USET Foundation Announces Jumpers for 2008 Rose Parade—Olympians Margie Engle, Anne Kursinski, Beezie Madden and Melanie Smith Taylor
RELEASE: October 18, 2007
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Phelps Media Group
The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation has announced that show jumping Olympians Margie Engle, Anne Kursinski, Beezie Madden and Melanie Smith Taylor will represent the USET Foundation in the 2008 Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA.
The four show jumpers will join dressage Olympians Sue Blinks, Debbie McDonald, Guenter Seidel and Steffen Peters, and eventing Olympians Darren Chiacchia, Nina Fout, Kim Severson and Karen Stives to comprise a 12-member mounted squad representing the USET Foundation in the 119th Rose Parade on January 1, 2008.
Jane Forbes Clark, USET Foundation President and CEO, and Mason Phelps, Jr., the alternate on the U.S. eventing team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, will lead the 12-member Olympic squad on foot as flag-bearers for the USET Foundation. A floral float celebrating the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing sponsored by the Avery Dennison Corporation and an escort of four members of the Los Angeles Mounted Sheriff's Posse will precede the USET Foundation squad.
Riders on the USET Foundation squad will parade attired in traditional Olympic show clothes representing their disciplines. The show jumpers will wear red grand prix coats, dressage riders will wear shadbellies and top hats, and eventers will wear cross-country attire. The athletes will ride local mounts accustomed to parade work, provided to the USET Foundation by the Los Angeles Mounted Sheriff's Posse.
In California working with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association for the USET Foundation are Bobby Drennan of Santa Barbara as on-site coordinator and Peggy Phelps of Pasadena as on-site hospitality chairwoman.
A New Year's Day tradition, the Rose Parade precedes football's annual Rose Bowl Game. The theme of the 2008 Rose Parade is "Passport to the World's Celebrations." Featured in the parade's renowned pageantry will be 300 horses, floral floats and marching bands. Nearly one million spectators line the five-and-a-half mile Rose Parade route. The spectacular parade will be broadcast to millions of viewers in 75 countries, starting at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Tuesday, January 1, 2008.
"I am thrilled with our group of Olympians who will represent the USET Foundation in the 2008 Rose Parade," stated USET Foundation Executive Director Bonnie Jenkins. "The exposure this event provides for our sport is invaluable, and I am grateful to our Olympic riders for their enthusiasm and generosity in being ambassadors for equestrians around the world. I'm also pleased to have our committed and knowledgeable behind-the-scenes volunteers, Bobby Drennan and Peggy Phelps, arranging the detailed logistics so professionally. I look forward to celebrating New Year's Eve in California with our Olympians and watching the USET Foundation showcased in the Rose Parade on New Year's Day."
Biographies for Olympic Show Jumpers in the 2008 Rose ParadeMargie EngleMargie Engle, 49, of Wellington, FL, represented the U.S. at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games riding Hidden Creek's Perin for owner Mike Pulaski. At the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games, Engle rode Hidden Creek's Quervo Gold and helped the U.S. win Team Silver. At the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, Engle rode Hidden Creek's Alvaretto to the Team Silver medal. Engle has won more than 175 grand prixes and has competed on more than 20 winning Nations' Cup teams. Engle represented the U.S. in the 2006 Samsung Super League, helping the U.S. to a second-place finish. She was also named the 1991 American Horse Shows Association (AHSA) Equestrian of the Year; the 1992 and 1993 Rolex/National Grand Prix League Rider of the Year; and has been named the American Grand Prix Association Rider of the Year 10 times.
Anne KursinskiAnne Kursinski, 48, of Frenchtown, NJ, is a four-time Olympian. Kursinski was the Alternate for the Gold-medal team at the 1984 Los Ang