Lexington, KY  (July 17, 2012) - The 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) is proud to welcome all of the 261 young athletes that will compete in five disciplines over the next five days. The NAJYRC is held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Today, the NAJYRC hosted the athletes, trainers, friends, and family at the Opening Ceremonies.
 
Five disciplines (a total of 9 championships for juniors and young riders) will take part in the only FEI Championship to be held annually in North America. The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders, ages 14-21. This year, young equestrians have come from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage, eventing and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and endurance.
 
The competition is run under rules of the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale), the international governing body for equestrian sport. Many of North America's best equestrians who now regularly represent their country on Olympic, World Championship and Nations Cup teams got their first taste of International experience at NAJYRC. These include show jumpers Greg Best, Chris Kappler and McLain Ward, five-time Olympian and three-day eventer Karen O'Connor, and dressage rider Todd Flettrich.
 
The NAJYRC began in 1974 as an eventing challenge between the United States and Canada. A dressage championship was added in 1981, and show jumping was added in 1982. The first complete Young Riders championship was held in British Columbia, Canada, in 1982. The Championships were expanded to officially include a championship division for juniors in 2006. The discipline of reining was added to the official schedule in 2008; endurance joined the championship for the first time in 2011. Vaulting competition is held at the NAJYRC, but is not officially part of the championship.
 
The opening ceremonies featured all of the teams from the six disciplines in a parade to honor the members and their Chefs d'Equipe. The teams posed for photos before leaving on a golf cart parade to sponsor Spy Coast Farm for an exhibitor barbeque. The golf cart parade featured many brightly decorated carts all vying for the win as "Best Dressed."
 
Held at the site of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), the NAJYRC brings together a multitude of disciplines similar to the WEG. Show jumping and dressage had their jogs today, where horses were tested for soundness before the officials and veterinarians. This is a key part of FEI level competition, and the junior and young riders of all disciplines here at NAJYRC are learning valuable information about international rules and regulations that will serve them well when they go to represent their country at senior-level events.
 
Dressage kicks off the competition tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. with the junior and young rider team tests. There are 80 dressage riders slated to ride at the NAJYRC this year. In the afternoon, medals will be awarded to the junior and young rider dressage teams, with the winning team honored with their national anthem. On Friday, the individual tests are held, and riders return on Saturday for their freestyle tests. Both days' competition will award medals to the top three finishers.
 
Show jumping will hold their first individual qualifiers on Wednesday afternoon with 58 starters and will return on Thursday morning to compete in their team finals. Medals will be awarded for the junior teams, followed by the young rider teams. The individual finals will be held on Saturday.
 
Three-Day Eventing starts on Thursday with dressage tests for both the CCI 2* and CCI 1* riders (which total 59 in all), and the always exciting cross country will take place on Saturday. The eventers wrap up their competition on Sunday morning with the stadium jumping phase and receive their individual and team medals.
 
Reining composes 20 riders, and they will start with a welcome competition on Wednesday afternoon in the Alltech Arena. Their team championship is held on Thursday where they will receive medals in a podium presentation, while individual medals will be contested on Saturday.
 
Seventeen Endurance riders will travel on a 120 kilometer course around the Kentucky Horse Park bright and early on Friday morning at 6:30 a.m. Awards for the Best Conditioned Horse and the team and individual medals will be awarded on Saturday morning.
 
Vaulting competition will be featured in the Mary Murphy Ring on Thursday morning. The 26 vaulters will return on Friday morning for their final competition.
 
More exciting news and results will be forthcoming as the week progresses. To learn more about the Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North, please visit www.youngriders.org.
 
NAJYRC showcases the best young rider and junior horse/rider combinations in dressage, eventing, jumping, reining, and endurance. Young equestrians from across the continent will descend on the Kentucky Horse Park to vie for FEI medals at these Championships.

For sponsorship information visit www.youngriders.org/Sponsors.aspx.

Lexington, KY - The 2012 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North will take place July 17-22, 2012 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders, age 14-21. Young equestrians come from the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage, eventing and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and endurance. 2012 will also feature a CVI running concurrently as vaulting continues to gain momentum in partnership with these Championships. The competition is run under rules of the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale), the international governing body for equestrian sport, and is the only FEI championship held annually on this continent.

For more information about the event, please visit: http://www.youngriders.org/

The NAJYRC is included with park admission.

Written by: Kenneth Kraus/ PhelpsSports.com.
Client: Alltech National Horse Show
Release Date: 2011-12-14

Lexington, KY – December 14, 2011 - - Following an amazingly successful debut this year, the second edition of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, is set for October 31 through November 4, 2012. The show will once again be held at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The Alltech National Horse Show, 128th edition, closed with great excitement, receiving unanimous approval from the horse show community. The Show was a great success with the thousands of attendees, in addition to nearly half a million viewers who watched the events unfold online.

More than 560 horses and 350 riders from nine countries, including nine Olympic veterans, competed this year, and according to Mason Phelps, Jr., the President of the National Horse Show Association, next year’s show will build on the excitement of the 2011 debut. “We couldn’t have been happier with our first year effort in Kentucky. But, that being said, we are already working on a bigger and better event for next year,” he said. “We expect bigger prize money, we’ve already added an extra competition day and the American Saddlebreds will return to the Alltech National Horse Show next year. So we are very excited about what lies ahead.”

The show’s debut this year will go down in the record books as one of the most successful in the history of equestrian events in the United States.

“The Alltech Arena is an ideal location for the National Horse Show, it is perfect for all the horsemen and horses, and it really captured the feel of Madison Square Garden,” noted legendary horseman George Morris after attending this year’s show. “The Alltech National Horse Show has brought back class, something that has been lacking in horse shows today.”

Next year’s show, scheduled for October 31 through November 4th, will build on the success generated during this inaugural run.

“It’s been fantastic. It’s been amazing. It’s been wonderful,” agreed Alltech President and Founder Dr. Pearse Lyons. “This inaugural event was a good beginning, but it was only the beginning. This show will continue to grow and next time around the city of Lexington will embrace this show more and we, in fact, will go all out to create a super experience for all who attend.”

“We hope that everyone will mark their calendars for next year,” added Phelps. “With what we learned during our first year, I can promise you that the Alltech National Horse Show in 2012 will prove to be an amazing event.”

Photos above:  (Top) Kent Farrington on Up Chiqui in 2011 Alltech National Horse Show; (Bottom) National Horse Show Association President Mason Phelps, Jr. and Dr. Pearse Lyons, President and Founder of Alltech. ©Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com.

Lexington, KY - September 30, 2011 - Nine Olympic veterans, including four gold medalists highlight the talented roster of riders scheduled to compete at this year's Alltech National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky on November 2 - 6, 2011.

This year's debut event in Kentucky, designated a CSI-W 4*, will feature a big money Open Jumper division with over $370,000 in prize money, including the main event, the $250,000 Alltech National Horse Show Grand Prix, an FEI World Cup qualifier, on Saturday night. All in all, over $600,000 in prize money is up for grabs in November. "That brings this show on par or better than any show in North America, or any indoor show anywhere in the world," noted show manager Hugh Kincannon.

American Olympians McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Lauren Hough, Joe Fargis, Margie Engle and Todd Minikus will lead a stellar field of riders, representing eight different nations at this year's show.

Currently ranked number two in the Rolex World Rankings, two-time Olympic Gold medalist McLain Ward will be joined by his Athens and Hong Kong teammate Laura Kraut. Joining this dynamic duo is veteran rider Joe Fargis who secured Olympic Gold in Los Angeles in 1984. Margie Engle and Lauren Hough, members of the United States Olympic team at Sydney, Australia are also scheduled to compete in Lexington.

Engle and Ward are currently ranked one-two on the list of all time grand prix wins in North America.

Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa, the Individual Gold medalist at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, leads the international list that also includes Nick Skelton, a six-time Olympic veteran for his home country of Great Britain. Pessoa is a three-time World Cup Champion, while Skelton, also a former World Cup Champion, has won Gold at the European Championships and just last month narrowly missed a second Gold, but took home the Bronze in this year's event.

Adding to the international flavor of this year's show are Harrie Smolders of the Netherlands, Pablo Barrios of Venezuela, Ireland's Shane Sweetnam, Richard Maloney and Jonathan McCrea and a strong contingent from Great Britain that includes Skelton, and up and coming stars, Scott Brash and Ben Maher. Barrios has represented his country at the Olympic Games, while Sweetnam, Maher and Brash have all just completed a very successful summer on this year's FEI Nations Cup tour.

The national roster of top rider includes top competitors Kent Farrington, Charlie Jayne, Christine McCrea, Richard Spooner and Ashlee Bond, all members of the United States FEI Nations Cup efforts over the past two seasons. Spooner is among the top five in all-time grand prix victories.

The stars of the future will be well represented at this year's Alltech National Horse Show. Led by Katie Dinan, the Individual Gold Medalist at this year's North American Young Riders Championships in Lexington, the roster also includes Young Rider Team Gold Medalists Lucy Davis and Saer Coulter of California and Reed Kessler, one of the country's top junior riders, with multiple wins on the highly competitive European circuit this summer. Joining the group is Brianne Goutal a former ASPCA Maclay national champion, and Kirsten Coe, a World Cup qualifier winner in California just a couple of weeks ago.

All in all, thirty-five of the world's best show jumpers will take center stage when the Alltech National Horse Show, 128th Edition, gets underway on November 2 - 6, 2011, at the beautiful, new Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

This year's show, designated CSI4*-W, will feature a complete schedule of 'AA'-rated hunter divisions, including the Pony Lane Farm High Performance Hunter section. Also on the agenda, a big money Open Jumper division highlighted by the Sasco Creek Farm $50,000 Welcome Speed Class, the $75,000 Double H Farms Thursday's Jump-Off class, the $60,000 Spy Coast Farm Faults Converted Speed class on Friday and of course, the $250,000 Alltech National Horse Show Grand Prix, an FEI World Cup qualifying event. $100,000 will be up for grabs for the Junior and Amateur Jumper divisions, including the $50,000 SJHOF Junior/Amateur Championships, sponsored by Sleepy P Ranch, Chansonette and Deeridge Farm. The final Sunday is highlighted by the signature event of the National Horse Show, the ASPCA Alfred B. Maclay Finals, presented by C.M. Hadfield's Saddlery.

Founded in 1883 at the original Madison Square Garden, the National Horse Show is America's oldest indoor horse show, firmly established as a major fixture on the national and international sports and social event calendars. The National Horse Show Association's primary activity is the annual production of the National Horse Show and all ancillary events. Over the years, the National Horse Show has provided financial aid to many worthwhile charities.

For more information on the National Horse Show Association of America, Limited, please visit www.nhs.org.

Next week, Jul 27-31, we'll have the very prestigious Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships here at the park.

The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders, age 14-21. Young equestrians come from the U.S, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage, eventing and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and (for the first time) endurance.  They will use 75 miles of the now world-famous endurance course designed for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The competition is the only FEI championship held annually on this continent.

The NAJYR is included with park admission.

For more information go to www.youngriders.org or contact Joanie Morris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .