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Thursday June 29, 2006 World-Class Horse Show Action in Lake Placid from June 27 - July 9 Lake Placid, NY-June 27, 2006 - More than 1200 horses are entered in the 37th annual Lake Placid Horse Show that opened Tuesday at the North Elba Showgrounds. The horse show continues through Sunday when it culminates with the $60,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI 3* Presented by RV Sales of Broward, a member event of the American Grandprix Association (AGA) national show jumping series. Heading the list of world-class riders is the defending champion in the Budweiser Grandprix, 25-year-old Kent Farrington of Southport, CT. Farrington won the Grandprix last year on Madison, the 9-year-old, Dutch Warmblood who went on to become the 2005 AGA Horse of the Year. Among those expected to challenge Farrington for top honors in the Grandprix are Margie Engle and McLain Ward, two of the four riders chosen to represent the U.S. in the show jumping World Championships to be held at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany later this summer. Engle, who has been the AGA Rider of the Year a record nine times, won a grandprix at Lake Placid six times (1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003), including a sweep of both grandprix in 2001. Ward was part of the United States' Gold Medal team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He is a three-time AGA Rider of the Year. The U.S.'s two alternates for the World Equestrian Games team are both former Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid champions, and both are entered at this year's horse shows as well. Molly Ashe emerged victorious in 1999 aboard Resolute and Jeffrey Welles won in 2000 on S & L Riviera. Other former Lake Placid Champions expected to battle for victory this year include Jimmy Torano, who will attempt to defend his championship in the $60,000 Hermès Grandprix CSI 3*, presented by the Heidegger Family, the feature event of the 29th annual I Love New York Horse Show that follows the Lake Placid Horse Show, July 4-9, as well as Laura Chapot, Alison Firestone, and Mark Leone. Few towns welcome horse show exhibitors quite like Lake Placid. Horse show flags line Main Street as village merchants fly them in front of their stores. Merchants also get into the spirit, and demonstrate their "horse sense" and artistic flair, with their displays in the Annual Equestrian Window Decorating Contest held concurrently with the horse shows. The equestrian-themed window displays are popular with horse show participants, spectators, and shoppers as local businesses welcome members of the horse show community to town. In addition to the two AGA Grandprix Series events, the 2006 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows also offer North American League, Washington International Horse Show, World Champion Hunter Rider, and Show Jumping Hall of Fame classes. Highlights of the Lake Placid Horse Show schedule include:
After the Hermès Grandprix on July 8, the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence will be awarded to the rider who has won the most prize money in Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix combined. The Lake Placid Horse Shows also offer the $25,000 Hidden Creek Challenge with $25,000 to be awarded to any horse-and-rider combination that wins both the Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI 3* and the Hermès Grandprix CSI 3*. The $60,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid CSI 3* Presented by RV Sales of Broward will be televised on Outdoor Life Network (OLN) and both Grand Prix events are FEI sanctioned, offering riders the opportunity to earn valuable points on the international rider rankings. The 2006 Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New York Horse Show sponsors include A&M Beverages, Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Store, American Grandprix Association, Animal Planet, Anonymous, Bainbridge Farms LLC, Barbara & Michael Bitterman, Brandy Parfums, Ltd., The Brown Dog Café and Wine Bar, Budweiser, Carr-Hughes Productions, The Charlotte Bobcats, Chronicle of the Horse, Jane Forbes Clark, C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., Clothes Line Laundry, The Cottage Café, The Country Saddler, Ltd., Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club, David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Deeridge Farms, Der Dau Custom Boots and Shoes, Ecogold, Equifit, Farm and Ranch Magazine, Fox Run, Ltd., Golden Arrow Hotel, Grill 211, Mr. James Harpel, The Heidegger Family, Hermès, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, The Hooker Family, Horse Watch, James Leslie Parker Photography, Juliam Farm, The Kessler Family, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, Lake Placid News, The Leone Family, The Levy Family, Lonesome Landing Garden Center, The Marantz Family, McDonald’s, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Mountain Horse, Mr. Mike’s Pizza & Pasta, Muirfield Insurance, Nicola’s On Main, North Elba Park District, On a Fence Designs & Rentals, ORDA/Whiteface Mountain, The Pepsi Bottling Group, The Phillips Family, Price Chopper, Mr. Jeffrey Prosser, Red-Kap Sales, Royal Reflections, Ruthie’s Run, RV Sales of Broward, Sand Castle Farm, Michael & Lora Schultz, Sidelines, SLVR by Aerogear, Stretton Enterprises, Turtle Lane Farm, The Weeks Family, The Whiteface Lodge, Wild Horse Wines, Woodlea Farms, WPTZ News Channel 5, and Y106.3 – Mountain Communications LLC. Admission to the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows is $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the gate. For more information, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com. |
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