Second Week of Vermont Summer Festival Opens

East Dorset, VT—July 16, 2003—The Vermont Summer Festival opened its second week of competition, the Manchester Classic Horse Show, July 16-20, at the Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT.

Louise Serio of Kennett Square, PA, who piloted Gray Slipper, owned by Bridget Hallman, to Championship honors in the Second Year Green Working Hunter Division at the Manchester Summer Festival, July 9-13, continued her winning ways. On July 16, Serio rode another of Hallman’s horses, Laissez Faire, to a first and a second place finish over fences in the First Year Green Working Hunter Division.

Rachael Kennedy of Brookeville, MD aboard Shablis, owned by Nicole Chaney, topped the field of seven horse-and-rider combinations to earn three blue ribbons in the Green Conformation Hunter Division. The pair earned top honors in the Model class as well as over fences and under saddle.

In the jumper divisions, junior rider Cayce Harrison, winner of the individual Gold Medal at last year’s North American Young Riders Championships, rode Mania Jolly, owned by Double H Farm, to win the first of the week’s Open Jumper classes over a field of fourteen horse-and-rider combinations. Former USET Talent Search Finals champion David Oliynyk rode his Celebrate and finished in second place behind Harrison.

Earlier in the day, the Schooling Jumper Division began the week’s jumper action in the Grand Prix Ring. Blythe Masters of New York, NY aboard her Kings Ransom bested a large field of 62 entries to take home the blue ribbon. Riding for owner Sarah Alveraz, Katie Milton rode Rollerball to a second place finish in the class.

Canadian Olympian Harold Chopping, now of Hampton Falls, NH, earned top honors in the High Preliminary Jumper Division. Chopping rode Rabaila, owned by Silver Oak Equestrian Centre, to the win.

The Vermont Summer Festival is New England’s largest “AA” rated hunter/jumper horse show. This year’s event includes five USET-recognized $35,000 Grand Prix to be held on the last day of each show and five $10,000 Mini Prix to be held on the Friday of each show. Each of the five weeks also features 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 2003 National Horse Show.

For further information on the 2003 Vermont Summer Festival, please call (802) 362-9023, or visit the Vermont Summer Festival website at
www.vt-summerfestival.com.