2003 Festival of Champions

Peter Kyle Successfully Defended his Festival Title

Texan Peter Kyle amended his routine in the 219-point freestyle reining performance to fit the conditions and successfully defended his four-time Festival title with A Genuine Remedy, a Remenic son out of a Genuine Doc mare. "If I missed a (required) maneuver in these conditions today, I made it up somewhere else," said the professional horseman who is vice chairman of the USET Reining Committee. "I rode pretty much today by the seat of my pants." The creator of most of his routines, his wife, "wasn't liking that very much, though," he added with a grin.

Winning runs in the family of Sarah Johnson who followed in the footsteps of her father by winning the Young Riders Reining Medal finals. Sarah, 20, led from the first round of the reining event to finish the second go with a composite score of 427.50. Her father, Craig, was part of the US gold medal squad in last year's Nations Cup at the Festival.

Back to the 2003 Festival Reining Index