October 23, 2000

Sydney, Australia – The U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team has drawn and accepted the following horses to be used in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia:

Hope Hand (Newtown Square, Pa.), Grade I – Nicholas, a 19 year-old thoroughbred/Clydesdale owned by Jane Martindale.

Lynn Seidmann (Coppell, Texas), Grade I – Country Cousin, owned by Kathleen Vanhoff, is known as "Bazil" and is an 11 year-old black appaloosa-stock horse cross.

Kathleen Whelan (Atlantic City, N.J.), Grade II – CX Musters Chrome Deluxe, a 9 year-old chestnut quarter horse mare owned by Kaleena Matthews.

Mary Green (Jackson, Mich.), Grade III – Proud One, a grey Arab cross gelding owned Louise Downes.

Robin Brueckmann (Summerfield, N.C.), Grade IV – Duke Albawy is a 15 year-old thoroughbred owned by Rachel Hunter. Having previously competed in horse trials, Duke has been trained in dressage for the past several years.

Kebbie Cannon (Mineral Springs, N.C.), Grade IV – Seabreeze New Idea is a 13 year-old Anglo Arab gelding that has competed through advanced level dressage and is owned by Jo-Ann Parrish.

Horses were assigned by a draw on the 16th of October, with riders Brueckmann, Cannon and Green accepting the first horses drawn out of the pool.

Whelan, Seidemann and Hand returned their first drawn horses to the pool. Whelan accepted the second horse drawn, Hand and Seidemann accepted horses on October 18 after several tries on horses that, although were lovely and talented, were not suitable for their needs.

Green had a fall from the first horse she drew on Oct. 17. Sore but uninjured, Mary requested replacement of her horse and accepted "Proud One" on Oct. 18.

The first full day of training was completed on Friday, Oct. 20, as the afternoon of the 18th and the morning of 19th were designated rest days for both the horses and riders. Another full day of rest was given on Sunday, Oct. 22.

On Sat., Oct. 20, Brueckmann, Cannon, Seidemann and Hand practiced their musical freestyle in the main competition arena. Green and Whelan rehearsed their freestyles today.

The official warm-up competition will occur on Tues., Oct. 24, when all riders will have the opportunity to ride the test in the main competition arena and be judged. The four members of the U.S. equestrian team that will make up the team medal event will be selected from the warm-up competition. Adding the points from the individual performances of the selected members and tallying them together will indicate the team score.

Paralympic competition will run from Wednesday, Oct. 25 through Saturday, October 28, 2000. Dressage competition begins for Grades II and III on Oct. 25, Grades I and IV on Oct. 26. Freestyle to Music competition will take place for Grades II and III on Oct. 27 with Grades I and IV following on Oct. 28. The medal ceremony for team competition will also be held on Oct. 28.

For more information on the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team, please contact Team Leader Denise Avolio at 011-614-0811-2774.