Stratton Mountain Inn To Sponsor The Vermont Summer Festival Grand Prix Pavilion

East Dorset, Vermont—March 12, 2002 - The Stratton Mountain Inn has become the Grand Prix Pavilion Sponsor for the 5-week-long Vermont Summer Festival Horse Show to be held at the Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, Vermont, July 10 through August 11, 2002.

"Support and involvement of area businesses is a critical element in staging an event such as ours," stated Dotty Ammerman, Vermont Summer Festival Executive Director. "We are especially pleased with our relationship with the Stratton Mountain Inn because they offer the type of accommodation and resort environment that so many of our show participants are looking for."

David Batease, Stratton Mountain Inn General Manager, added, "We are delighted to be associated with the Vermont Summer Festival and look forward to hosting its participants at the Stratton Mountain Inn or the Lodge at Stratton. This partnership is a natural fit because the horse show is becoming a permanent summer fixture and a tradition in southern Vermont, and the Stratton Mountain Inn has a long history in the community."

The Vermont Summer Festival is New England’s largest "AA" rated hunter-jumper horse show circuit. This year’s Festival includes five USET-recognized $35,000 Grand Prix and five $10,000 Mini Prix. Each of the five weeks will also feature a $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper class, part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series which determines which junior and amateur/owner riders will qualify to ride at the 2002 National Horse Show.

There will also be Marshall & Sterling and North American League Child/Adult Classics and a NAL Open Speed class.

For further information on the 2002 Vermont Summer Festival, please call 802-496-4878, or visit the Vermont Summer Festival website at www.vt-summerfestival.com.