Debbie McDonald, Guenter Seidel and George Williams all have excellent positions after the completion of the first round of competition at the Dressage World Cup Finals in Geteborg, Sweden.

McDonald and her mount Brentina (Hanoverian: Brentano II x Lieselotte), received a score of 72.28% in the Grand Prix to end the first day of competition in second. Williams, and Mr. & Mrs. Charles Smith's Rocher (Westphalian: Rolls Royce x Fraenzi), received 69.92% and are currently in 5th, followed closely by Guenter Seidel and Nikolaus 7 (Westphalian: Weinberg x Elise), owned by Richard and Jane Brown, who finished with 69.56% in the Grand Prix. Germany's Ulla Salzgeber and Rusty 47 won the Grand Prix with a score of 77.40%.

Chef d'Equipe, Anne Gribbons said " They all were brilliant! It has been a long time coming and we are thrilled that we are finally able to be in this position in the World Cup. We are in very good starting position for the Freestyle and I am positive that they will be even more brilliant on Sunday."

The scores received in the Grand Prix determine the starting order for the Grand Prix Freestyle, taking place on Sunday, March 30. The results of the Freestyle will determine the winner of the World Cup. For complete results visit http://www.scg-nl.nl/events/equestrian/2003/goteborg/results/results.ws

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.

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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.