Lexington, KY - After years of preparation, what began as a dream finally turned into reality. The
2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games took place here in Lexington, KY - the first time they had ever been held outside of Europe. But now, what was a reality has turned into a memory as the Games concluded today as the final medals were presented.

The U.S. Team started on a high note, taking home the first Team Gold medal of the competition in reining. Scoring 15 points higher than their nearest competitors, the home team - made up of Tim McQuay and Hollywoodstinseltown (six-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by David and Bonnie Silva), Craig Schmersal and Mister Montana Nic (12-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Ericka Smith and the Mister Montana Nic Syndicate), Tom McCutcheon and Gunners Special Nite, (six-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Turnabout Ranch) and Shawn Flarida and RC Fancy Step (six-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Buffalo Ranch) - combined their scores for a massive total of 674.5.

"I don't know that we'll ever get the opportunity to put together a team like this again," McCutcheon said. "In 20 or 30 years, I'll look back and say that I remember that team. I think truly it'll be a hard team to ever get by."

At the opposite end of the competition, the American team also took home the team Gold medal in Vaulting. The team, made up of Devon Maitozo, Blake Dahlgren, Mary Garrett, Emily Hogye, Mari Inouye, Rosalind Ross, and Annalise VanVranken, received the highest score of the day to secure the Gold medal with their routine based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Their horse Palatine (12-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Maitozo) was lunged by Carolyn Bland, and helped secure their winning score of 8.029.

"This is immeasurable," Maitozo said. "This is a culmination of a lot of years of very hard work. I have to say the most amazing thing for me is to share this with my team. These girls and Blake and Caroline worked so, so hard and they've really earned this for themselves."

The other Gold medal earned by the American team came from McCutcheon as he won World Reining Championships aboard Gunners Special Nite.

One of the U.S.A.'s two Silver medals came from that same competition and was awarded to Schmersal and Mister Montana Nic. The other Silver medal was presented to the United States driving team, who finished just behind the Netherlands and just ahead of Germany to finish with a score of 300.92. The very experienced team was made up of Chester Weber, Tucker Johnson, James Fairclough, and of course their teams of horses.

"We had a great team effort from USEF and our Chef d'Equipe," said Fairclough. "Our program with our training really complimented everything well. It all came together for here."

Two of the Bronze medals earned by Team USA came from dressage rider Steffen Peters and the wonderful Ravel (12-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm) in both the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix Freestyle. Peters was carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders as he rode against the best in the world to show that the United States is once again a force to be reckoned with in the sport of dressage.

"I have to say there was just as much pressure on Ravel and me for the Individual medal in the Grand Prix Special," Peters said after his Freestyle. "Let's face it. We didn't have a medal in the United States for over 70 years. That was absolutely amazing. That was icing on the cake. Tonight, we sprinkled a little bit more medals on the top of that icing, and I think that's a pretty good looking cake!"

The other came on the final day of competition in the final event to be completed. American driver Tucker Johnson, in his final competition after driving competitively for 25 years, and his lovely team of Warmbloods took home the individual Bronze medal.

"It felt good," he said after his drive. "Not everyone gets the opportunity to end something they've been doing for a long time on a high feeling and sense of pride. This was just a good culmination of a lot of experiences."

The United States brought home a total of eight medals throughout the span of the competition. As fate would have it, several teams and individuals from the United States just narrowly missed out on medals, finishing in fourth place.
Both the U.S. Dressage Team and the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team finished the team competitions in fourth place. Although they have no medals to show for their efforts, both teams are now qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

"It's been really exciting and I'm absolutely thrilled," U.S. Dressage Team Chef d'Equipe Eva Salomon said, "I think they've done so well and I'm really happy with it. Our goal was to qualify for the Olympics, and we did that."

Individually, Tim McQuay and Hollywoodstinseltown finished fourth individually in the reining competition, and Mary McCormick finished fourth in the vaulting competition with Sir Anthony Van Dyck, who was lunged by Caroline Bland. Great Britain dominated the medal count throughout the Games, reaching a final tally of 19 medals on the last day of the competition. The British contingency won team Golds in Eventing and Para-Equestrian Dressage, and brought home individual Golds in both Para-Equestrian Dressage and Vaulting. The team was awarded team Silver medals in Dressage and individual Silver medals in Eventing and Dressage. Finally, the team took home Bronze medals in Para-Equestrian Dressage. Finishing second in the medal count is Germany with a total of 13 medals (5 Gold, 5 Silver, and 3 Bronze). Finally, rounding out the top three was the Netherlands, who were awarded 9 medals (5 Gold, 3 Silver, and 1 Bronze).

The focus now turns to the 2014 World Equestrian Games taking place in Normandy, France four years from now. The first World Equestrian Games held outside of Europe has been an overwhelming success with organizers, competitors, and spectators alike. One thing is certainly true: many people will be anxiously waiting for the Games to return to this side of the pond.

ENDS