Gladstone, NJ-November 3, 2003-Darren Chiacchia of Springville, NY, was named the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Athlete of the Month for October after he won the individual Gold Medal in the Pan American Eventing Championship at the 2003 Fair Hill International Festival in the Country.

Chiacchia clinched the Gold with a penalty-free show jumping round to finish with a three-phase score of 52.4 penalties on Windfall 2. Karen O'Connor of The Plains, VA won the individual Silver with a score of 59.0 on Joker's Wild and Jan Thompson of Purcellville, VA won the Bronze with a score of 62.4 on Shared Dreams.

"I have a great horse and a lot of confidence in his ability to do well," said Chiacchia who won the USET Eventing Spring Championship at Foxhall last April. "He has continued to develop and get stronger in all three phases. I'm thrilled with what he did here."

No eventing competition was held at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo earlier this year and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) decided to hold the Pan American Eventing Championship in conjunction with the Fair Hill International CCI***.

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.