Five-Time Olympian Bruce Davidson Takes Opening Day Lead At MBNA Foxhall Cup

ATLANTA (April 18, 2002) -Five-time U.S. Olympic veteran Bruce Davidson of Unionville, PA rode Welton Tangle to the best score on the first day of dressage at the 2002 MBNA Foxhall Cup, the National Championship of Eventing, at Foxhall Farm just outside Atlanta, GA.

Established in 2000 by Jim Richards, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is a three-star level eventing competition designated by USA Equestrian as the National Championship of Eventing and by the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) as its three-star Spring Championship. The title sponsor of this event is the MBNA America Bank. The MBNA Foxhall Cup donates proceeds to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta based catastrophic care hospital that treats individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord injuries.

Davison was the ninth entry of the record 99 in the starting field. Riding his 11-year-old British Thoroughbred owned by Amy Ruth DeWind of Unionville, PA, he received a score of 47.20 penalties from the panel of three judges. He then watched as the day's remaining 42 entries failed to beat his score.

Coming closest was the day's second-to-last entry, Heidi White, also of Unionville. She received a score of 50.0 penalties on Northern Spy, a 9-year-old English Thoroughbred that she owns. Canadian Kyle Carter is third with a score of 51.60 penalties on Scotia Goldrush, a 13-year-old American Thoroughbred owned by Hawkridge Farm of Sparr, FL. Diann Roff of Glyndon, MD is fourth with 51.80 penalties on Better I Do It, a 9-year-old English Thoroughbred owned by George N. Gillett, Jr. of Glyndon, MD.

The competition continues with the second part of the opening dressage phase on Friday before moving to the cross country phase on Saturday and the culminating stadium jumping phase on Sunday.

In its third year, the MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI*** is 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, is the world's most important equestrian competition.

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 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 inaugural Foxhall Cup CCI***.

In addition to the CCI*** eventing competition, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is also hosting a Grand Prix dressage competition featuring Olympic-level athletes. The Grand Prix test will be on Friday, April 19, with the musical freestyle 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 inaugural Foxhall Flower Show is also being held in conjunction with the MBNA Foxhall Cup. Based on the spirit, tradition and elegance of outdoor European flower shows, the growing event is the largest open-air flower show in the eastern United States and offers over $100,000 in prizes. Proceeds benefit botanical gardens of Georgia. For more information on the flower show, please visit www.foxhallflowershow.com

For more information on the MBNA Foxhall Cup, and to purchase tickets,
please visit www.foxhallcup.com

Full results are also available at www.skunkware.tv

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