Phelps/Hathaway Enterprises is the Official video and photography company covering this event.

Gladstone, NJ-August 25, 1998-The United States Equestrian Team (USET) is proud to announce that the annual BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search Finals, presented by Sooner Trailer, are returning to the USET Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, NJ, Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4. Admission is free!

The nation's top riders who have not reached their 21st birthday qualify for the Finals based on their finishes in BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search classes held nationwide throughout the year. Finals are held each year in the West (September 17-19 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, Griffith Park, Burbank, CA) and in the East (October 3-4, USET Headquarters, Gladstone, NJ). The program seeks to educate as well as test participants, encouraging Juniors and Young Riders to create lasting skills which can provide groundwork for representation on future USET teams in international competitions such as Pan American and Olympic Games.

The BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search Finals, presented by Sooner Trailer, consists of four phases of stringent competition. First, riders must perform specific tests of their riding skills without jumps in the Flat Phase; second, riders must jump intricate combinations of jumps in the Gymnastic Phase; third, riders must negotiate a grandprix style course of fences in the Jumping Phase; and fourth, the top four riders return for the Ride-off Phase.

The scores from the first three phases are used to determine the top four finishers who then go on to the Ride-off; earlier round scores do not affect those riders once they are in the Ride-off Phase. In the Ride-off Phase, each rider first competes with his or her own horse over a course of jumps, and then must ride each of the other entries' horses over the same course.

"The BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search Finals are completely comprehensive tests of an individual rider's skills. Those riders who have gained exposure to many different types of horses have a definite edge coming into this exciting competition where strengths on one horse may turn out to be weaknesses on another," said Sally Ike, USET Director of Show Jumping Activities. "Every rider learns something just by competing."

Admission to this event is free! Come and enjoy a weekend watching our country's developing Olympic equestrian stars and see for yourself why the USET's competitive future shines like gold! For more information on the BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search Program, please call the USET Olympic Training Center at (908) 234-1251.