Cambridge, Ontario – November 2, 2003 - Show jumping athlete Keean White of Cambridge, ON, enjoyed a seventh place finish in the $75,000 Syracuse Invitational in Syracuse, NY, on November 1.

The $75,000 Syracuse Invitational saw 25 leading show jumping riders invited to compete. The fifth rider into the ring, White was the first of twelve riders to post a clear round over the test set by British course designer, Richard Jeffrey. Returning first in the jump-off, White had the fastest time of the night but a rail down at the second-last fence cost him the win with Arriscraft Rocca, a nine-year-old selle francais gelding owned by Ridgeview Stables of Puslinch, ON. The class was won by Olympic gold and silver medallist Leslie Howard of Westport, CT, riding CoCu.

“Arriscraft Rocca jumped one of the best classes of his life,” exclaimed White, 20. “I’ve been working on a few things to help him be competitive at the international level and I feel like we are really starting to get somewhere.”

White was recently named the 2003 Professional Athlete of the Year by the City of Cambridge. Highlights of his 2003 season include winning individual silver and team gold medals at the North American Young Riders’ Championship for equestrian athletes aged 16-21. White was also named the traveling alternate for the Canadian Show Jumping Team at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and made his international debut as a member of the Canadian Show Jumping Team competing in the Nations’ Cup competition held during the CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters tournament in Calgary, AB.