Jeff Welles of Newtown, CT was the fourth of 28 entries to try the 10-jump, one-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds. He took the lead by riding Hurricane to a fault-free ride in 48.237 seconds. Five riders later, Ward, the top ranked rider on the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Show Jumping Rider List and winner of last Sunday’s $50,000 Rolex USET Show Jumping Championship, moved Welles out of the lead by riding Romeo to a clean ride in 47.172 seconds.

Ward was the only one of the remaining entries to beat that score when he rode Éclair to a clean ride in 46.939 seconds to secure the top two places in the class and solidify his position atop the NAL Open Speed Division standings. Welles and Hurricane finished third.

Margie Goldstein Engle of Wellington, FL, currently ranked number two to Ward on the USET Show Jumping List, actually beat Ward’s winning time when she finished in 45.829 seconds on Camille. However, a rail down at the second-to-last fence added four penalty seconds to their time and dropped them to fifth place.

The North American League (NAL) offers year-long series in six divisions – Children’s Hunter, Adult Hunter, Children’s Jumper, Adult Jumper, Pony Jumper and Open Jumper. The Series includes classes held at hundreds of horse shows across the United States and Canada. Finals for all divisions are held at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA, in October.

The Lake Placid Horse Show concludes Sunday with the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid Presented by Jaguar/Land Rover for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy. The Grandprix will be preceded by the Juliam Farm Leadline Class for riders up to age seven. After off-days on Monday and Tuesday, the 25th annual I Love New York Horse Show opens at the North Elba Showgrounds and runs July 3-7. The highlight of the I Love New York Horse Show is the $50,000 I Love New York Grandprix on Saturday, July 6.

Overall, more than 1300 horses and the nation’s best show jumping riders are at the Lake Placid Horse Show competing for $360,000 prize money. In addition to the two AGA Grandprix Series events and North American League (NAL) classes, the schedule also includes Adult/Children's Jumper events and Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic series events for junior riders and amateur/owner riders. There are also numerous hunter and equitation divisions including World Championship Hunter Rider Classes and Hunter Classics.

The Lake Placid Horse Shows are made possible through the generosity of many supporters and sponsors. Sponsors for the 2002 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows include A&M Beverages, Inc., Adirondack Rustic, American Grandprix Association, Anonymous, Ariat, Brandy Parfums, Inc., Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch, Inc., C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., Jane F. Clark, Lisa A. H. Cudahy, Der-Dau Custom Made Boots, David Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Golden Arrow Hotel, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, Jaguar, Juliam Farm, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors’ Bureau, Lake Placid Lodge, Land Rover, Lonesome Landing, M & M Mars, McDonalds, Miller’s Harness Company, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Nicola’s Family Restaurants, On a Fence Designs and Rentals, ORDA-Whiteface Mountain, the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, Inc., Pin Oak Farm, Price Chopper, Red Kap Sales, Inc./Citgo, Salamander Farm, Sand Castle Farm, Sidelines, Supracor, The Brown Dog Deli & Wine Bar, The Country Saddler, Ltd., The Hooker Family, The Phelps School, The Phillips Family, Town of North Elba Park District, Trelawny Farm, Turtle Lane Farm, Unusual Silver, Wild Horse Winery, and WPTZ News Channel 5.

The Lake Placid horse shows feature four rings of action with competition running from 8:00 a.m. to late afternoon, Wednesday through Sunday each week. Admission to the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows is just $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the gate. Guided walking tours of the Lake Placid Horse Shows are available at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday through Friday, for just $1.00. Tours leave from the Lake Placid Horse Show retail booth.

For more information, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit the web site at www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.

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