Gladstone, New Jersey – April 16, 2001 – The United States Equestrian Team (USET) is proud to announce that six U.S. riders finished in the top ten at the 2001 FEI Show Jumping World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Competing in her first World Cup Final, Candice King of Wellington, FL was the top placing U.S. rider. King finished in fifth place onboard John Em with a final score of 17 penalties. Tied for sixth place were Leslie Howard of Westport, CT, riding Priobert de Kalvarie, and Peter Wylde of Dover Plains, NY, who competed on Macanudo de Niro in the first two rounds and on Fein Cera in the final round. Wylde and Howard had a final score of 18 penalties.

Molly Ashe of Wellington, FL finished in eighth place on Kroon Gravin with 21 penalties. Tied for ninth were 2000 Olympian Lauren Hough of Ocala, FL, who rode Windy City the first night and Clasiko for the balance of the World Cup Final, and Nicole Shahinian-Simpson of Westlake Village, CA with El Campeon’s Cirka Z, along with Ludo Philippaerts of Belgium. They each finished with 23 penalties.

Markus Fuchs of Switzerland won the 23rd World Cup Final with Tinka’s Boy followed by the three-time defending World Cup Champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil riding Baloubet du Rouet. They each finished the four rounds of competition (one round on Friday, one round on Saturday and two rounds on Monday) with a score of 5 penalties. In a dramatic jump-off to determine this year’s Champion, Fuchs, who placed second to Pessoa in the 2000 Final in Las Vegas, went clean in 35.25 seconds while Pessoa had two rails down for 8 penalties. Third place went to Michael Whitaker of Great Britain riding Handel II.

The USET sent a squad of ten riders to the Final – three from the West Coast League and seven from the East. Full results are available on USET online at www.uset.org.

The United States Equestrian Team is a non-profit organization that selects, trains, equips and finances equestrians of the highest possible standard to represent our country in major international competition, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships. To accomplish this the USET seeks out and nurtures the development of talented athletes - riders, drivers and horses - and provides the support and guidance they need to help them attain their fullest potential. For more information on the USET, please call (908) 234-1251, or visit USET ONLINE at www.uset.org