Gladstone, NJ—February 25, 2002—The United States Equestrian Team (USET) has honored dressage rider Guenter Seidel as the 2002 recipient of the Whitney Stone Cup.

Each year, since 1980, the USET has recognized an individual who has achieved a distinguished record in international competition while also serving as an ambassador for the USET and equestrian sports by presenting them with the Whitney Stone Cup.

Seidel, a two-time Olympic team Bronze medalist, had a successful tour of Europe in 2001, winning the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle and winning the Best Horse and Rider award at CDI Fritzens (Austria) with Dick and Jane Brown’s Nikolaus 7. The combination also placed third in the Grand Prix and the Special at Rotterdam. Seidel was competing in Europe on a USET Competition and Training Grant.

German native Seidel qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games by placing second on Foltaire in the State Line Tack/USET Dressage Championship in Loxahatchee, FL. Despite Foltaire's bout with colic shortly before the Olympic Games, Seidel and Foltaire gave an impressive performance at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, to help the U.S. win its third consecutive Olympic team Bronze Medal.

In 1996, Seidel rode Graf George to a team Bronze Medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games. He also placed eighth individually, finishing seventh in the Grand Prix Freestyle and tenth in the Grand Prix Special.

Seidel won the 1998 USET Dressage Championship after his performance at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions. Later in the year at the World Equestrian Games, Seidel was a member of the fourth place USET squad and he finished ninth individually in the World Dressage Championships.

In 1997, Seidel won the Grand Prix and Special at the German National Horse Show in Germany. He also placed eighth overall at that year’s World Cup Final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

In 1995, Seidel won a team Silver Medal at the Pan American Games and a team Gold Medal at the Can-Am Dressage Challenge. He was a Bronze Medalist at the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival and won the 1992 USET Intermediaire I Championship aboard Numir.

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.