Equestrian Teams and Music Stars Unite at Super Ride XII to Further Cancer Support and Awareness

Online, April 30, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Super Ride XII: International Festival of the Equestrian Arts will be held at the Texas Rose Horse Park, near Lindale (TX), from June 17 - 21, 2014.

The competition will bring together Equestrian Drill Teams, Mounted Color Guard Units, (Dressage Based) Quadrille, Vaulting and Escaramuza teams from throughout the United States and beyond for a series of championship level competitions which includes categories for adult, youth, novice, and challenged riders.

The City of Lindale (TX) and the Greater Lindale Area Chamber of Commerce continue as the event's official hosts and lead sponsors. Lindale and the Texas Rose Horse Park have been home to Super Ride since 2008.

"This competition is like no other," says Gary Bonner, Executive Director of Super Ride. "The team format embraced by Super Ride promotes diversity, teaches cooperation and appeals to audiences from all segments of the population. An important facet of our marketing program is Super Ride's broad-based appeal to the horse world's 'non-elitist' majority. Young people introduced to riding or to vaulting as children oftencontinue to embrace the sport well into adulthood. Each year teams return to Super Ride to renew friendships, share life experiences and enjoy high level competition in a relaxed and supportive environment."

"The connection between teams has certainly deepened through the years," adds Gary's wife, Ghostrider Equestrian Drill Team Founder and Drillmaster, Pam Bonner. "It is quite fulfilling to see the many friendships that Super Ride has fostered over the past decade."

"Rarely in the history of modern equestrian sport has so diverse a group of competitors come together for a national and international event", says Sara Bass, a veteran of the Ghostrider's organization and the Super Ride XII Competition Manager. "Our format uniquely combines competitions that reflect a variety of traditions, cultures and histories - drawing upon both the military and civilian experiences of horsewomen and horsemen from all continents. With the addition of Vaulting, the International Quadrille and the colorful Escaramuza competitions, we expect the 2014 event to be quite well received."

In addition to sportsmanship and cooperation, the Super Ride festival promotes philanthropy and civic responsibility. The 2014 tournament will benefit Yes! BeatLiverTumors.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of patients diagnosed with primary or metastatic cancers of the liver. It is an oft forgotten population of cancer patients, and the attention focused by Super Ride will help to reinforce that it is possible to live fully in spite of a devastating diagnosis.

In support of this effort, the Super Ride Organizing Committee will co-sponsor a benefit concert at the horse park on Friday evening June 20 at 7:30 p.m. "Hope in the Stars" will feature the contemporary country music stylings of Clay Thrash and Wade Hayes.

A native of Bethel Acres, Oklahoma (USA), Mr. Hayes (45) is himself a cancer survivor.

Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, Hayes made his debut with a gold-certified album Old Enough to Know Better. Its title track, which served as his debut single, reached Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and three more singles from it all reached Top Ten as well. Other significant releases have included: On a Good Night (1996), How Do You Sleep At Night (1997), When The Wrong One Loves You Right (1997) and the poignant Is It Already Time (2012), a ballad about his battle with colon cancer.

East Texas native Clay Thrash is a rising star whose self-titled debut album (2013) featured original compositions including: My Heart and I Won't Ever Let Go.

"Many patients are told that their cancer has spread, and are given few if any options", says YES! Founder, cancer survivor and Ghostriders member Suzanne Lindley. "Super Ride participants will highlight HOPE, in showing their support for our survivors and bringing awareness to our mission."

Throughout the festival, the public will have many opportunities to support HOPE and greater awareness through the purchase of concert tickets, by making on-line donations and in supporting a campaign by United States Equestrian Drill Association All-Star riders to raise funds for YES! via the Hope in The Stars campaign.

Anchored by well-known rodeo announcer Alan Moorhead, the Super Ride XII tournament will offer competitions including the 2014 United States Equestrian Drill Championship, the Super Ride International Quadrille Championship, the Super Ride Vaulting Celebration and the World Escaramuza Challenge.

Highlights of the event will be televised nationally as a special presentation of With Equestrian Tact: The International Video Magazine of the Equestrian Sports.

For more information on Super Ride XII: International Festival of the Equestrian Arts, or to become a sponsor of the event or scholarship donor, please visit www.superride.org or call 972-679-0770.

About Super Ride XII: International Festival of the Equestrian Arts:

Billed as the "World Series of Team Riding", Super Ride actively promotes outreach to participants and audiences from all communities. The organizers champion the inclusion of challenged riders and seek to provide a viable bridge between rural, urban and suburban communities.

About YES!:

YES! is a grassroots organization that was created to provide information, resources, and support for anyone that is affected by cancers of the liver. For more information visit www.BeatLiverTumors.org or call the Survivor Line at 877-937-7478.