Margie Engle Returns to Defend Her Title at Hampton Classic Horse Show

Bridgehampton, NY—August 26, 2003— Three-time winner of the $150,000 Prudential Financial Hampton Classic Grand Prix, Margie Engle of Wellington, FL is back this year to compete at the 28th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton, NY.

Engle who has won the class a record three consecutive times, will compete in the $150,000 Prudential Financial Hampton Classic Grand Prix, a member event of the King Shavings U.S Grand Prix League on Sunday, August 31 aboard Hidden Creek’s Jones.

Straight off a Team Gold Medal victory at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic earlier in August, Engle is fit to compete and knows the large grass Grand Prix Ring at the Hampton Classic well. “This is the nicest Grand Prix in the country. It’s the closest show we have to a European show. There are a lot of spectators, and they are educated spectators who get behind the riders,” she said.

A seasoned Hampton Classic competitor, Engle has been coming to the Hamptons “forever.” In 2000, Engle won the week’s highlighted event, the $150,000 Prudential Financial Grand Prix aboard Hidden Creek’s Laurel. This pair proved themselves to be the best again in 2001 and found themselves in the winner’s circle for the second consecutive year. In 2002, Engle piloted Hidden Creek’s Perin to victory, winning the Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic for a record three consecutive years.

While Hidden Creek’s Perin, Engle’s mount for the Pan American Games, is in Calgary, Canada, and with Hidden Creek’s Laurel in retirement, Hidden Creek’s Jones will have a chance to come out of the shadows of his stable mates.

The eleven-year-old gelding has never competed in the Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic, but has already earned top finishes this summer. Engle piloted Jones to a win the$50,000 I Love New York Grand Prix at the Lake Placid Horse Show in Lake Placid, NY in July. The pair also boasts a second place finish at the prestigious $100,000 American Jumping Classic in Kings Mill, OH. “He’s a careful horse, a real trier, and has been very consistent,” Engle explained.

Each year the Hampton Classic Horse Show attracts more than 50,000 spectators and celebrities to watch the country’s best horses and riders compete. With the nation’s best show jumping riders attending the show and a star-studded audience cheering them on, the Hampton Classic is a weeklong sports and entertainment spectacle.

Five show rings, plus vendors, restaurants, and the children’s area are operating throughout the week. Admission is $5 per person or $15 per carload, with children under 6 admitted free. Reserved grandstand seating for Grand Prix Sunday, August 31, is $15 per person (in addition to $5/person or $15/carload admission) or $25 per person in the special Premium Seating center sections. Parking is free throughout the show week.

www.hamptonclassic.com

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