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Brooke USA Ambassadors Named to Olympic Teams in Three Disciplines
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Lexington, Ky. – July 15, 2016 – Brooke USA, the American fundraising arm of the world’s largest international equine welfare charity, the Brooke, is excited to announce that several of their official ambassadors have made the 2016 U.S. Olympics Team and will compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this summer. Allison Brock, Boyd Martin, Sinead Halpin, Lauren Kieffer, and Laura Kraut have all been named to the U.S. team. Brooke’s Global Ambassador and two-time Olympic Gold medalist, Charlotte Dujardin, has also made the British Olympic team again.
Emily Dulin, the executive director of Brooke USA, stated, “We are so proud of this accomplishment by our ambassadors, advocates and friends of Brooke USA, and wish them the best of luck in Rio. We have such strong supporters of Brooke USA who are passionate about the sport horse industry as well as the working equines in third world countries. It is exceptional to see such talent representing both ends of the equine spectrum.”
Allison Brock and Rosevelt, a 13-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by long-time Brooke USA patrons Fritz and Claudine Kundrun will compete with Team USA in Dressage at the Rio Olympics. Brock and Rosevelt made their name on the national stage with a stellar performance at Dressage at Devon in 2014, earning double wins that foreshadowed their future success. Since then, they continued to make a name for themselves with multiple victories during the highly competitive winter season in Wellington, Florida. During their 2016 European tour they were consistent and scored well, earning themselves a spot on the U.S. Olympic team from a very competitive field. The Rio Olympics will be the first major championship team competition for Brock and Rosevelt.
Boyd Martin is representing the Three-Day Eventing squad with Blackfoot Mystery Syndicate, LLC’s Blackfoot Mystery, a 2004 Thoroughbred gelding. Rio will be Boyd Martin’s second Olympic experience, though his horse Otis Barbotiere sustained a leg injury on cross-country in London, so he was not able to complete the competition. He will be looking for redemption in Rio with syndicate-owned ex-racehorse Blackfoot Mystery, whose background story of being adopted through a Thoroughbred re-homing program in Lexington, Kentucky, has captured the hearts of many eventing fans. Martin says that “Big Red’s” character, movement and athleticism are what drew him to the horse, and their performance record this year has been outstanding, leaving little doubt that the selectors would pick this pair for the eventing team. “Red has been in sterling form this year and I really feel like we’re on track to put in a personal best performance,” said Martin. “Obviously this will be the biggest competition of my life and I’m so thankful to all the people that have helped me get to this point. All the guys that work for me day in and day out, the huge band of owners that have got behind all of the horses, supporting the dream of top-level competition, my sponsors, and last but not least my wife Silva and each of our families.”
In addition to Martin, Brooke USA Advocate Sinead Halpin has been named as a non-traveling reserve to the Three-Day Eventing team with the Manoir de Carneville Syndicate, LLC’s Manoir de Carneville, a 2000 Selle Francais gelding. As well, Brooke USA donor Lauren Kieffer has been named to the squad with Team Rebecca LLC’s Veronica, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare.
Laura Kraut will head to Rio as the traveling reserve for the U.S. Show Jumping team with Old Willow Farms, LLC’s Zeremonie, a 2007 Holsteiner mare. Kraut was a gold-medal winner for the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games, a member of the silver medal World Equestrian Games team at Aachen in 2006, has had successful performances at World Cup Finals and several Nation’s Cup teams, not to mention more than 100 Grand Prix wins.
Brooke USA ambassador Margaret Duprey’s horse, Schroeter’s Romani, a 14-year-old Danish Warmblood mare, will compete in the para-dressage competition, Grade II, with rider Rebecca Hart. Schroeter’s Romani is owned jointly by Rebecca Hart, Margaret Duprey, Cherry Knoll Farm, Barbara Summer, along with William and Sandy Kimmel.
Brooke USA is the American-based fundraising arm of the Brooke, the world’s largest international equine welfare charity, dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in developing countries. For more than 80 years, the Brooke has been alleviating the suffering of equines who work in some of the poorest communities on earth. The Brooke’s scientifically proven, practical and sustainable solutions to enormous equine welfare challenges actively improve the lives of equine animals and the people who depend on them across Africa, Asia and Central America. Last year alone, the Brooke reached 1.8 million equines, benefiting 10 million people in the developing world. To learn more about Brooke USA, please visit www.BrookeUSA.org. For more information about Brooke USA, contact Cindy Rullman (859-296-0037; Cindy.Rullman@BrookeUSA.org) or visit www.BrookeUSA.org.
Photos are available to accompany this release by contacting Cindy Rullman at 859-296-0037 or Cindy.Rullman@BrookeUSA.org.
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About Brooke USA
Brooke USA is a 501(c)(3) charity located at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, which exists solely to support the overseas work of the Brooke, the world’s largest international equine welfare charity. For more than 80 years, the Brooke has been alleviating the suffering of horses, donkeys, and mules who work in some of the poorest communities on earth. The Brooke’s scientifically proven, practical, and sustainable solutions to enormous welfare challenges improve the lives of equine animals and the people who depend on them across Africa, Asia, and Central America. Last year alone, the Brooke reached 1.8 million equines, benefiting 10 million people in the developing world. To learn more visit BrookeUSA.org.
Follow Brooke USA’s Facebook page. To support Brooke USA in its effort to fund equine welfare projects around the world, go to BrookeUSA.org.
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