Ten-goaler Mariano Aguerre is in an unfamiliar position as his White Birch team prepares to meet Jedi Wednesday at 3 p.m. in the semifinals of the Stanford U.S. Open at International Polo Club.
“I think we’re the underdogs,� said Aguerre, who led White Birch to the 2005 Stanford U.S. Open title, one of their 32 tournament victories at the 26-goal level or higher. “I like to play as the favorite.
“They’re (Jedi) having a great tournament. They beat Crab Orchard, which is the team to beat, and they outplayed them. Before the tournament started, I picked them (Jedi) as one of the teams to be in contention.�
The semifinals continue Thursday at 11 a.m. when pre-tournament favorite Crab Orchard, led by 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso and 9-goaler Matias Magrini, play 2006 finalist Orchard Hill, led by 9-goaler Lucas Criado and 8-goaler Jeff Hall.
“We have to open the field up as much as we can,� added Aguerre, who with 9-goaler Lucas Monteverde, form one of the top combinations. They will be joined by 3-goaler Ulysses Escapite and 4-goaler Chris Nevins, who will substitute for patron Peter Brant. Brant injured the rotator cuff in his right shoulder during the quarterfinals and may need surgery.
“Here we are, without playing our best polo, we reached the semifinals,� added Aguerre.
Jedi, playing in its first U.S. Open since 2002, is led by 9-goalers Pablo MacDonough and Juan Martin Nero. They are joined by 7-goaler Magoo Laprida and patron Torsten Koch.
Jedi is 3-0, outscoring its opponents 38-30 while White Birch is 2-1 and has outscored its opponents 33-25.
In the 26-goal Hall of Fame Cup semifinals Tuesday, patron Elizabeth Iorio scored a career-high five goals to lead Laurence-Wallace/Paladin Rally over Pony Express 13-12. They will play Black Watch, which defeated Skeeterville 12-4 in the second semifinal.
Iorio scored four goals in the first half as Laurence-Wallace built an 8-5 advantage and coasted to victory. Pony Express cut the margin to one, 13-12, late in the game but could not get off a shot to tie the score.
Mike Azzaro and Luis Escobar added three goals apiece while Agustin Merlos scored two goals for Laurence-Wallace.
Carlos Gracida and 7-goaler Marcelo Frayssinet, filling in for 9-goaler Bautista Heguy, led Pony Express with four goals each while Pancho Bensadon scored two goals. Patron Bob Daniels did not score.
Nine-goaler Gonzalito Pieres led Black Watch with five goals, while Facundo Pieres and Nacho Figueras added three goals apiece. Patron Neil Hirsch did not score.
Owen Rinehart led Skeeterville with two goals while Julio Arellano and Marco di Paola added one goal each.
The final is Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Stanford U.S. Open is the culmination of the ultra-competitive winter polo season with the final on Sunday at 3 p.m. on Stanford Field at International Polo Club expected to draw more than 7,000 spectators.
Historically, the U.S. Open has always been the grand prize of polo in North America. It is one of only three tournaments played at the 26-goal echelon, the highest-rated tournament in the United States. The others are the C.V. Whitney Cup and USPA Piaget Gold Cup, both also played at International Polo Club.
The first U.S. Open title game was played in 1904 at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City where the Wanderers defeated the Freebooters 4 ½-3, the lowest scoring final in the history of the tournament.
The polo matches at International Polo Club are open to the public. General admission for the Stanford U.S. Open presented by Bombardier final on Sunday is $15 for adults and reserved lawn tickets are $40. Children under 3 enter for free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate on the day of the game.
International Polo Club Palm Beach is located at 3667 120th Avenue South, between Pierson Road and Lake Worth Road in Wellington. For information, directions or ticket purchases, please call the club at (561) 204-5687 or visit the website at www.internationalpoloclub.com.

United States Dressage Federation (USDF) announced the clinicians for the 2007 FEI Junior/Young Rider Clinic Series. Clinicians are Sue Blinks, George Williams and Kathy Connelly, a new clinician for the series. 
The clinics are generously supported by The Dressage Foundation, whose mission is to cultivate and provide financial support for the advancement of dressage. “We are glad to be able to provide financial support for these clinics, as these young riders will become the dressage instructors, competitors, and judges of the future,” said John Boomer, president and CEO of The Dressage Foundation.
FEI Jr/YR clinics are open to riders between the ages of 14-21 currently riding at Third Level or above.  However, auditors of all ages and levels are encouraged to attend as all can benefit from observing the training methods of these respected clinicians.
Sue Blinks qualified for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia aboard the  Hanoverian gelding Flim Flam, and helped the United States earn its third consecutive Olympic team bronze medal. Blinks was a member of the United States Equestrian Team (USET) silver medal team at the 2002 World Equestrian Games. She was also a member of the fourth place USET squad at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome, Italy,  where  Blinks rode to an individual twelfth place finish.  In 2002, Sue Blinks was named United States Olympic Committee Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year.
George Williams traveled to Germany at the age of 17 to study with Egon Von Neindorff. After winning two AHSA and USDF National titles, Williams followed his mentor, Karl Mikolka, to Tempel Farms in 1981.  In 2001, he began his partnership with the charismatic and popular black Westfalen mare, Rocher, owned by Chuck and Joann Smith of Gypsy Woods Farm in Richwood, Ohio. In 2003, Williams and Rocher achieved fifth place in the World Cup in Sweden, USDF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle Horse of the Year Awards, as well as being named Dressage Horse of the Year by The Chronicle of the Horse.  After an injury forced withdrawal from the 2004 Olympic Selection Trials, Rocher returned to competition in 2005 earning the title of the 2005 USET/Collecting Gaits National Grand Prix Champion, as well as a team bronze at the CHIO Aachen. However, the crowning moment of 2005 was winning the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle at Dressage at Devon for an unprecedented third time. Williams has coached many Young Riders to Medal finishes and was also instrumental in developing the USDF Guide to Dressage book and the USDF booklet on arena footing, Underfoot.
Kathy Connelly is a USEF “S” judge and a popular clinician.  She has won National titles at all FEI levels, including United States Grand Prix Champion and United States World Cup Champion.  She has represented the United States at the World Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden and was a member of the Grand Prix bronze medal team at the North American Championships. Connelly’s additional achievements include training and coaching horses and riders to all National and FEI level titles in the United States, and coaching successfully abroad.  Among the riders with whom she has worked, are the 1995 United States Young Rider Champion, the 1999 Individual Silver Medalist at the Pan American Games, the 2003 Canadian World Cup Champion, and the 2003 Silver Medal winning United States Young Rider Team. 

Complete clinic information, rider applications and online registration are on the USDF web site at http://www.usdf.org/Programs/AdvancedYoungRider/index.asp.  For more information on the FEI Jr/YR Clinic Series, contact Sharon Vander Ziel,  Programs and Education Coordinator, at (859) 971-7047 or via email at jryoungrider@usdf.org.     

Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, the recognition of achievement, and the promotion of the sport of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, e-mail usdressage@usdf.org, or call (859) 971-2277.

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Photo Credit: 2007 Maxine Beard Award winner Brianne Goutal receives her award from U.S. Show Jumping chef d’equipe George H. Morris, USET Foundation President Jane F. Clark, Ronnie Beard and Kent Moeller. Photo © 2007 Randi Muster. This photo may be used free of charge only in relation to this press release.
USET Foundation Announces Brianne Goutal as 2007 Maxine Beard Award Winner
Gladstone, NJ – April 9, 2007 – The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is proud to announce that Brianne Goutal of New York City is this year’s winner of the Maxine Beard Show Jumping Developing Rider Award. The USET Foundation awarded the rising young equestrian this honor because of her competitive record to date and because of her promise for the future.
The recipients of this award are chosen based on their potential to represent the United States in international competition. A Show Jumping Developing Rider is defined as a U.S. citizen who has not represented the United States in Olympic, Pan American or World Championship competition. Alternates for the Olympic, Pan American, or World Equestrian Games, as well as riders who have competed in the Show Jumping World Cup Final, are still considered Show Jumping Developing Riders and are eligible for the award.
The Maxine Beard Award was established by friends of trainer Ronnie Beard in honor of Ronnie’s mother. It was developed to assist riders in their quest for equestrian excellence. Observing international competition is a crucial component in the education of an equestrian athlete.
Goutal has recorded one of the best junior careers in history. She won the team and individual gold medals at the 2005 North American Junior/Young Rider Championships and was the first rider to ever win all four major equitation finals: the 2004 USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals- East; the 2004 Washington International Equitation Classic Finals, the 2005 USEF/Pessoa Hunter Seat Medal Finals and the 2005 ASPCA Maclay National Championships.
At the Garden State Horse Show in 2005, Goutal rode in her first grand prix class. She returned to Garden State in 2006 to win her first grand prix with Onira. Goutal was awarded the Lionel Guerrand-Hermes Trophy in 2005 by the USET Foundation and was named the 2006 Junior Equestrian of the Year by the United States Equestrian Federation. Goutal was also chosen to wear the shield and the collar to represent the United States Equestrian Team at the 2006 Nations’ Cup competition in Buenos Aires, Brazil, where she helped the U.S. win the team gold medal. Goutal trains with Max Amaya of Stonehenge Stables and said she owes much to Frank and Stacia Madden of Beacon Hill Show Stables.
In her first year out of the junior ranks, Goutal has easily made the transition to the grand prix level and has had impressive results. She won multiple Acorn Hill 1.40m Speed Challenge classes with Mon Gamin and is currently second in the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) Circuit Championship standings. She and Onira were seventh in the 2007 $50,000 Farr XTN Grand Prix of Palm Beach and fourth in the 2007 $100,000 Zada Enterprises Masters Cup. With Casar (DE), she was fifth in the 2007 $100,000 CN Wellington Open. She was one of the top 20 riders on the FTI Rider Challenge list during the 2007 WEF and is 17th on the money list for the 2007 $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, qualifying her to compete in the prestigious event for the first time.
“It’s a huge honor and I’m flattered to win the Maxine Beard award,� Goutal said. “A lot of great riders have won this before me, and I don’t know if I can fill their footsteps, but I’ll try.�
By winning the Maxine Beard Award, Goutal gets the opportunity to travel to the 2006 Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Finals in Las Vegas in April. She will walk the courses with U.S. Chef d’Equipe George Morris, who coached her in Argentina. “It’s amazing how much you can learn from George in a short time,� she expressed. “I wanted to go to the World Cup but wasn’t going to have a chance. Now I can go!�
Morris stated, “She’s a most cooperative, pleasant, polite and giving person, which is why her horses love her. She’s a real horseperson. I hope she develops her horsemanship and passion as she moves into an older, professional age. She has the intent and ingredients to be a horsewoman, which is more than just a top rider.�
He went on to say, “She has shown great promise in the world-class grand prix level in Florida, but I hope she’ll be exposed to European international competition, which is what I did at her age. She has everything ahead of her, and I hope she continues in this direction in the future. I expect in ten years that I’ll be lauding her Olympic accomplishments.�
Goutal plans to keep showing at the grand prix level and hopes to make the Developing Riders Tour in Europe this summer. “I want to jump higher and faster at an elevated level of competition and see how high I can go. It would be great to represent the United States on another occasion,� she said. She also plans to attend Brown University in Providence, RI, this fall.
Previous Recipients of the Maxine Beard Award
2006 – Charlie Jayne
2005 – Cayce Harrison
2004 – Georgina Bloomberg
2003 – Michael Morrissey and Paige Johnson
2002 – Molly Warmington
2001 – Kent Farrington and Richard Rinehart
2000 – Kate Levy and Marilyn Little
1999 – Kate Levy and Emily Williams
1998 – Jamie Schmidt and Heather Caristo
The United States Equestrian Team Foundation (www.uset.org) is the non-profit organization that supports the competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs of America’s elite and developing international, high-performance horses and athletes in partnership with the United States Equestrian Federation.