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| From: USEF
Website (April 2007)
NRHA Vies to Host 2007 FEI World Reining Masters
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Oklahoma City, OK—The National
Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has officially put in
its bid to host the 2007 FEI World Reining Masters during
its 2007 NRHA Futurity and Adequan North American Affiliate
Championship Show. The NRHA Futurity will be held November
22 – December 1, 2007, at the Oklahoma State Fair
Park in Oklahoma City, OK.
The NRHA and Oklahoma City hosted the inaugural FEI World
Reining Masters in 2004. Elite reiners from 16 different
countries competed for a purse of $100,000 and Gold medals
in two divisions; open and restricted.
The $100,000 FEI World Reining Masters is an annual competition
to find the best individual reiner in the world. The competition
is based on qualifying the best reiner from each National
Federation for a final event which will alternate between
the U.S. and Europe. The 2007 FEI World Reining Masters
was scheduled to be held in Europe; however, since there
were no applications, the NRHA has asked to host the Masters
in the USA.
NRHA Executive Director Dan Wall looks forward to the
opportunity of hosting the Masters again. Wall says, “To
ensure that the momentum of reining continues we have
applied to host the 2007 World Reining Masters. We hope
to hold that event during our 2007 NRHA Futurity this
November. Besides the reining competition at the FEI World
Equestrian Games, this is a perfect way to showcase the
sport of reining before a worldwide audience.” The
FEI is expected to make a final decision about the location
of the 2007 Masters Finals sometime in May.
The 2006 FEI World Reining Masters Finals held in Denver,
CO, saw some tough competition. Team USA Reiner Shawn
Flarida of Springfield, OH, took home the Gold medal in
the open division. Flarida rode Tinsel Nic owned by Rosanne
Sternberg of Aubrey, TX. Fellow American, Tom McCutcheon
of Aubrey, TX, took home the Silver medal in the open
division. McCutcheon rode Smartest Chic Olena owned by
Terry S. Owens of Weimar, TX. The Bronze medal went to
Canada’s Shawna Sapergia who rode BL Whiz Kid owned
by Gilbert D. & Rhonda M. Thompson of Ardrossan, AB,
Canada.
Reining is the only Western discipline to be recognized
by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). The
FEI is the international governing body for equestrian
sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC). The FEI has 135 affiliated National Federations
around the world, including France, Germany and the U.S.
For more information about the NRHA or the sport of Reining,
contact Kathy Damrill, NRHA Communications Manager, at
kdamrill@nrha.com or (405) 946-7400 ext. 129.
For more information, please contact Maria Partlow, Senior
Vice President of Marketing and Communications, at (859)
225-6941, or via e-mail at mpartlow@usef.org. |
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