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Flarida, Rome
and Haverty Win Qualifiers at the Florida Reining Horse Classic
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Gladstone, New Jersey—March
6, 2002—Shawn Flarida, Charles Rome and Zane Haverty won USET Reining
classes at the Florida Reining Horse Classic, held March 2-3, in Ocala,
FL.
Shawn Flarida, of
Wilmington, OH, won the Intervet/USET Reining Championship Qualifier aboard
San Jo Freckles, owned by Michael Harper, with a score of 220.5, winning
$2,718.95. Flarida edged out Bryant Pace, on Debra Sloan’s Gunner,
and Tom McCutcheon riding Smartest Chic Olena, owned by Terry Owens. Pace
and McCutcheon tied for second place with a score of 218, each winning
a check for $1,882.35.
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 2 at the Florida Reining Horse
Classic, Charles Rome, Ocala, FL took the top prize riding A Grand Prize,
owned by Rome & Shirley. Rome and A Grand Prize slid to win the first
prize of $1,292.50 with a score of 215.5, just one-half point higher than
the second place score of 215, turned in by Bonnie Hippensteel and The
Whiz Master, who took home $969.37. 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 saw tough competition, with only one point separating
the top four finishers. Zane Haverty of Krum, TX rode Chic Out Mamma,
owned by Clint Haverty, to win with a score of 141.5. Suzanne Wilson,
on her Catalyst Command, and Matthew Palmer on Guy Palmer’s Catalynx
Chic tied for second, both with a score of 141 points. Brittany Franks
took fourth place on her Mr. Wolf Cash, just 0.5 points behind Wilson
and Palmer. They all earned points towards the USET Young Rider Reining
Medal Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions.
Earlier in the week,
Flarida, a former Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Pro Am Champion &
two time Quarter Horse Congress Futurity Champion, led a training session
for Young Riders and Pace, 2001 USET Reining Champion, conducted a training
session for Futures riders.
“The USET is
proud to continue to provide opportunities to help reiners reach their
full potential,” said USET Director of Reining Jeff Fox. “We
look forward to future training sessions as the USET continues to develop
promising reinier for international competition,” he added.
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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