Lake Placid, NY–March 31, 2004–The Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows return to the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, June 30 – July 11, 2004 at their fabulous horse show facility at the North Elba Showgrounds in Lake Placid, NY. The Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows will be one of the last stops between the Olympic Show Jumping Trials and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and some or all of the U.S.’s Olympic show jumping riders are expected in Lake Placid before they head off to Athens.

The Show Jumping Selection Trials to choose this country’s horses and riders for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games will be held in Del Mar and San Juan Capistrano, CA in May. Since the Trials are being held in May, the team representing the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece will have been chosen prior to this summer’s Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows. In all likelihood, the riders chosen for the Olympic show jumping team will be in Lake Placid for the annual horse shows. This will give everyone in Lake Placid a chance to see Olympic riders in action before they head off to the Games, as has often been the case with previous Olympiads.

“Lake Placid has a long history of hosting our Olympic riders,” said Lake Placid Horse Show Association Chairman Richard M. Feldman. “Several times we have hosted Olympic trials as part of our horse shows and other years, like this year, we’ve had the chance to host part or all of our team here before they head off to the Games.”

Some of the show jumping superstars expected to compete at this year’s Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows include past Olympians such as Margie Goldstein-Engle, Nona Garson, Anne Kursinski, Lauren Hough, Lisa Jacquin, and Peter Leone.

The Lake Placid Horse Shows include two AGA Grandprix Series events, the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid on Sunday, July 4, which will be televised on Outdoor Life Network (OLN), and the $50,000 Hermès I Love New York Grandprix on Saturday, July 10.

Other special features of the 2004 Lake Placid Horse Shows include Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic series events for junior and amateur-owner riders. At the Lake Placid Horse Show, the Shamrock Ventures LLC High Junior Jumper Classic and the Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic both take place on Sunday, July 4. At the I Love New York Horse Show, the Shamrock Ventures LLC High Junior Jumper Classic and the Charlotte Bobcats $10,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic take place on Saturday, July 10. The standings on the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series help determine which junior riders and which amateur-owner riders will qualify to ride in the 2004 National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, in November.

Ariat Kids Day will be held on Friday, July 2 from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm. This event, available to the first 100 applicants affiliated with a club at a cost of $5 per child, is an educational and fun event with activities such as a stable tour, jumper course walk, farrier visit, and question-and-answer seminar on safety in and out of the ring. There will also be a raffle, giveaways, lunch and an autograph session.

The 2004 Lake Placid Horse Show schedule also includes classes such as the 1.40m Hilton Lake Placid Resort Open Jumper Stake on Wednesday, June 30; the 1.45m Whiteface Mountain Open Jumper class on Thursday, July 1; the 1.40m Lake Placid Resort North American League (NAL) Open Speed Stake and the 1.50m Turtle Lane Farm Open Jumper Welcome Stake on Friday, July 2; the Charlotte Bobcats $7,500 Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic on July 3, and finishing the week at the Lake Placid Horse Show is the Juliam Farm Lead Line and C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery Parade of Champions on Sunday, July 4, prior to the $50,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid. In addition to these premier events in the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field, on Sunday, July 4, there is also a full day of Hunter Classics in the Hunter Rings.

The 2004 I Love New York Horse Shows schedule includes the 1.45m Open Jumper Stake on Wednesday, July 7; the 1.40m NAL Open Jumper Speed Stake and the 1.50m Pin Oak Farm Open Jumper Stake on Thursday, July 8; the Nicola’s Family Restaurants 1.45m Open Jumper class and the Price Chopper 1.40m Speed Challenge on Friday, July 9; and the Lake Placid Lodge WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic as well as the WIHS Children’s Jumper Classic on Sunday, July 11. Both of these events are member events of the WIHS Championship series and these classes will count as bonus points towards the Championships held at the Washington International Horse Show.

The highlight of the week is the $50,000 Hermès I Love New York Grand Prix on Saturday, July 10. After the Grand Prix, the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence will be awarded to the rider who has won the most prize money in the two Grand Prix combined. This year, for the first time, the Lake Placid Horse Shows will also offer the $25,000 Hidden Creek Challenge, to be awarded to any rider who wins both the Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid and the Hermès I Love New York Grand Prix. The rider may win the two Grand Prix on different horses.

Budweiser has recently announced the start of the $60,000 Tri-Budweiser Challenge which will award $60,000 to any horse winning all three of the following events: the $75,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Devon, the $100,000 Budweiser Upperville Jumper Classic, and the $50,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid.

A special treat at this year’s I Love New York Horse Show is the 12th annual Doggie Costume Contest. This Lake Placid favorite returns on Saturday, July 10 at noon. All people with leashed dogs in costume will be admitted to the horse show at no charge. Contestants will strut their stuff in a special ring set up near the horse show’s Grand Prix ring at the North Elba Showgrounds. There is no entry fee, and all entrants will receive treats. Awards, including the Lulu Perpetual Trophy for the funniest costume, will be presented to this year’s “top dogs.”

The 2004 Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New Horse Show sponsors include A& M Beverages, Adirondack Life, 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., 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, Hermès, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, The Hooker Family, Juliam Farm, Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid Resort Hotels & Golf Club, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, The Levy Family, Lonesome Landing Garden Center, M&M Mars, McDonald’s, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Mountain Horse, Mr. Mike’s Pizza & Pasta, Muirfield Insurance, Inc., Nicola’s Over Main, North Elba Park District, On a Fence Designs & Rentals, ORDA/Whiteface Mountain, The Pepsi Bottling Group, The Phelps School, Pin Oak Farm, Price Chopper, Red-Kap Sales, Sidelines, Shamrock Ventures LLC, Unusual Silver, U.S. Olympic Spirit Store, Wild Horse Wines and WPTZ News Channel 5.

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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