MBNA Foxhall Cup Draws Record Entries Olympic and World Championship Veterans Plan To Compete

ATLANTA (April 2, 2002) –The MBNA Foxhall Cup, the National Championship of Eventing, has drawn a record 130 entries to compete at Foxhall Farm in Atlanta, GA, on April 18 – 21, 2002. Included in the entries are Olympic and World Championship veterans from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia.

The Cup, now in its third year, hosts the MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI***, the first of five 2002 selection trials for USET riders hoping to qualify to represent the United States at the Eventing World Championships to be contested at the World Equestrian Games in Spain in September. The World Equestrian Games are held every four years and, other than the Olympics, are the world’s most important equestrian competition. For the first time this year, seven world championships will be decided at the World Games: eventing, dressage, show jumping, endurance, driving, vaulting, and – for the first time ever – reining.

Leading the list of entries for the MBNA Foxhall Cup are Sydney Olympians Karen & David O’Connor of The Plains, VA, Phillip Dutton of Australia, Robert Costello of Southern Pines, NC and Julie Burns of Atlanta, GA. Other top riders include 5-time Olympian Bruce Davidson of Unionville, PA, Davidson’s son Buck, also of Unionville, PA, and 2001 Foxhall Cup Reserve Champion Kim Vinoski of Scottsville, VA.

David O'Connor won the first Olympic Gold Medal for the United States Equestrian Team (USET) since 1984 when he clinched the individual eventing championship at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, with the best score in Olympic history. He also helped the USET capture the team Bronze Medal.

Karen O’Connor, David’s wife, shared the team Bronze Medal in Sydney and also the team Silver in Atlanta in 1996 with her husband. Karen returns to Foxhall as the defending champion, having won the 2001 MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI*** on Prince Panache.

Australian Phillip Dutton made his mark on the international eventing scene in 1996 when he earned a team Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA. He earned his second Olympic team Gold Medal in Sydney in 2000. Dutton placed 2nd and 4th at the 2000 MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI***.

Robert Costello finished eighth and Julie Burns finished ninth in the individual competition at the Sydney Olympic Games to give the U.S. three top-ten placings. Both riders achieved this success in their first Olympic experience.

Bruce Davidson, a two-time World Three Day Event Champion, has been the U.S. Combined Training Association’s (USCTA) Rider of the Year a record 14 times. He was a member of two Gold Medal-winning U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Olympic squads, at Montreal in 1976 and Los Angeles in 1984, as well as Silver Medal-winning teams at Munich in 1972 and Atlanta in 1996. In 2000, he took fourth place at the Foxhall Cup CCI***. His son Buck Davidson has won the Markham Trophy as the highest placing Young Rider in a USET Championship three times and rode for the United States at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

The MBNA Foxhall Cup will also host a dressage competition featuring Olympic-level athletes. The Grand Prix test will be on Friday, April 19, the second day of the CCI’s dressage competition. The musical freestyle will be on Sunday, April 21, prior to the conclusion of the stadium jumping phase of the eventing championship. A purse of $20,000 will be awarded to the winners of these dressage events.

The MBNA Foxhall Cup is a unique way for horse-lovers to see top dressage competition as well as watch the nation’s top eventing riders competing for the honor of representing the United States at the World Equestrian Games. For more information about the MBNA Foxhall Cup, including how to order tickets, please visit www.foxhallcup.com.

About MBNA Foxhall Cup
Established in 2000 by Jim Richards, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is held in Douglas County, Georgia every spring. The three-star level eventing competition featuring dressage, cross-country and show jumping is designated as the National Championship of Eventing and serves as the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Three-Star Spring Championship. The MBNA Foxhall Cup donates a portion of its profits to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta-based catastrophic care hospital that treats individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord injuries. For more information, please visit www.foxhallcup.com

About the Foxhall Flower Show
The inaugural Foxhall Flower Show will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 18th–21st, 2002, at Foxhall Farms. Based on the spirit, tradition and elegance of outdoor European flower shows, the growing event will be the largest open-air flower show in the eastern United States and offers over $100,000 in prizes. Proceeds will benefit botanical gardens of Georgia. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.foxhallflowershow.com.

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