Just over a week after the United States Equestrian Team announced that Gunner had been chosen as the 2002 USET Breyer model horse, the distinctive American Paint Horse stallion added another crown to his long list of honors.

On May 17, Bryant Pace and Gunner, owned by Debra Sloan of Newfoundland, New Jersey, teamed up to win the 2002 Intervet Semi-Finals for the USET Reining Championship. The competition was held on Friday night during the National Reining Horse Association Derby and it was the second consecutive year for this duo to top the event.

The quintessential show horse, Gunner was “on” for an appreciative Oklahoma State Fairgrounds crowd. To the cheers of the crowd, he exhibited his trademark stops and spins and marked a 225.5 to win the event and $6,080.

Gunner was the 1996 NRHA Futurity Reserve Champion, the 1998 National Reining Breeders Classic Reserve Champion, the 2001 USET Champion and, with over $165,000 in winnings, is the second highest money earner in National Reining Horse Association history. According to Pace, the popular stallion was brought back from an intended retirement in order to compete in the qualifying events and a chance for a trip to the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain.

The Reserve Championship of the Intervet Semi-Finals ended in a tie between Pete Kyle on Chexys Doctor Pepper, owned by Art and Carol Hurt and Darren Stancik on Chocolate Chic Olena owned by Carter Smith. Both scored 224.5 to win $4,864.

The top twenty riders in the Semi-Finals will advance to the $75,000 added USET Reining Championship, Presented by Bayer at the 2002 Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, Presented by State Line Tack, to be held June 20-23, in Gladstone, New Jersey.