(Lexington, KY) - The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Dressage Committee is pleased to announce the launch of a new dressage championship program in 2006, the "Passage Cup." Designed to assist and encourage today's Young Riders as they transition to the Senior Grand Prix, the Passage Cup will shed much-needed light on tomorrow's stars-today.

"With this exciting new program, we're looking to 'bridge the gap' for our talented dressage riders who are graduating from the Young Rider ranks to High Performance competitor," says George Williams, internationally-accomplished dressage rider, member of the USEF Dressage Committee, and chairman of the High Performance Dressage Committee. "We hope that the 'Passage Cup' will be a yearly goal for this age group and help develop our future U.S. dressage team members."

The Passage Cup will be open to riders between the ages of 18 and 26 who are competing at the Intermediare-II level. This inaugural Championship will take place June 15 - 18 in Gladstone, New Jersey.

Complete program information, including criteria, applications, and a list of qualifying competitions is available via the following link: http://www.usef.org/content/equestrianSports/disciplines/international/passagecup.php

Or, for additional information, contact Jennifer Keeler, National Director of Dressage, via e-mail at jkeeler@usef.org or via phone at (859) 225-2024. USEF press releases can be found on our website, www.usef.org . The United States Equestrian Federation, Inc. As the National Governing Body of Equestrian Sport, The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is the regulatory body for 28 breeds and disciplines, including our country's international teams competing in the disciplines of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping and vaulting. With more than 87,000 members, it is the country's largest multi-breed organization and annually recognizes more than 2,800 competitions nationwide. The USEF governs all aspects of competition, including education and licensing of all judges, stewards and technical delegates who officiate at these shows. The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America, promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grass roots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its horses, and embracing this vision, to be the best national equestrian federation in the world.