February 10, 2003-- Wellington, FL--The third week of the 2003 Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, FL, brought more exciting competition to the show grounds with the Kilkenny/ICH Internationale, February 5-9.

Frederico Sztyrle of Argentina rode Caya, owned by the Sag Pond Farm of Sagaponack, NY, to the win in the featured class of the weekend, the $50,000 Kilkenny/ICH Internationale Cup. Sztyrle trains with Joe Fargis in Sagaponack, NY. Sztyrle and McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, who finished second aboard Rio, were the only two riders out of a starting field of 33 to ride clear in the first round to qualify for the jump-off. Both riders produced faultless jump-off rounds; however, Ward crossed though the timers just a half a second slower than Sztyrle to put him in second place.

Earlier in the week, Cara Raether, of New York City, earned the blue ribbon in the $5,000 NAL Americhoice Challenge aboard Landato, owned by Trelawny Farm. Out of the starting field of 88 horse-and-rider combinations, 25 went clear of which Raether produced the fastest time of 60.480 seconds to secure the win. Second place finisher Meredith Beerbaum and Hyperion Farm’s Donnerlitchen, crossed through the finish line in a time of 61.586 seconds.

Canadian Eric Lamaze aboard Millcreek’s Rosalind, took first place in the $20,000 1.5 Meter Classic. Of the 34 entries in the class, 11 horses qualified for the jump-off. Third to go in the jump-off, Lamaze turned in a clear round along with the time that held up as the fastest for the remainder of the class. McLain Ward aboard Couletto K James turned in a clear round and a time that was only 8/100 of a second slower than Lamaze’s to put him in second place. Joe Fargis aboard Edgar was third.

The equitation rings along with the jumper rings were busy all week. The BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search was divided into two sections. Abby Carpenter won the first section and Haylie Jayne won the second. Michael Morrissey finished second in the first section of the BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search and then went on to top 71 entries in the Washington International Horse Show Equitation Class.

The ASPCA Maclay was also split into two sections, with Daisy Johnson winning the Section A and Leigh Healey taking top honors in Section B. Danielle Goldstein finished first in the USA Equestrian Medal over the rest of the 45 entries.

Admission to the Winter Equestrian Festival at Wellington is free every Wednesday, and children under 12 are always admitted free. Adult admission is $5.00 on Thursdays and Fridays, $10.00 on Saturdays, and $15.00 on Sundays. Senior citizens are $5.00 every Thursday through Sunday. All adults who attend the Festival any Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday will receive a coupon entitling them to a two-for-one admission on that weekend.

For more information on the Winter Equestrian Festival and all its exciting events and activities, please call Stadium Jumping, Inc. in Wellington at (561) 793-JUMP or visit www.stadiumjumping.com.

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Winter Equestrian Festival Dates:

(Each week runs Wednesday through Sunday beginning at 8:00 AM)

Florida Classic/WCHR Spectacular – February 12 – 16
Florida Dressage Classic –February 13 - 16
Zada Enterprises, LLC Wellington Masters – February 19 – 23
Tommy Bahama Palm Beach Open – February 26 – March 2
Cosequin Wellington Finale – March 5 – 9
Zada Enterprises, LLC WEF Dressage Classic – March 13 – 16