Trials, reviewing competitive records in head to head competitions among long listed drivers (giving most emphasis to recent performances and scores) and giving consideration of the previous international experience of driver/horse combinations and the prospect that the combinations will contribute to winning a team medal and/or an individual medal.

All decisions of the Selectors were approved by the executive committee-subcommittees and officers of both the USET and USA Equestrian.

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