United States Eventing Association

The $10,000 2009 Adequan/USEA Gold Cup Series draws to a close this weekend at the Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, where top West Coast horses and riders will compete to take home cash, great prizes, and Gold Cup points.

Nearly 45 horses were presented this afternoon in the first horse inspection. The CIC3*, the designated Gold Cup division, will begin their competition tomorrow with the dressage phase taking place at 10:30 AM.

The Adequan/USEA Gold Cup Series has had an exciting season, beginning in late March at the Galway Downs Three-Day Event in Temecula, California, as Amy Tryon and Leyland took a healthy lead in the standings.

From there, the Gold Cup traveled east to The Fork CIC3* in Norwood, North Carolina, followed by the CIC2* at Chattachoochee Hills in Fairburn, Georgia a month later. The series kicked back up again in late July at the CIC2* at Stuart Horse Trials in Victor, New York, The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, and then Richland Park CIC3* in Richland, Michigan.

After several excellent Gold Cup outings this year, the 2008 Intermediate Gold Cup champions, Jennie Brannigan and Cooper looked poised to take home the trophy and $10,000 check at the end of the year. However, the 2009 Chicago-based Bit of Britain/USEA American Eventing Championships in September was the turning point for the series, with a serious shuffle in the leaderboard standings, as Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere du Val took over the lead.

Though it's highly unlikely that anyone from Twin Rivers will be able to take the title from Law and Mystere du Val at this point in the series, the weekend is sure to be an exciting one to watch, with nearly fifty horses entered in the FEI divisions (CIC*/**/***), and close to 300 horses entered in the horse trials and IDHSNA/USEA Future Event Horse series.

Winners of the designated Gold Cup divisions receive an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, an E.A. Mattes Couture Pad, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Second place finishers take home a Nutrena feed gift certificate and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots, and third place receives a pair of the Nunn Finer boots as well.

Gold Cup Sponsorship

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title:

Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer, Nutrena, and E.A Mattes; Contributing: Cover-All, and Patron: Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, and Succeed.

Adequan is proud to be the official joint therapy treatment of the USEA.

For more information on the Gold Cup Series or USEA sponsorship, contact Jo Whitehouse at 703-669-9999 or email [email protected]