Gladstone, New Jersey—March 11, 2002—Darren Stancik and Tracer Gilson won USET Reining classes at the Arizona Reining Horse Classic, held March 9, in Scottsdale, AZ.

Darren Stancik, of Salem, OR, won the Intervet/USET Reining Championship Qualifier aboard Chocolate Chic Olena, owned by Carter Smith, with a score of 225, winning $2659.80. Stancik edged out John Slack, on Jo Young’s Smart Anna Lena, who scored 223 for second place, winning a check for $2250.60.

Riders in the Intervet/USET Reining Championship Qualifiers are competing for a spot in the Intervet/USET Reining Championship Semi-Finals, which will be held May 17 at the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby in Oklahoma City, OK. The top twenty riders in the Semi-Finals will advance to the $100,000 USET Reining Championship, Presented by Bayer at the 2002 Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, presented by State Line Tack, to be held June 20-23, in Gladstone, NJ.

The Intervet/USET Reining Championship Qualifiers, Semi-Finals, and the Championship are all steps in the selection process to determine the United States reining team for the World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain this September.

In the USET Futures Reining Championship Qualifier, held March 9 at the Arizona Reining Horse Classic, hometown favorite Tracer Gilson, Scottsdale, AZ, took the top prize riding Cherokee Smart Chic, owned by Kathie Thayer. Gilson and Cherokee Smart Chic won the first prize of $1357.50 with a score of 220.5. The competition for second place was hard-fought, with Mario Boisjoli and Ben Gerst tying for second, just one-half point higher than the fourth place finisher Jordan Larson. Boisjoli, riding Wildcat Lena, owned by Carla and Chuck Arnold, and Gerst, on Nick Chavez’s Joses Bueno Chex, both earned $848.44 prizes for their second place score of 215.5 points. Larson, aboard Easters Gray Shot owned by Louise Simms, scored 215 to earn the fourth place prize of $339.38. The top four riders in the USET Futures Reining Championship Qualifier earn an invitation to compete in the USET Futures Reining Championship Final at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions. The USET Young Rider Reining Medal Qualifier was not held due to lack of entries. Competitors in this event earn points towards the USET Young Rider Reining Medal Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions.

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.