How will the eventers go doing this? Photo: Toni-anne Collins
Entries are coming in for the first CCI4* of the year at Rolex Kentucky and some of the riders will be doing more than just eventing.
The Kentucky Reining Cup also takes place at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY from April 25-27 and on the Saturday evening stars from the world of eventing will try their hand at Reining during the Kentucky Reining Cup's World Championship Freestyle competition.
David O'Connor was an individual Gold Medallist at the 2000 Olympic Games, team Silver Medallist at the 1996 Olympic Games, former president of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), and is current coach of the US Eventing Team. David is the returning champion of the celebrity Reining and will be looking to fiercely defend his title.
Bruce Davidson has been a household name in the Eventing world for over four decades. With countless wins and titles to his credit including two Olympic team Gold medals, and two Olympic team Silver medals, there is no doubt that Bruce will be a tough competitor.
Will Faudree competed at his first the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event over a decade ago, won team Gold at the 2003 Pan American Games, was on the US team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, and was short-listed for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Perhaps his motto of 'Taking Eventing to New Heights' will also work for Reining!
Lynn Symansky was a member of the2011 U.S. Pan American Gold Medal Team, and finished in the top five at the 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. She may be the only woman in the competition, but she is a tough competitor and will definitely give the men a run for the title!
"It's so exciting to have some of the world's biggest eventing stars participate in the Celebrity Reining competition at the Kentucky Reining Cup," said Brad Ettleman, President of HorsePower, Inc., and producer of the Kentucky Reining Cup. "This will make the World Championship Freestyle evening even more thrilling as the crowds will love to watch the eventers try their hand at reining!"
Produced by HorsePower, Inc., the 2014 Kentucky Reining Cup will feature a three-star $35,000 FEI Concours de Reining International (CRI3*), the $50,000 Kentucky Reining Cup Team Challenge, the $20,000 World Championship Freestyle Reining, and the $15,000 Adequan/USEF National Open Reining Championship & Official Selection Trial for the US Reining Team for the FEI World Equestrian Games. Total prize money for the three-day reining event is an amazing $120,000
Among other notable reining athletes, top competitors like Shawn Flarida, Tim McQuay, Tom McCutcheon, and Craig Schmersal, who teamed to win the Gold Medal for the U.S. at the last World Equestrian Games in 2010 in Kentucky, will all be vying for a spot on the team that will be looking to defend the Gold this summer.
Designed to showcase the manoeuvres of a working ranch horse, Reining is a judged competition that highlights the athletic ability of a horse through the performance of required elements such as small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, roll-backs over the hocks, 360-degree spins, and exciting sliding stops that are the hallmark of the Reining horse. This variety of movements is linked into a graceful sequence with no observable resistance on the horse's part. For freestyle events, the movements are set to music and performed in costume.
