Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be looking to crown a new reining champion on June 30th at 6:30 p.m. at the 2007 Adequan/USEF Open Reining National Championship. This event draws top reiners from around the country and is hosted by the Clayton Woosley Hall of Fame Reining at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Matt Mills and Bobbie Cook’s horse, Easy Otie Whiz, won last year’s championship with a score of 231. The pair went on to be a member of the gold medal winning reining team that represented the U.S. at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Mills will return this year to defend his national championship title.
Along with the Open Reining National Championship, the youth will be vying for their own championship title at the USEF Youth Reining National Championship presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in three age divisions; 13 & Under, 14-18 and 19-21. The Youth Reining Championship will be take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Clayton Woosley Hall of Fame Reining at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Reining is a high-energy, exciting sport in which the audience is encouraged to vocalize their enthusiasm and support of a good ride by cheering and whistling. The reining championships have a mass appeal to horse enthusiasts and families alike who are looking for an exciting way to spend a summer day. Both of the reining championships are free events at the Horse Park and the public is invited to attend. Parking is $3.
This Sunday, June 24th, tune into the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games radio program, “The 2010 Countdown Show”, to listen to discussions on reining by two gold medal reining riders on 630 AM WLAP-Lexington, KY from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET. Matt Mills, the 2006 Reining Champion and member of the 2006 World Equestrian Games Gold Medal winning US Reining team, and Shawn Flarida, an Individal and Team gold medal winner from the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, will be speaking with radio show host Jack Kelly, who is also the CEO of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Foundation. Listeners outside of Lexington, KY can listen online at www.wlap.com.
To gear up for these championships, there will be a reining demonstration on Monday, June 25th at 7 p.m. in the indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. All the movements of the reining horse will be demonstrated, including a freestyle reining exhibition. The public is invited to enjoy this free event which showcases the talents of the reining horse.
For more information, please contact USEF’s Director of Reining Programs Courtney Barnett at (859) 225-6919 or via email at cbarnett@usef.org.
