Little, 21, gained her seventh Grandprix win with two fault-free rides and a jump-off time of 42.832 seconds. Little, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wake Forest University on May 19, was one of seven entries from the starting field of 29 to reach the jump-off by riding without penalty over the 13-jump first-round course designed by 1996 Atlanta Olympic course designer Linda Allen.

The fifth to try the eight-jump, jump-off course at the North Elba Showgrounds, Little rode Hertel Landman, owned by her family’s Raylyn Farms of Frederick, MD, with daring. Her time moved her ahead of two-time American Grandprix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year McLain Ward of Brewster, NY who wound up second with a time of 43.563 seconds on Hurricane and Sydney Olympic veteran Margie Goldstein Engle of Wellington, FL who placed third with a time of 44.197 seconds on Hidden Creek’s Perin. The jump-off featured an unusual format where faults were converted to penalty seconds which allowed riders with a rail down to try make up the additional time and still have a chance to win.

“The jump-off was very intimidating because of who was in it,” said Little. “Having McLain and Margie and Anne (Kursinski) all go before me had me thinking that maybe second or third wouldn’t be so bad. But then I got in the ring and it all worked out.”

The win made it two in two days for Little who also won Saturday’s Hilton Resort Open Jump-off on Champigny, owned by Bernard Carl of Washington, DC. The back-to-back wins gave the former Lake Placid Junior Jumper Champion her “best Lake Placid Horse Show ever!”

Prior to the Grand Prix, Alison Flury rode Milos II to victory in the Salamander Farm High Junior Jumper Classic and Georgina Bloomberg on Nadia won the Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. Both Classics were member events of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series which determines junior and amateur-owner entries for the 2003 National Horse Show. The Juliam Farm Lead Line class and C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery Parade of Champions were held in the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Arena immediately before the Grand Prix.

Sunday’s action also featured a full day of Hunter Classics including the $3,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic, the $3,000 NAL Adult Amateur Hunter Classic as well as the $3,000 NAL Children’s Hunter Classic.

Following off days on Monday and Tuesday, the I Love New York Horse opens on Wednesday and continues through Sunday, July 6. The week’s featured event, the $50,000 Hermes I Love New York Grand Prix, is scheduled for Saturday, July 5.

Sponsors for the 2003 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows include A&M Beverages, Inc., Adirondack Life, American Grandprix Association, Anonymous, Ariat International, Inc., Bayer Legend, Brandy Parfums, Inc., Budweiser/Anheuser Busch, Inc., C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Der Dau Custom Made Boots & Shoes, Enterprise rent-a-car, Fox Run Ltd., Golden Arrow Hotel, Hermès, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, Jane Forbes Clark, Juliam Farm, Kiehl’s Since 1851, Lake Placid Resort, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors’ Bureau, Lisa A. H. Cudahy, Lonesome Landing, M&M Mars, Mirror Lake Inn/The Cottage, McDonald’s of Lake Placid, Moss Communications, Nicola’s Family Restaurants, Barbara Nugent and Michael Bitterman, On a Fence Designs and Rentals, ORDA-Whiteface Mountain, The Country Saddler, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., Pin Oak Farm, Price Chopper, Red Kap Sales, Inc./CITGO, Salamander Farm, Sand Castle Farm/The Dammerman Family, Shamrock Ventures LLC, Sidelines, The Brown Dog Café & Wine Bar, The Hooker Family, The Levy Family, The Phelps School, The Phillips Family, Town of North Elba Park District, Trelawny Farm, Turtle Lane Farm, Unusual Silver, U.S. Olympic Spirit Stores, Wild Horse Winery and WPTZ News Channel 5.

Admission to the I Love New York Horse Show is $2.00 for adults on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends with children under the age of 12 admitted free. Tickets are available at the gate.

For more information, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.

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