SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--September 14, 2000--The riders on the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) 2000 Olympic team have elected dressage rider Robert Dover as team captain for the Sydney Games. This marks the fifth consecutive Olympic Games that Dover has been so honored by his teammates.

"It is truly an honor for me to represent my teammates on the dressage, eventing and jumping squads as Olympic team captain," said Dover who is the first U.S. dressage rider to compete in five Olympic Games. "The USET riders here are all conducting ourselves as teammates should and I am truly proud to serve as our captain."

Dover, 44, of Flemington, NJ, competed in his first Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984 on Romantico. He and his USET teammates finished in sixth place. Four years later in Seoul, Dover rode Federleicht and he and his teammates again finished sixth.

In the last two Olympics, 1992 in Barcelona and 1996 in Atlanta, Dover helped the USET win team Bronze Medals. In Barcelona, Dover rode Lectron and in Atlanta, he competed on Metallic. This year, he will be riding Ranier, a nine-year-old, Oldenburg gelding owned by Jane Forbes Clark.

The equestrian competition at the Sydney Olympic Games opens on Saturday, September 16 with the three day event team competition. The dressage competitio opens on Tuesday, September 26 with the first day of the team competition. Show jumping begins on Monday, September 25.