Subject: Endurance Change--World Championship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marty Bauman (508) 698-6810, uset1994@aol.com
Joanna Smith (908) 234-1251, jsmith@uset.org
CONNIE WALKER ADDED TO USET SQUAD FOR THE ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Gladstone, NJ--July 31, 2000- Constance Walker of Plainfield,
New Hampshire
on DML Smoke Silver has been added to the United States Equestrian
Team
(USET) squad of riders and horses that will represent the United
States in
the 2000 World Endurance Championship to be held August 26 in
Compiegne,
France.
Walker, who had been named previously as an alternate, was
added to the
squad
when Jennifer Nice of Orange,CA riding Al Baraaq withdrew for
veterinary
reasons.
In addition to Walker, already named to the squad of six (in
alphabetical
order) are:
Darolyn Butler-Dial of Humble Texas on DJB Albanet,
Marcia Smith, DVM of Loomis, California on Saamson
CC,
Rita Swift of Worthington, West Virginia on Just Cass,
Stephanie Teeter of Princeton, Idaho on Nature's Kruschev,
and
Darla Westlake of Dexter, Oregon on MC Rams Z.
In addition, reigning World Champion Valerie Kanavy of Fort
Valley, Virginia
has exercised her option to defend her title and will compete
as an
individual on a horse of her choosing. Kanavy won the 1998 World
Championship held in the United Arab Emirates on High Winds Jedi.
She had
previously won the World Championship in 1994 and placed second
to her
daughter Danielle by one second in 1996.
The USET also named horse-and-rider combinations as alternates
to the World
Championship squad. They are:
Melissa Crain of Franklin, Tennessee on Charbiel,
Jan Worthington of Scales Mound, Illinois on GMF Musca
Song and
Jazon Wonders of Peteluma, California on Milarepa.
The United States has been a dominant force in endurance riding,
having won
the individual Gold Medal at every World Championship since the
biennial
event was first held in 1986. Additionally, the U.S. won team
Gold Medals
in
1988 and 1996, as well as team Silver in 1986, 1992 and 1998.
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.