Lexington, Ky. – US Equestrian has announced the horse-and-athlete combinations selected to compete at the 2020 Adequan USEF Futures Team Challenge – West Coast held at Galway Downs in Temecula, Calif., from Oct. 29-Nov. 1. The format of the Adequan USEF Futures Team Challenge provides an opportunity for eventing athletes to gain valuable team competition experience in an unofficial team scenario on home soil at the CCI3* and CCI4* levels.

The teams will be coached by Erik Duvander, U.S. Performance Director for Eventing, and Leslie Law, USEF Eventing Development and Emerging Coach, both serving as Chef d’Equipe for their respective teams.

Erik Duvander’s Team

• Team Captain: Liz Halliday-Sharp (Lexington, Ky.) and Cooley Quicksilver, a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by The Monster Partnership
• Emilee Libby (Temecula, Calif.) and her own and Linda Libby's Jakobi, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding
• Sophie Click (Snoqualmie, Wash.) and Quidproquo, her own and Amy Click's nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding.

Leslie Law’s Team

• Team Captain: Tamie Smith (Murrieta, Calif.) and Passepartout, an 11-year-old German Sport Horse gelding owned by Kaylawna Smith-Cook
• Rebecca Brown (Seagoville, Texas) and Dassett Choice, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Team Junior Syndicate
• Charlotte Babbitt (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and her own 2 A.M., an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding

"Both Leslie and I are really looking forward to running our first Futures Team Challenge on the West Coast," said Duvander. "The Futures Team Challenge program is a new program and still under development. This year we are running three-horse teams for Galway Downs, but hoping to grow this number next year. We are also going to trial for the first time having senior riders as team captains, with Liz Halliday-Sharp captaining my team and Tamie Smith captaining Leslie’s team. The purpose in naming captains is for these athletes to develop leadership skills, while simultaneously gaining more team experience.

"Our aim is to continuously drive and grow eventing on the West Coast, and we hope the Futures Team Challenge will aid in inspiring the next generation of riders and providing a pathway toward senior teams," Duvander added. "It would not have been possible to run the Futures Team Challenge this year without Adequan stepping up as a sponsor, and we are grateful for their support of this successful program.”

Applications were submitted to the USEF Performance Advisory Team and selected based off of results, potential, willingness to learn, and commitment to developing as future team athletes, following the FEI Nations Cup selection criteria as guidance.

Selection to a team under the Adequan USEF Futures Team Challenge does not represent selection to a recognized U.S. team.

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The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOPC, and USEF sponsors and members