USET
National Pair Horse Championship to Highlight Driving Competition
at 2003 Fair Hill International
Fair Hill, MD—September 24, 2003—The U.S. Equestrian
Team (USET) National Pair Horse Championship will highlight the
driving competitions at the 15th annual Fair Hill International
Festival in the Country at the Fair Hill Natural Resources Area
in beautiful Fair Hill, MD, October 23-26, 2003.
Several
of the nation’s leading drivers will be on hand to compete
in the Championship. Heading the list is Larry Poulin of Petersham,
MA, an eight-time World Championship veteran. Poulin has won the
USET Pairs Championship five times (1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, and
1995). He will be making Fair Hill one of his first competitions
following his return from the 2003 Pairs World Championships,
where he helped the U.S. finish eighth out of 20 teams.
In
addition to the USET Championship, the 2003 Fair Hill International
showcases numerous other top driving divisions. Fair Hill’s
Advanced Singles and Four-in-Hand competitions will serve as selection
trials to determine the horses and drivers who will represent
the United States and Canada in the 2004 Singles World Championship
in Flyinge, Sweden and those who will represent the United States
in the Four-in-Hand World Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
Among
the many notable drivers competing in the various divisions are
Fred Merriam of Newfane, VT; Bill Long of Southern Pines, NC;
and Boots Wright of Lobelia, NC.
Merriam
was the individual Bronze Medalist at the 2002 Singles World Championship.
He is also the defending champion in the Fair Hill International
Advanced Single Horse division. Long, meanwhile, has been one
of the most successful Four-in-Hand drivers in America, having
been selected to compete in six World Championships (1984, 1988,
1990, 1992, 1994, and 2000). Wright, a long-time horsewoman, has
also been very successful as a Pony Four-in-Hand driver. In the
2003 Pony Driving World Championships in Austria, Wright helped
the U.S. earn a sixth place finish out of 15 teams competing.
Besides
outstanding driving competition, this year’s Fair Hill International
features exciting eventing championships— the 2003 Pan American
Eventing Championships, the Fair Hill International CCI***, and
the USET Fall Eventing Championship.
Since
there was no eventing at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Fair Hill International has been
chosen by the Fédération Equestre Internationale
(International Equestrian Federation – FEI) to host this
year’s Pan American Eventing Championship. Horses and riders
from throughout North and South America and Bermuda are expected
to compete for team and individual medals.
The
2003 Fair Hill CCI***, which regularly draws Olympic and World
Championship veterans, will function as the final phase in a three-event
competition for the nation’s top eventing horses and riders.
Nunn Finer Products will award one of its new Wofford Cross-Country
Classic saddles to the rider who completes the Morven Park CCI*,
the Radnor Hunt CCI**, and the Fair Hill International CCI***
with the lowest cumulative score. John Nunn of Nunn Finer Products
and legendary eventing rider and coach Jim Wofford, on whose custom
eventing saddle the Wofford Classic was based, will present the
saddle at the Fair Hill awards ceremony.
Olympic
medal-winners Phillip Dutton of Australia, Karen O’Connor,
Nina Fout, Linden Wiesman, and Bruce Davidson regularly compete
at the Fair Hill International, as does defending Champion David
O’Connor, the 2000 Sydney Olympic individual Gold Medalist
and 2002 World Equestrian Games team Gold Medalist. At last year’s
USET Fall Championship, David O’Connor topped the field during
his last appearance with his long-time partner, Custom Made, owned
by Xandarius LLC, who was retired following the competition.
The
2003 Fair Hill International hosts exciting equestrian competition
for several ability levels from Pony Club to CCI***. In addition
to world-class international competition this year’s event
will host the inaugural United States Pony Club (USPC) President’s
Cup competition. The President’s Cup is an Invitational Games
competition open to the top four Pony Club Senior Games teams
from the 2003 USPC Eastern Championships, which took place in
August. Members of the invited teams, comprising youngsters age
14-16, will serve as the honor guard for the Pan American Eventing
Championship closing ceremonies.
In
a prelude to the 15th annual Fair Hill International, this year’s
Fair Hill will host its second 100-Mile Endurance ride as well
a 50-Mile Endurance ride on October 18, 2003.
While
top-level equestrian competition makes the Fair Hill International
a rare treat for spectators, the amenities at Fair Hill round
out the event to provide an ideal family outing. The Country Shops
boast a wide variety of shopping and dining, featuring vendors
of tack, jewelry, artwork, pet needs, exceptional apparel and
fine gifts for the approaching holiday seasons. The Fair Hill
Club offers fine dining, while visitors seeking a more casual
snack or meal will find pubs around the Fair Hill grounds serving
classic Maryland crab-cakes and other treats.
This
year, dog agility trials return to Fair Hill with over 200 canine
competitors. The Stuart Family Miniature Horses will perform driving,
hunter/jumper and obstacle jumping demonstrations along with talks
on the care of miniature horses. Friends from the Winterthur booth
will offer quick crafts for children and a family sign-up opportunity,
and spectators can learn more about the Chesapeake Bay and environmental
concerns at the Chesapeake Foundation Booth.
The
2003 Fair Hill International Festival in the Country will benefit
Christiana Care Health System, one of the Chesapeake region’s
largest not-for-profit health care providers. Christiana Care,
which began in 1888, serves the people of Delaware, as well as
neighboring areas of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It
maintains a teaching hospital which specializes in cardiology,
cancer and women’s health services, and has trauma and neonatal
intensive care units that offer an exceptional degree of care.
For
further information on the 2003 Fair Hill International, please
call (410) 398-2111 or visit www.fairhillinternational.com.
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