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Articles: Press Release
Morse Wins USET Dressage Grand Prix Championship
Contact:
Contact: Marty Bauman, (508) 698-6810
uset.pr@verizon.net
Gladstone, NJ-June 23, 2003-Leslie Morse of Beverly Hills,
CA, and her stallion, Kingston, topped a field of twelve horse-and-rider
combinations to win the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Dressage
Grand Prix Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions,
Presented by State Line Tack, held at the United States Olympic Training
Center in Gladstone, NJ.
Earning the blue ribbon in the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix
Freestyle and taking second place honors in the Grand Prix Special,
Morse finished the weekend with an overall score of 68.711%. "He's
going really well. I'm really excited. It's only his fourth year in
dressage," she said of her stallion.
Morse imported her stallion, who stands at 17.3 hands, from Holland
after finding him at a sales barn. "He gives a feeling that he will
just protect you and take you. He touches me," she said of her partner.
Finishing behind Morse and earning Reserve Champion honors
was Jan Brons aboard Fernando. Brons and Fernando finished the weekend
with an overall score of 66.472%. Although he has been living in the
United States since the 1980s and currently resides in Southampton, NY,
the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions, marked the first time that this
native of Holland has competed as a United States citizen, so this win
was especially meaningful.
Earning third place honors was Susan Dutta of Wellington, FL, aboard
Gumshoes DC. This horse-and-rider combination finished the weekend just
behind Brons with an overall score of 66.355%. An ex-jumper, Gumshoes
DC, has a special place in Dutta's heart. "He's the love of my life,
that horse," she said. "This horse owes us nothing. Everything he does
for us is extra. He brings us only joy."
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.
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