Rio Vista Horse and Dog Products

Rio Vista International Rookies of the Year
	Ryuma Hirota, Japan The word on Rio Vista Products is spreading as far away as Japan. Here is 23-year-old Ryuma Hirota at the Rio Vista sponsored Grand Cup in Japan. Mr Hirota who completed for Japan in the 2000 Sydney Olympics is shown here, collecting his Grand Cup prizes.
Marie Schwenk, England Our latest internation rookie, like so many English girls, started riding at a tender age and competed in jumping and gymkhana. When her beloved pony, Honey, hurt herself and was laid up for a year, Marie found she had outgrown her (she is now a pet lawn mower, as Marie put it). Then, Marie discolored Western riding and her new main squeeze, Zippa Lou. Marie and Zippa are concentrating on Western Pleasure and Trail.
	Andreas Thomsson, Gotland, Sweden Andreas, the youngest of our International Rookies, became Swedish Youth Rookie of the Year last year at the tender age of eight. He showed his mother¹s mare, Canaan's Fanny Do It in Youth Halter and he has also won the Swedish Quarter Horse Championship with her in Trail Junior. When he¹s not riding, he plays soccer, ice hockey and helps out on his dad's farm.
Janick Junk, Gouvieux, France Janick has been involved with horses since she was a child, starting with hunter jumpers, moving on to racing thoroughbreds, and discovering America¹s Horse four years ago. Janick loves the beauty, the quickness, the intelligence of the Quarter Horse and looks forward to a long association, in Reining, Working Cow Horse and Western Pleasure.
	Jos Rietjens, Weert, Netherlands The eldest of our International Rookies, Jos Rietjens as he describes it, ³is 46 years young². His vocation is sports teacher. His avocation is Quarter Horses. Jos has racked up an impressive collection of points in Holland and Belgium, including All-Around Runnerup in the Netherlands Western Riding Association and Champion in the Dutch Western Pleasure Open. He is looking forward to visiting America with his family.
Kim Le Plastrier, Australia Kim got into horses at the age of two on her black Shetland Pony. She owned her first Quarter Horse at age six, and since then it¹s been a love affair. She has campaigned and won points throughout the Australian show circuit, culminating in a trip to Quarter Horse Congress 2000 in the U.S. There, she won a championship, two Top Tens and a Reserve All-Around. Way to go, Kim.
	Lior Raz-Heth, Haifa, Israel Lior got into riding and reining at age 14 in Israel. Since then, he has worked with trainers in the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as on his home turf. In addition to his riding accomplishments, Lior is a veteran of the Israeli Army and would very much like an opportunity to show and work as an assistant trainer in the U.S.
Reiner Kollmann, Schwanewede, North Germany It¹s no coincidence that Reiner¹s first name is spelled just like ³reiner.² Because that¹s exactly what this young German champion excels at. With his mare, Miss Motown Melody, he received the Register of Merit and at the same time, won the amateur Rio Vista Rookie of the Year Award in 2000. Through German reining trainer Kay Weinrich, Reiner was introduced to American reining aces, Heidi and Todd Arvidson in Purcell, Oklahoma.
	Marlis Wessely, St. Polten, Austria Marlis started her riding career at age seven, on a pony name ³Blitzi². From there, she moved up to her mom¹s Appaloosa, and it wasn¹t long before she discovered the virtues of the Quarter Horse. Her main squeeze is a gelding named JBL Wish Me Luck, on whom she¹s really cleaning up. She has won in Western Pleasure, Trail Class, Halter, Horsemanship and Reining, and now she has her sights set on the summer 2002 Youth World Cup in Texas.