Professional Choice Sports News

The last weekend of March was a great one for Professional’s Choice. The English side had a great weekend in Eventing with James Alliston winning the Galway Downs CIC3* Event on Jumbo’s Jake. To make it even more amazing he got second on Tivoli, a new horse for him. These horses are total opposites, with Jumbo’s Jake being calm and steady as opposed to Tivoli who is a hot and sensitive horse. Between these two horses Alliston truly proved his versatility as a rider.

Another Professional’s Choice rider, James Atkinson, had a good weekend as well, winning the Open Preliminary. Steffen Peters continued his domination in Dressage at the Del Mar Dressage Affair World Cup. Steffen and Leogolas earned a 78.225% in the freestyle to take home the Championship. Steffen has only been riding Leogolas since December and they have obviously clicked to form a great pair.

On the Western side, Al Dunning and his Team AD also had good success at the Marana cutting. One of his team members Todd Bro won the Non-Pro class winning a large check! Al has been giving lots of clinics lately and hitting the road, be sure to look for him and his students to keep cleaning up at the cuttings. In the Rodeo World, Barrel racer Brittany Pozzi won the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo on her horse Yeah Hes Firen, aka Duke. She had the fastest time of the rodeo with a 15.05 and kept turning in consistently fast times to win it all.

The results of KSU’s year long study were finally published allowing Professional’s Choice to promote what they knew all along – that the SMx Air Ride™ Saddle pad was the best on the market!

Professional’s Choice, well know for scientifically testing its products, had already put the SMx Air Ride™ Saddle Pad through an exhausting study and series of tests using the Force Sensing Array (FSA) system and in rigorous field trials before its release in January of 2004. The results were even better than expected and showed positively that the SMx Air Ride Saddle Pad was beneficial for the horse.

The new study by KSU evaluated six leading saddle pads from various makers over the course of a year for properties such as compression resistance, pressure distribution and wicking. It was conducted by Erica D. Wesley, MS with oversight by Dr. Elizabeth McCullough, PhD Kansas State University Institute for Environmental Research. Again, the results were very favorable for Professional’s Choice and the SMx Air Ride Saddle Pad, while some of the other makers suffered some disappointing results.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the performance of western equine saddle pads before and after extended use. The pads were tested new, then were used for several months and re-evaluated for the same properties after use. The FSA system containing 256 sensors was used to evaluate the pressure distribution under the pads and average level of peak pressures exerted during riding. Dead weight testing and heat and moisture evaporation tests were also used. Saddle pads with high peak pressures can be potentially harmful to the horse and those with poor wicking capabilities can lead to overheating.

The study came to the following conclusions about Professional’s Choice pads:

“The SMx Air Ride™ displayed superior performance with the lowest peak pressures and standard deviation. Additionally, this pad exhibited superior wicking properties both before and after use.” Finally, the Wrangler® SMx Air Ride™ , which showed the most improvement in pressure testing from before – to after use, and along with the SMx Air Ride™, exhibited the best performance in peak pressure elimination and pressure distribution after use. Both the SMx Air Ride™ and the Wrangler® pads use the same core material. The SMx Air Ride™ maintained the highest wicking rate of all pads.”

Professional’s Choice offers their patented SMx Air Ride core in a variety of saddle pads including western and English styles and offers a generous warranty that even includes a test ride.

As inventor and manufacturer of the original patented Sports Medicine Boot, the SMB Elite™ and the SMx Air Ride™ Saddle Pad, Professional’s Choice continually produces high quality products recognized by top trainers, professionals and everyday horseman alike.

Professional’s Choice – Leading the industry for the first 30 years was just the beginning.

Professional’s Choice, a manufacturer of equine and orthopedic products, is renowned in the equine industry for its innovative products. As inventor and manufacturer of the original patented Sports Medicine Boot, the SMB Elite™ and the SMx Air Ride™ Saddle Pad and authorized licensee for Wrangler Apparel Corp., manufacturing Wrangler® and Twenty X™ equine products, gear bags and luggage, Professional’s Choice has earned the respect of top trainers, professionals and everyday horseman alike. For more information, or, for the location of your nearest authorized dealer, please contact Professional’s Choice Sports Medicine Products, Inc., at 800-331-9421, or visit them on the web at www.profchoice.com.

San Diego , CA – (17 April, 2007)

Championships in Grand Prix Dressage and Show Jumping will be settled over the weekend at the Thomas and Mack Center, and Professional’s Choice product endorsers Steffan Peters and Catherine Haddad, both Americans, plan to be in the Dressage title mix.

Another Professional’s Choice endorser, Danish Olympic Team Coach Rudolf Zeilinger, will watch as his trainee, and crowd favorite, Andreas Helgstrand competes for a World Cup title. Though Helgstrand is not an official Professional’s Choice endorser, keep your eyes peeled for PC product on the exquisite white mare.

The dressage warm-up, set for April 18 at 1:30 p.m. Las Vegas time, will be a good opportunity to see Professional’s Choice products in action. In fact, look for Peters, Haddad and Helgstrand as they guide their mounts, which will be featuring PC’s popular English products including the new Leather Protection Boots and warmblood-sized Ballistic Bell Boots.

Most likely, you’ll not only see those accessories during the warm-up, but during the awards ceremony as Peters, Haddad and Helgstrand are among the World Cup favorites.

The dressage World Cup Finals championship round is scheduled for April 21 at 7 p.m.

Haddad, 43, and Peters, 42, comprise half of the American Dressage contingent. Haddad will be aboard Maximus JSS and Peters will ride Floriano.

Peters was the highest scoring rider for the bronze-medal winning U.S. team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. When speaking of his prized horse, Peters said, “If Floriano is a little keyed up he can lose his balance. I have to sit really extremely light, not really think about touching him.”

Born in Germany, Peters became a U.S. citizen in 1992 and lives and trains in San Diego with his wife Shannon, who is also an accomplished dressage competitor and PC endorser.

Haddad lives and trains in Vechta, Germany, and, like Helgstrand, she trains with Zeilinger. After training and competing with the U.S. Team last summer, Haddad was named a reserve rider for the World Equestrian Games. She also is an active breeder of Oldenburg and Hannoverian horses; in February 2005, she received the prestigious Silver Pin Award for breeding achievement from the Oldenburger Zuchtverband in Germany.

Zeilinger, one of the most talented pupils of the late Willi Schultheis, is a trainer of Olympic and world champion horses including Michelle Gibson’s famous Atlanta Games mount Peron. Michelle was the first American in history to brush an individual Olympic Bronze Medal. Zeilinger is well-known for the gentle and sensitive way he trains dressage horses, encouraging them to develop a relaxed, confident and athletic way of moving, combined with a happy forward-thinking attitude to their work.

Zeilinger’s protégé, Helgstrand, the pride of Denmark, will ride Blue Hors Matine at the World Cup.

“We are so excited and proud to have such quality riders and depth with our endorsers so early on in the game with our new English products,” said Dal Scott, president and CEO of Professional’s Choice.

Look for more Professional’s Choice products (www.profchoice.com) as they continue to be unveiled in the dressage, combined training and hunter/jumper markets later this year.

Professional’s Choice – Leading the industry for the first 30 years was just the beginning.

Professional’s Choice, a manufacturer of equine and orthopedic products, is renowned in the equine industry for its innovative products. As inventor and manufacturer of the original patented Sports Medicine Boot, the SMB Elite™ and the SMx Air Ride™ Saddle Pad and authorized licensee for Wrangler Apparel Corp., manufacturing Wrangler® and Twenty X™ equine products, gear bags and luggage, Professional’s Choice has earned the respect of top trainers, professionals and everyday horseman alike. For more information, or, for the location of your nearest authorized dealer, please contact Professional’s Choice Sports Medicine Products, Inc., at 800-331-9421, or visit them on the web at www.profchoice.com.