With 74 competitors from 22 countries, reining made its presence felt at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, which ended Sunday, September 3. In front of 8,000 spectators, Team USA (pictured) – Dell Hendricks on Starbucks Sidekick; Tim McQuay on Mister Nicadual; Matt Mills on Easy Otie Whiz; and Aaron Ralston on Smart Paul Olena – claimed the gold as the 2006 World Team Reining champions with a total score of 665 points. Canada took the silver with 664.0, and Italy earned the bronze with 656.0.
Reining became an International Equestrian Federation (FEI) discipline in 2001 and made its international debut at the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games at Jerez. The number of FEI reining competitions grew from three in 2001 to 43 in 2005 and is still growing. Reiners from the Czech Republic, Poland, Israel and South Africa took part in the competition at Aachen.
It took a run-off to determine who would take the Individual Reining Gold Medal, after Canadian Duane Latimer and Tim McQuay, from Pilot Point, Texas; both scored 230 points, on the last day of competition
Riding Hang Ten Surprize, a six-year-old Quarter Horse stallion owned by Howard Mann and sired by Hangten Peppy, Latimer scored 228 in the run off to win the gold.
When asked how he felt about having tied with the NRHA all-time leading money earner, Latimer said, “The reining is not over until Tim shows and today I was just lucky.”
McQuay, the only NRHA rider in history to have earned more than $2 million, scored 226 aboard Mister Nicadual, a six-year-old chestnut stallion sired by Mister Dual Pep.
“I am very grateful to Jerry Kimmel, the owner of this great horse for having given me the opportunity to get here,” said McQuay. “Winning both the Team Gold Medal and the individual Silver Medal here is just great.”
FEI photo