Lexington, KY – For the first time in the history of the Western saddle sport of reining, a collection of the world’s best reining athletes slid into the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, to contest the inaugural five-star reining competition known as the CRI5* – the Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup. When the dirt in the arena settled, it was Shawn Flarida and KL Lil Conquistador who laid down a spectacular pattern to take the title on a score of 226.5 in this the highest level of reining competition in the world.

From a country music icon to the current USEF Equestrian of the Year to the four-member U.S. Team that rocked the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games with their Team Gold and two Individual medals to a three-member family show down, this was a night of reining that won’t soon be forgotten. Reiners from three nations (United States, Canada and Mexico) took part at the event which was held concurrent with the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event sponsored by Bridgestone. In addition to the Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup CRI5*, which offered $50,000 in prize money and is this year’s only five-star reining event in the Western hemisphere, there will be the first-ever World Championship Freestyle competition on Saturday.

The level of competition was expert, and performances these Western horses and riders put in thrilled the crowd. In fact, three of the four members of the Gold-medal WEG team were the top four riders.

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