Jimmy Torano Wins $75,000 Hermès I Love New York Grandprix CSI 2* To Close 28th Annual I Love New York Horse Show

Lake Placid, NY—July 10, 2005—Jimmy Torano of Fort Lauderdale, FL rode Aguila to victory in the $75,000 Hermès I Love New York Grandprix CSI 2* to close the 28th annual I Love New York Horse Show.

Six of 19 entries qualified for the tiebreaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the Steve Stephens-designed 16-jump first-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds. Torano was the third to return for the eight-jump tiebreaker and he finished clean in 40.99 seconds on his 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood to set the mark to beat.

Of the three remaining entries, the only challenge to Torano was from Amy Momrow of Albany, NY. She finished fault-free on her 8-year-old Warmblood, Summer Storm, but her time of 42.13 seconds left her in second place and gave the win to Torano.

“Aguila had stifle injury in 2004 and his first show back was here in Lake Placid,” Torano said. “He came back from the injury better than he ever was before and it’s great for him to win here one year after his return.”

Momrow, a rookie on the American Grandprix Association Show Jumping Series, had only praise for her young mount. “Summer Storm is only eight and I’m still trying to figure him out,” she said. “My hope today was to try to go clean and learn from the experience. I learn something every time I go in the ring.”

After the Grand Prix, the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence was awarded to Torano for having won the most total prize money in the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows’ two Grand Prix events. Although Torano finished out of the money in the first week’s $60,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy, his win in the second week’s $75,000 event was enough to earn him the award.

The horse show also offered the $25,000 Hidden Creek Challenge, with $25,000 to be awarded to any horse-and-rider combination winning both the Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI 2* and the Hermès I Love New York Grandprix CSI 2*. After his win in the first week’s Grandprix, Kent Farrington gave it a shot but his four first-round faults left him in eighth place and denied him the Hidden Creek bonus.

Also riding into the winner’s circle on the final day of show jumping’s two-week stay in the Adirondacks was Julie Welles of West Simsbury, CT who rode to victory in the Kathy Scholl Equitation Classic sponsored by the Levy Family. Welles topped a field of 19 riders with second place going to Kimberly McCormack of Clermont, NJ.

Also featured on the horse shows’ final day were the Lake Placid Lodge WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic won by Alissa Legassick on DiNero and the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau WIHS Children’s Jumper Classic won by Lauren Walter on Buzz. Both these classes are member events of the WIHS Championship Series and count as points towards the Championship held at the Washington International Horse Show in October. The Levy Family Low Junior Jumper Classic was won by Cara Dayton on Lardi, the Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic was won by Erin Holder on Shinkansen and the Pepsi Pony Hunter Classic was won by Alex Paradyzs on Elite Storm Front to round out the schedule on the horse shows’ final day.

The 2005 I Love New York Horse Show schedule also included the WPTZ NewsChannel 5 1.35m Jump-off won by Darragh Kerins on Hot Wheels; the LakePlacid News/Adirondack Daily Enterprise 1.45m Jump-off won by Jimmy Toranoon Aguila; the $15,000 Pin Oak Farm 1.50m Jump-off won by Ramiro Quintana on Carousel; the Wild Horse Winery North American League (NAL) 1.40m Speed Stake won by Lauren Bass on Firefly; the 1.40m Price Chopper Speed Challenge won by Margie Engle on Calippo; the 1.45m Nicola’s Restaurants Open Jumper class won by Max Amaya on Sonate S; the Shamrock Ventures LLC High Junior Jumper Classic won by Katie Brown on Rashnu; and the Charlotte Bobcats Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic won by Louis Jacobs on Santa Cruz. Both of these Classics are member events of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic series.

The horse shows’ 13th annual Doggie Costume Contest, sponsored by Lonesome Landing and the Brown Dog Café and Wine Bar was won by the entry owned by Charlotte and Melissa Jacobs whose two dogs were dressed as the “Budweiser Hitch.” The winning local entry was the “Gabby” owned by Brenda Jock of Lake Placid whose eight-week-old Border Collie was dressed as the cartoon skunk Pepe Le Pew.

Prior to the I Love New York Horse Show, the Lake Placid Horse Show featuredthe $60,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI 2* for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy won by Kent Farrington on Madison; the $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic won by Danielle Torano on Lojana; the $10,000 Shamrock Ventures LLC High Junior Jumper Classic won by Whitney Weeks on Subliem; the 1.35m Adirondack Store Jump-off won by Laura Chapot on Noteworthy; the 1.40m Hilton Lake Placid Resort Speed Challenge won by Laura Chapot on Samantha; the 1.45m Whiteface Mountain Open Jumper class won by Jimmy Torano on Aguila; the 1.35m Hilton Lake Placid Resort Time First Jump-Off won by Darragh Kerins on Far West; the 1.40m Lake Placid Resort North American League (NAL) Open Speed Stake won by Laura Chapot on Samantha; the 1.50m Turtle Lane Farm Open Jumper Welcome Stake won by Jeff Welles on Armani; the 1.45m Golden Arrow Open Jumper class won by Laura Chapot on Sprite; the Y106.3 Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic won by Blythe Masters on Camaro 48; the Whiteface Lodge NAL Adult Amateur Jumper Classic won by Murray Kessler on All That; the Adirondack Life Low Junior Jumper Classic won by Julie Welles on Lapeti; and the Sidelines NAL Adult Amateur

Hunter Classic won by Pamela Vance on Carrier. The horse show also celebrated the show’s youngest riders with the Juliam Farm Lead Line Class in the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Arena following the C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery Parade of Champions.

The 2005 Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New York Horse Show sponsorsinclude A& M Beverages, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Store, American Grandprix Association, Anonymous, Ariat International, Inc., Barbara & Michael Bitterman, Brandy Parfums, Ltd., The Brown Dog Café and Wine Bar, Budweiser, The Charlotte Bobcats, Jane Forbes Clark, C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., Clothes Line Laundry, The Cottage Café, The Country Saddler, Ltd., David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Der Dau Custom Boots and Shoes, Fox Run, Ltd., Golden Arrow Hotel, Grill 211, Hermès, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, The Hooker Family, Horse Watch, James Leslie Parker Photography,

Juliam Farm, Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid Resort Hotel & Golf Club, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, The Levy Family, Lonesome Landing Garden Center, McDonald’s, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Mountain Horse, Mr. Mike’s Pizza & Pasta, Muirfield Insurance, Inc., Nicola’s On Main, North Elba Park District, On a Fence Designs & Rentals, ORDA/Whiteface Mountain, The Phillips Family, Pin Oak Farm, Price Chopper, Red-Kap Sales, Ruthie’s Run, Sidelines, Shamrock Ventures LLC, SLVR by Aerogear, Turtle Lane Farm, The Tytel Family, Unusual Silver, U.S. Olympic Spirit Store, The Whiteface Lodge, Wild Horse Wines, Woodlea Farms, WPTZ News Channel 5, and Y106.3 – Mountain Communications LLC.

For more information on the 2005 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.