The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 1

The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

The horse/riders combinations named to The U.S. Endurance Team for the

2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be announced on September

21, 2010. The following combinations make up the Short List/Nominated

Entry.

The endurance competition at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will take place September 26, 2010.

Photo Credit: Robyn

2 The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Ellen RappTeam MemberBorn: July 19, 1982 Residence: La Motte, IABerjo Smokey – 15-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Jeremy Olson

SA Belshazzar – 13-year-old Shagya-Arabian gelding owned by Jeremy Olson *Substitute

Ellen Rapp is a relative newcomer to the international

world of endurance. At just 28-years-old she is already

making a name for herself.

In February 2010, Rapp represented the US at the 2010

Abu Dhabi Al Wathba President’s Cup in Abu Dhabi in

the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, she and Jeremy

Olson’s SA Belshazzar finished forty-first out of 106

competitors.

Rapp rode another of Olson’s horses, Berjo Smokey, in

the 2009 competition season. They were second in the

CEI1* at the Goethe Challenge. In October they placed

second in the Kentucky Cup Endurance Ride held in

Lexington, KY. Berjo Smokey has proven he can be very

competitive and is known for his excellent recoveries. 

Photo Credit: ©GenieSS, Inc.

The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 3

Heather ReynoldsTeam MemberBorn: August 4, 1977 Residence: Los Gatos, CASsamiam – 9-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Jeremy and Heather Reynolds

Heather Reynolds has been riding in endurance events

for many years and is considered to be one of the top

riders in the sport. 

In 1999, Reynolds made a name for herself by winning

the prestigious Haggin Cup in California. In 2001, with

Crystals Charm, “Red,” she had a banner year winning

the Swanton Pacific FEI 100 and the Washoe Valley

FEI 100, Red was awarded the coveted Best Condition

Award at both events. Also in 2001, Reynolds was the in-

dividual Gold medal winner in the Pan American Endur-

ance Championships and again the recipient of the Best

Condition Award.

In 2002, Reynolds and Red received the off continent

horse award in the President’s Cup in Abu Dhabi, UAE

and won the Ft. Howes FEI 100 IAHA National Champi-

onship along with the Best Condition Award. Reynolds

was also on the squad that represented the US at the

FEI World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain.

In 2003, Reynolds won the Tevis and the Haggin Cup

with Master Motion. Master Motion is only the fifth

horse in fifty years to win both events in the same year.

In recent years, Reynolds has found success with A Kutt

Above and Ssamiam. With A Kutt Above, she was fourth

in the CEI2* at the 2010 Sun City competition. With

Ssamiam, she won the 100 mile ride at the Git R Done II

competition held in California in January of 2010.

Reynolds is married to fellow endurance competitor

Jeremy Reynolds. Together they run Reynolds Racing,

a training, coaching and consulting business out of their

home in Los Gatos, CA.

Photo Credit: ©GenieSS, Inc.

4 The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Margaret SleeperTeam MemberBorn: December 16, 1967 Residence: Frenchtown, NJSyrocco Harmony – 8-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Margaret Sleeper

Syrocco Reveille – 10-year-old Arabian mare owned by Margaret Sleeper *Substitute

Meg Sleeper began riding as a child when at age 11 she

got riding lessons for Christmas. Her father bought her a

horse the following year, an Appaloosa called Tecumseh,

“Tummy”. After that she never looked back, completing

her first Competitive Trail Ride, a 30-mile, with Tummy

in 1980.

A few years later Sleeper and her father were at an auc-

tion to raise money for Blair Academy, where one of the

alumni had donated a two-year-old half Arabian. After

winning the bidding, Sleeper and her father left with

the untrained young horse who they named Chaucer.

Sleeper and Chaucer would learn together and began

taking part in endurance rides in 1986. They did their

first 100 mile ride at Old Dominion in 1989.

Many of the horses Sleeper has competed she has raised

herself and are relatives of Chaucer.

In 2010, Sleeper won the Fun in the Sun FEI 100 mile

ride in a time of seven hours and 44 minutes with Syroc-

co Reveille, who also won the Best Conditioned Award.

Sleeper was a member of the Gold medal-winning US

East team at the 2009 North American Endurance

Challenge in Lexington, KY and was sixth individually on

Syrocco Harmony.

Also in 2009, Sleeper was first in the FEI Vermont 100

mile ride and won best condition on Syrocco Gabriel.

She was a member of the 2008 US team in Malaysia on

Syrocco Reveille.

In 2007, Sleeper finished first individually in the Zone

Team Endurance Challenge (ZTEC), and her horse

Syrocco Troilus also won the Best Condition Award and

helped earn the team Gold. Meg was twenty-second in

2006 at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen,

Germany and second fastest US rider.

She was also on the US East Gold medal team in the

2001 Pan American Endurance championship where she

was seventh individually.

Sleeper has competed twice in the prestigious endur-

ance ride in Dubai in 2001 on Syrocco Troilus and in

2002 with Syrocco Blair.

Outside of endurance, Sleeper is a veterinary cardiolo-

gist working at the Veterinary School at the University

of Pennsylvania. Because of her busy schedule Sleeper’s

husband, Dave Augustine, does the majority of the con-

ditioning and preparation of the horses for their compe-

titions.

Photo Credit: ©GenieSS, Inc.

The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 5

Janice WorthingtonTeam MemberBorn: August 4, 1940 Residence: Scales Mound, ILGolden Lightning – 10-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Janice Worthington

Janice Worthington is one of the most accomplished

endurance riders in the US having logged more than

27,000 miles.

A veteran of the sport, Worthington was a member of

the 1988 Gold medal US World Endurance Champion-

ship team and has competed in numerous North Ameri-

can Endurance Championships.

Worthington finished fourteenth at her first North

American Championship in 1986 and rode to a strong

seventh-place finish in 1987. In 1989 and 1993, she

finished 11th and 13th, respectively. In 1995, Worthing-

ton and her mount, LM Mastermind, were on the Silver

medal winning team and finished eighth individually at

the North American Endurance Championship in Flag-

staff, AZ.

In 1999, she was on the Bronze medal winning team at

the Pan American Endurance Championship in Winni-

peg. She was later named alternate to the 2000 USET

World Endurance Championship squad.

Worthington has continued her success in recent years

on a number of different horses. With Golden Lightning,

she won the CEI2* at Fort Howes in June of 2009. They

went onto to record a third place finish at the Kentucky

Cup in October. In 2010, they started of their season by

placing third in at the Texas Blue Bonnet Classic in the

120km senior division. With Serloki, she was second in

the CEI3* at Fort Howes.

Worthington, along with her partner Grace Ramsey,

raise and train endurance horses at their farm, JG Ranch.

She also enjoys horseback riding with her grandchildren

and listening to classical music.

Photo Credit: ©GenieSS, Inc.

6 The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Lindsay GrahamIndividualBorn: May 4, 1982 Residence: Napa, CA Monk – 8-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Chris Martin

Lindsay Graham began riding horses as a young child

and soon began competing in hunter/jumper compe-

titions up through college. She was first exposed to

endurance riding in 1993 as crew member for her mom

and the horse Phoenix Affair. In 2004, roughly the time

that she had to retire her horse from jumping, her mom

needed to have surgery on her back. Graham decided

to keep Phoenix going for the year as she continued to

ride in intercollegiate jumper shows. During that year,

Graham became hooked on the sport of endurance rid-

ing and switched over to the sport in its entirety, leaving

jumping in her past.

In the past seven years of endurance riding Graham has

had many incredible experiences. One of her biggest

achievements was a seventh place finish at the pres-

tigious and world renowned 100 mile Tevis Cup Ride,

where Phoenix at age 19, was and still holds the record

for the oldest horse to place in the top ten. Being able

to do so well on a horse that age is a testament of true

horsemanship.

Graham and Phoenix were also key assets to a Silver

medal received by the Pacific North Team in the North

American Endurance Championships in 2005.

More recently, Graham has been aboard a horse named

Monk. Owner Chris Martin was searching for a rider

to campaign his 15.3-hand liver chestnut Arabian geld-

ing for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Graham and Martin connected at the end of the 2008

season and soon Graham and Monk became quite the

team, smoking the 2009 American Endurance Ride Con-

ference 100 mile National Championship Ride with a first

place finish and winning the Best Condition Award. The

pair also did well in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestri-

an Games qualifying rides, taking another first place and

two second place finishes along with the Best Condition

Award at their final qualifying event.

Throughout all of this, Graham attended and graduated

from veterinary school at the University of California,

Davis. Graham now practices mostly equine medicine at

Napa Valley Veterinary Hospital in Napa, CA. Graham will

continue to remain in the sport of endurance as both a

competitor and ride veterinarian for years to come.

Photo Credit: Photo Provided by Lindsay Graham

The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 7

Deborah ReichReserve HorseBorn: March 7, 1960 Residence: Croton on Hudson, NYDJB Juniper – 8-year-old Arabian mare owned by Deborah Reich

Deborah Reich has been interested and involved in rid-

ing since she was a child and has always had a particu-

lar fondness for Arabian horses. In 2002, she became

interested in distance riding and competed in her first

endurance competition in 2005.

Reich has collected eighteen top ten placings through-

out her career. She completed her fastest 100 mile ride

in a scorching time of eight hours and seventeen min-

utes. Reich completed her quickest 50 mile ride in a time

of four hours and twenty-three minutes.

Reich has had a strong start to her 2010 season with her

two Arabian horses Pandor and DJB Juniper. In March,

Reich and Pandor were sixth in the 100 mile ride at FITS.

The following month with DJB Juniper, she was second

in the CEI3* at the Biltmore Challenge.

Out of the saddle, Reich enjoys spending time with

her family and their two Jack Russells. Reich also has a

strong interest in land preservation.

Photo Credit: ©GenieSS, Inc.

8 The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Melody BlittersdorfSubstituteBorn: September 1, 1960 Residence: Cambridge, VTSynthetic – 10-year-old Arabian gelding owned by Melody Blittersdorf

Melody Blittersdorf’s quest to represent the US in in-

ternational endurance competition began with her love

of the Arabian horse. She has been involved in distance

riding for 26 years, and focusing on endurance for nine

years. Her first 50 mile ride was on Samid Ar Ras, “Sam,”

who she bought as a three-year-old. 

Blittersdorf competed Sam for 15 seasons and he taught

her a huge amount about the sport. Sam is now 27 years

old and Blittersdorf still cares for him every day.

In December 2003, Blittersdorf purchased the Arabian

gelding Synthetic as a three-year-old. In addition, she

also bought his half brother Empiric.

In January 2008, Blittersdorf and Synthetic began their

pursuit of gaining qualification for the 2010 Alltech FEI

World Equestrian Games. On four separate occasions

they traveled the 3,000 mile round trip journey from

Vermont to Florida. Because of their home base in

northern Vermont gaining fitness steadily for both horse

and rider can be difficult and often necessitates south-

bound travel. During these trips Synthetic demonstrated

a great deal of heart.

All of their hard work throughout the years has paid off.

They won the 120 km Fun-in-the-Sun Endurance Festival

CEI2* on March 6, 2010. In addition, they received the

Best Condition Award.

Synthetic and Blittersdorf are currently training in Cam-

bridge, VT, where Blittersdorf lives with her husband

Jeff, five horses, and two dogs.

Photo Credit: ©GenieSS, Inc. Provided by Melody Blittersdorf

The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 9

Becky HartChef d’Equipe

Born: February 12, 1954 Hometown: San Juan Bautista, CABecky Hart has been riding almost her entire life and

since 1974, her passion has been endurance riding. Hart

is one of the sport’s most successful competitors and

has represented the US in almost every major endurance

event in the world. She’s traveled more than 20,000

competitive miles en route to the American Endurance

Ride Conference Hall of Fame, and twice won both the

grueling Tevis Cup: 100 Miles-One Day Ride and the

Race of Champions. Hart was also the AERC National

Champion twice and is the only rider to have won the

prestigious World Endurance Championship three con-

secutive times. Her many accomplishments earned her

the United States Equestrian Team’s Equestrian of the

Year title.

Hart is a Level III Centered Riding instructor and now

spends the majority of her time training and conducting

clinics and seminars all over the world. In addition, she

has served on the AERC Board of Directors, USEF Board

of Trustees, is an FEI 3-star judge and has coached and

taught world nominated endurance riders for the USEF.

She has served as the US Chef d’Equipe since 2008.

Photo Credit: USEF Archives

10 The U.S. Endurance Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Vonita BowersTeam Leader

Born: February 25, 1954 Residence: Lexington, KYVonita Bowers began working at the United States

Equestrian Federation in December of 2006 as the

Director of Endurance; she now also serves as Director

of Reining. For 24 years she had a career in the medical

services sector in administration and business manage-

ment. Prior to joining the USEF staff Bowers had served

for 16 years in leadership roles for the American Endur-

ance Ride Conference (AERC) as a member of the Board

of Directors, as a Vice President, and served as President

for two years.

Bowers has accumulated just under 10,000 career

endurance miles and has been in the AERC National Top

Ten and the AERC Central Region Champion. Addition-

ally, she is an FEI licensed official, a past member of the

Endurance Technical Committee, and has been an orga-

nizer of endurance events.

Photo Credit: USEF Archives