Olympians David & Karen O'Connor to Kick-off Festivities at the North American Young Riders' Championships

Wadsworth, IL—June 12, 2001—The Welcome Party at this year's North American Young Riders' Championships (NAYRC), August 8-12 at Tempel Farms in Wadsworth, IL, will feature a special attraction for the hundreds of qualified Young Riders. Olympic medalists David and Karen O'Connor will help kick off the five-day Championship by sharing their experiences and insights on team competition.

The welcome reception on the evening of August 7 will give all athletes, including show jumpers, dressage riders and eventers, an overview of the Championship. The most anticipated event of the reception will be remarks by the O'Connors, the popular and successful husband-and-wife eventing team from The Plains, VA.

David O’Connor is best known for winning the individual Gold Medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games with the best score in Olympic history. Earlier in the Games, he and Karen, the first spouses to earn Olympic medals as teammates, were part of the Bronze Medal team for the United States. The duo also shared a team Silver Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

"The O'Connors' involvement will add to an already exciting experience for these young athletes, many of whom will be competing in their first team championship," said Howard Simpson who, with his wife Martha, and Linda and Vincent Buonanno, organizes the Championships at Tempel Farms. "Competitors will learn the importance of teamwork first hand from two of the world's most successful equestrian competitors."

The North American Young Riders' Championship is the premier equestrian competition in North America for young riders, age 16-21. This year’s competition will feature competitors from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands competing on teams and individually in the three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing and show jumping.

Many other top international and Olympic riders also got their start at the NAYRC including Olympic Silver Medalists Greg Best and Karen O'Connor, as well as Megan Johnstone, Elise Haas, Buck Davidson, Alison Firestone, Chris Kappler, Lauren Hough, Nicole Shahinian Simpson, Ray Texel, Chris Pratt, Lisa Carlsen Lubitz, Heather Mason, David Wilson, Tiffani Loudon, Mara DePuy, and Julie Gomena.

The NAYRC began in 1974 as an eventing challenge between the United States and Canada. A Dressage Championship was added in 1981, and Show Jumping debuted in 1982. The first complete NAYRC was held in British Columbia, Canada in 1982.

Tempel Farms has hosted the Championship 12 times since 1985. Tempel Farms is home to the world's largest private herd of Lipizzan Horses. It is widely considered to be one of the finest equestrian locations in North America with extraordinary facilities, excellent footing, and a challenging CCI** cross-country course.

For more information on NAYRC activities, visit www.youngriders.org. At the NAYRC website you will find zone, region, area contact information, a competition schedule, Tempel Farms information, and many other details pertaining to the event