Two Canadians to Compete at the FEI World Reining Masters

Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Reining Committee is pleased to announce that Patrice St-Onge and Lisa Coulter will represent Canada at the FEI World Reining Masters being held in Oklahoma City, OK, USA on December 3, 2009.

St-Onge, originally of Valleyfield, QC, currently residing in Gainesville, TX, is a veteran member of the Canadian Reining Teams. He was a member of the silver medal winning team at the 2002 World Equestrian Games and represented Canada at the 2008 World Reining Championships. St-Onge will be riding Leitachic, an eight-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Babcock, Heckman & Bartlett.

Coulter of Kelowna, BC, won team and individual silver medals at the 2009 CRI 4* Reining Kentucky Cup held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, and first place at the 2009 CRI* Monterrey, MEX. Coulter has also represented Canada at the FEI World Reining Masters in 2005 and 2006. At the Masters, Coulter will be riding Hollywood Aces, Bob Thompson’s six-year-old Quarter Horse gelding.

“Both Patrice and Lisa have been very active in Equine Canada’s FEI reining programs,” said Bob Thompson, the chair of the Canadian Reining Committee. “Not only do they successfully represent Canada internationally in reining, but they actively give their time to the Canadian Reining Committee as well.”

The FEI World Reining Masters competition will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will consist of two divisions—$75,000 Open Division, which will be open to entrants from every country that sends riders and the $25,000 Restricted Division, which is open to all countries except those that qualified for the finals of the 2006 World Equestrian Games in 2006 (USA, CAN, SWI, ITA and GER).

The international judging panel will include Pete McAlister (FEI C—USA), Francois Zurcher (FEI I—SUI), Brad Kelsall (FEI C—USA), Filippo Masi (FEI I—ITA), Janette Steffl (FEI I—ITA) and equipment judge Donald Flohr (FEI C—USA).

The FEI World Reining Masters is a competition to find the best individual reiner each year. The competition is based on qualifying the best reiners from each national federation for Final which alternates each year between the United States and Europe.