Press Releases - 7.12.05
After months of intense showing, the NAYRC qualifying season is over, the scores are in, and the team is official. Off to Virginia this year to represent Region 2 is the formidable team of Lauren Sprieser and L'Etoile 6, Kassie Barteau and Gabriella, Katie Hamilton and Noviembre, and Allie Nichols and Lexington. Lauren and her reserve mount, Bellinger, are the team Alternates.
Leading the team is 2-time NAYRC veteran Lauren Sprieser, 20, of Oak Brook, IL. Lauren represented the Region at the 2003 and 2004 NAYRCs, bringing home two Junior Olympic Bronze Medals, and an 11th place finish individually at Tempel Farms. After four months of intensive training in Germany with three-time Olympic Gold Medallist Monica Theodorescu, Lauren has piloted her 14 yr. Holsteiner gelding, L'Etoile 6, to major victories at Indy and Paxton Farms to garner a 68.28% average, the second highest in the nation. Lauren is a USDF Bronze and Silver Medallist, as well as a Silver Freestyle Bar and Shining Star Sportsmanship Award recipient. She is also a senior at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, NY, where she studies Public Policy.
16-year-old Kassandra Barteau of Gilberts, IL is a rookie to the Young Rider ranks, but a seasoned pro in the dressage world. Daughter and student of Kim and Yvonne Barteau, Kassie has been competing in - and winning - dressage classes for most of her life, with a long list of regional and national titles to her name. After a 2nd place national finish at Fourth Level, Kassie piloted Gabriella, Bob Oury's 13 yr. Hanoverian mare, to sweeping wins at the Heidelburg Cup in Florida, Silverwood and Lamplight for a 67.889% season average.
19-year-old Kaitlyn Hamilton of Oxford, MI has been riding since the age of 7. Katie was the 1999 Region 2 Reserve Champion at Second Level, and in 2001 was on the Silver Medal winning team at the North American Junior Dressage Championships, placing 8th individually. Katie is now partnering with Noviembre, a 9 yr. Dutch gelding. They've earned both the USDF Bronze and Silver Medals and were members of the 2004 NAYRC Region 2 team which earned the Junior Olympic Bronze medal. Katie is a working student this summer for Jochen Hippenstiel, head trainer at Tempel Farms in Illinois, and is studying Nursing at Grand Valley University. Katie's excellent performances at Silverwood and Lamplight, combined with major wins at the Paxton CDI and Waterloo qualifiers, garnered her a 66.766% season average.
Rounding off the team is Allie Nichols, 20, of Cincinatti, OH. Allie and her 14 yr. ISR gelding, Lexington, ended 2004 very successfully as Region 2 Third and Fourth Level Jr/YR Champions. After a 6-month stay in Wellington, FL with her trainer, Sasha Newman, Allie and Lexington returned to Region 2 with a decisive win at the Dressage Derby of Ohio and consistant performances at Eden Park and Paxton Farm to take a 64.956% average.
Region 2 qualified a whopping 11 riders this year from which to select its team. Their team average of 66.992% is the highest in the nation, and the individual riders rank 2nd, 5th, 8th and 20th respectively.
The North American Young Rider Championships are the premier equestrian event for riders 16-21 in the Western Hemisphere. Riders from teams across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America vie for medals in the three Olympic disciplines – Dressage, Eventing and Stadium Jumping. The event will run July 26-31 at the Virginia Equestrian Center in Lexington, VA.
The Region 2 Advanced Junior/Young Rider website can be found at http://themusewithin.org/region2ajrayr/; keep your eye on the site for more AJr/YR fundraising and competition news!
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