Driving and Eventing Champions met in Elkton, MD, to compete at the Fair Hill International CAI-B and CCI***, October 24-27. The CAI-B included six driving divisions, with 11 U.S. drivers competing in the Single Horse division for the USA National Combined Driving Singles Championship. The Champion single horse driver was Fred Merriam of Newfane, Vermont, driving Gaitwood Lightwing (Morgan: TOFR Black Wing x Gaitwood Leflame) owned by Nick Mercede also of Newfane. This combination recently returned from France after winning an Individual Bronze medal at the World Singles Driving Championship in Conty, France, held August 29 - September 1.

The Reserve Champion in the USA National Combined Driving Singles Championship was Nancy Johnson of Lincoln, Massachusetts with her own Canequin's Look Out (Morgan: Equinox Locomotion x Roman Elite). In the CCI***, David O'Connor of The Plains, Virginia, and his Sydney Olympic Individual Gold medal partner, Custom Made (Irish Sport Horse: Bassompierre xx - Purple Heather, by Ben Purple), rode their way to a storybook ending. O'Connor had announced that this event would be Custom Made's final competition, and they finished this final event in style, winning over Australia's Phillip Dutton, riding Dusky Moon (Australian Thoroughbred: Dusky Heir x Moonlust).

For more information, please contact Sarah Holt, Public Relations on (859) 225 6974 or via email at sholt@equestrian.org. USA Equestrian press releases are available on our web site - http://www.equestrian.org/ .

USA Equestrian Inc., as the National Equestrian Federation of the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting, as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the country's largest multi-breed organization, the Federation has over 80,000 members and recognizes more than 2,800 competitions nationwide each year. It governs all aspects of competition, including educating and licensing all judges, stewards, and technical delegates who officiate at these shows.

VISION STATEMENT
The vision of USA Equestrian 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.