Top USPC Mounted Games Pairs Compete in Founders Cup

Richmond, Virginia, September 5, 2006 -- Four of the top finishing Advanced Pairs mounted games teams from the 2006 United States Pony Club Eastern Championships will compete in the 2006 Founders Cup invitational games competition, sponsored by Mounted Games Across America, Inc. The competition will be held during the Virginia Equine Extravaganza, held October 27 – 29 at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA.

The teams invited to the Founders Cup are pairs, with members in their late teens to early twenties.  By finishing as one of the top six Advanced pairs at the USPC Championships held in August, 2006, each team earned its invitation to this event.  In addition to being active members of the United States Pony Clubs, all riders are members of the sponsoring organization, Mounted Games Across America.

Teams participating are Lady Hawks, team members Rachel Welniak and Mitchell Vassallo from the Maryland Region of USPC; Crawdaddies, team members Val Brown and Jon Hoke from the Virginia Region; Dual Exhaust, team members Kyley Hellhake and Alex Menghetti from the Eastern Pennsylvania Region; and Blue Brothers, team members Carson Rutledge and Drew Sargent from the Old Dominion and Carolina Regions.

The Founders Cup itself was donated to MGAA, Inc. by Nancy Lindamood, a longtime supporter of mounted games in the United States.

Mounted Games, an internationally recognized equestrian sport rapidly growing in popularity across the United States, is composed of a wide range of relay races played on horseback by teams of 2 or 4 riders.  Exciting for spectators to watch and easy to understand, the sport develops strength, agility and exceptional coordination in the rider, and obedience and courage in the mounts.

For more information on mounted games, please visit the website of Mounted Games Across America at http://www.mountedgames.org/ .

Contact:
Anita Vassallo, MGAA, Inc.
phone: 301-788-5541
fax: 240-777-0106
email: mgaainfo@mountedgames.org
http://www.mountedgames.org/