ATHENS, Greece - As a whirlwind experience of competition and ancient Olympic culture wraps up in Athens, the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team prepares to make the return journey after a seventh place finish in Sunday's Team competition. Representing a compilation of Individual and Team scores, the group posted 399.876 points in the last equestrian event of these 2004 Games.

"We feel happy with our accomplishments," says Chef d'Equipe Denise Avolio. "We've been able to present ourselves well even though we're a young team."

Barbara Grassmyer and Mibis brought in an Individual score of 63.200 and a Team score of 65.308 for a final score of 128.508. With an Individual score of 63.200 and a Team score of 62.842, Keith Newerla and Lumberjack added a total of 132.526 points to the mix. Lynn Seidemann and Phoenix B brought in a combined score of 138.842, adding an Individual score of 68.947 to a Team score of 69.895.* Kathy Groves and Fleetwood rounded out the competition with an Individual score of 61.677 and a Team score of 63.643, for a total of 125.320 points. Taking the top three totaled scores, the team finished with 399.876.

Great Britain won the Gold medal with 444.866 points. Germany took Silver with 417.109, and the Netherlands took Bronze with 413.082.

The equestrian portion of Paralympic competition has now concluded in Athens. Closing ceremonies will follow on Tuesday night.

For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public Relations Manager, on (859) 225-6974, or by e-mail at slane@usef.org. All USEF press releases can be found on our website at www.usef.org.