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Lexington, KY - July 17, 2006 - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announced the members of the reining team that will represent the United States at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, from August 20 to September 3, 2006. The reining competition will be held September 1 and 3. The four horse and rider combinations and the alternates are as follows:

Matt Mills, of Scottsdale, AZ, riding Easy Otie Whiz, a seven year old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Outwest Stallion Station and Bobbie Cook.

Matt Mills was number six on the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Top Twenty rider list for 2005. Easy Otie Whiz has lifetime NRHA earnings of $220,000 and was the number one intermediate open horse for 2005. This pair won the National Reining Breeders Classic Intermediate Open Derby in 2005 and was third at the 2005 Quarter Horse World in Senior Reining.

Mills' partner, Easy Otie Whiz, marked a career-high 231.5 at the June 2006 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship in Lexington, Kentucky. This earned them the championship and a spot on the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games team.

In early 2002, Mills established his own training operation in Scottsdale, Arizona. He starts several two year olds every year and is an approved judge for NRHA events.

Aaron Ralston, of Silt, CO, riding Smart Paul Olena, a 12 year old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Meg Griffith-Ralston.

In 2005, Ralston was the winner of the 2005 Don Burt award, an award that the USEF gives each year to the highest placed restricted rider in the open reining division. Also in 2005, Ralston and Smart Paul Olena were the winners of the 2005 NRHA Affiliate Intermediate Open Reserve Championship. The pair was also the 2004 AQHA Senior Reining World Champions. "Paul" with Aaron's wife, Meg, has also won the 2004 AQHA Amateur Reining Reserve World Champion title and the AQHA Amateur Reining World Champion in 2005. Paul was an NRHA Futurity and Derby Finalist and has lifetime earnings of over $50,000. Aaron's lifetime earnings are nearing $40,000.

Aaron grew up in western Colorado, and moved to Oklahoma and worked for Doug Milholland, in 2000. In 2002, Aaron and his wife moved back to western Colorado to establish his training business. They now reside in Silt, Colorado with their six-month-old son, Parker.

Tim McQuay, of Tioga, TX, riding Mister Nicadual, a six year old Quarter Horse stallion, owned by Jerry Kimmel.

Tim McQuay is the leading all-time money earner in the NRHA, with over two million dollars in winnings to his credit. He has won every major NRHA sanctioned event at least once, including the NRHA Futurity, the National Reining Breeders Classic, the NRHA Derby and the NRHA Superstakes. In 2000, he was inducted into the NRHA Hall of Fame. In 2002, McQuay was a Gold medalist for Team USA that won the Bayer/USET CRIO Nations' Cup in Gladstone, New Jersey. In 2003, he won the NRHA Derby Open Championship and the AQHA Senior Reining World Championship. He is also a two-time AQHA World Champion and multiple NRHA World and Reserve World Champion.

McQuay frequently travels abroad, where he presents reining clinics and consults with horse owners and professionals. Originally from Minnesota, the McQuays moved to Tioga, Texas, in 1989, in turn making north Texas a focal point for the reining world.

Dell Hendricks, of Tioga, TX, riding Starbucks Sidekick, a six year old Quarter Horse stallion, owned by Adair Reiners, LLC.

In 2005, he became a million dollar rider in the NRHA. Hendricks is one of only seven riders in the history of the NRHA to have earned this accomplishment. He is the only individual to have won the NRBC Championship more than once. The prestigious All-American Quarter Horse Congress Reining Futurity was won by Hendricks and Starbucks Sidekick in 2003. Hendricks and Starbucks were the NRHA Derby Open Reserve Champion in 2005. Hendricks won AQHA World Championship titles in 1995, 2001, and an AQHA Reserve World Championship in 2002. Hendricks traveled to Germany to win the Americana in 2002.

Hendricks earned the honor of competing in the first United States Equestrian Team (USET) Festival of Champions in 1999. In 2000 and 2002, Hendricks was a member of the USET Nations' Cup Team USA that brought home the Gold medal. In 2001, Hendricks and Team USA traveled to Germany to claim the USET Nations' Cup Silver medal. In 2003, Hendricks was the Individual Silver medalist at the USET Festival of Champions.

Hendricks was elected as the NRHA President for the 2006 term. He and his wife, Terri, own and operate Hendricks Reining Horses, Inc. in Tioga, TX.

1st alternate: Tom McCutcheon of Aubrey, TX, riding Ruf Hearted Jac, a seven year old Quarter Horse stallion, owned by Sarah Willeman.

Listed as one of the reining horse world's leading riders, Tom McCutcheon has NRHA lifetime earnings of over $897,000. In 2002, he was a member of Team USA that won the Gold at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain (where reining made its WEG debut). He also brought home an Individual Silver medal riding Smartest Chic Olena. He is the owner of Tom McCutcheon Consulting Services, a worldwide consulting firm for the reining industry. In addition, he is co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NRBC, the largest added money reining event and stallion incentive program in history. He is also a member of the NRHA Professional Riders Committee and the USEF Board of Directors.

Ruf Hearted Jac has lifetime earnings over $60,000 and is an NRHA Futurity Finalist and an NRBC and NRHA Derby Finalist. Ruf Hearted Jac was the 2006 USEF Qualifier Champion at the Denver Stock Show

Wife Mandy, the leading All-Time NRHA Non Pro, son, Cade, and daughter Carlee join McCutcheon in Aubrey, Texas where he owns and operates his training business.

The NRHA and USET The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is the backbone of the reining industry. The NRHA was developed in 1966 to "encourage the showing of Reining Horses by providing worthwhile purses for which they can compete, by developing a standard method under which they can compete, by developing a standard method under which all reining contests can be conducted, and by acting as a forum for their breeders and trainers."

Although the sport of reining is relatively new to FEI arenas, it is one of the oldest and most established sports in American heritage. Reining's roots came from the USA and has been a part of its culture for over a century. In an effort to promote reining internationally, the United States Equestrian Team (USET) adopted reining in 1998 as the first Western riding discipline to be recognized around the world. Large purses are now being offered, such as the $100,000 Adequan/USET Open Reining Championship. The USET Foundation has awarded $1.9 Million for High Performance Programs that include the sport of reining. This generous contribution has made a huge positive impact on the United States high-performance results, such as the Gold Medal won by Craig Schmersal at the FEI World Reining Masters Championship in Manerbio, Italy.

In their short history as a recognized FEI discipline, the United States USET Reining Team has continually produced medals and insured their spot as a sport that Americans can be proud to support. The USET Reining team put in a gold medal performance at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, and is sending a team to Aachen, Germany that will be watched closely, influencing the future of reining style globally.

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