Posted March 12, 2006

2006 Cadillac Challenge of the Americas

Team USA Wins with A Western Theme

Team USA delighted the crowd, entering the arena with Western accessories and plenty of red, white, and blue sparkling ‘bling’ added to their shadbellies and tack including cowboy hats and flashy red kerchiefs. The riders and their mounts were: Betsy Steiner/Wurlitzer, George Williams/Marnix, Lynda Alicki/L’Aviateur, Pamela Goodrich/Melville, Bent Jensen/Liberty Light, and Susan Jaccoma/Jellowa.

Photo: Cealy Tetley

They carried the cowboy theme through with music including Thank God I’m a Country Boy for the entrance and exit, Walking in Memphis for the trot work, Sweet Home Alabama for the canter segment, and Achy Breaky Heart for the passage/piaffe tour, but the piéce de resistance was Save a Horse, Ride A Cowboy for the canter work featuring one tempis in a line down the center and work in pairs of three. The crowd loved it and the judges did too, but the Americans were edged into second place, earning 98.50% for the round.

When the totals of the two rounds was averaged, the overall scores were:
Final Placing Pas de Deux Team Quadrille Overall

• 1 - Team Purina Mills USA 98.00 98.5 98.30
• 2 - Team International 90.40 99.0 95.56
• 3 - Team Canada 88.80 97.2 93.84