Lake Placid, NY—July 9, 2004—Ramiro Quintana of Argentina rode LaBelle to victory in the Nicola’s Family Restaurants Open Jump-off Friday at the 27th annual I Love New York Horse Show in Lake Placid.

Quintana was the 19th of 21 to try the 12-jump, first-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds. He completed the course fault-free to be one of six who advanced to the tiebreaking jump-off. The last to try the six-jump tiebreaker, he again rode fault-free and finished in 26.099 seconds to claim the win.

Callan Solem of Colt’s Neck, NJ finished second with a clean jump-off ride in 26.760 seconds on Mianta and third went to Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, who finished the jump-off fault-free in 27.346 seconds on Hidden Creek’s Wapino.

Engle will be seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive victory in Saturday’s main event, the $50,000 Hermès I Love New York Grandprix. Also trying to make history in the Grandprix will be Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ who, as winner of last week’s $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid, is in a position to win a $25,000 bonus by completing the inaugural $25,000 Hidden Creek Challenge that awards the bonus to any rider who wins both the Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid and the Hermès I Love New York Grand Prix.

After Saturday’s $50,000 Hermès I Love New York Grand Prix, the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence will be awarded to the rider who has won the most prize money in Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix combined.

Other special features on Saturday include two Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic series events for junior and amateur-owner riders—the Shamrock Ventures LLC High Junior Jumper Classic and the Charlotte Bobcats $10,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. The standings on the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series help determine which junior riders and which amateur-owner riders will qualify to ride in the 2004 National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, in November.

Also featured on Saturday is the horse show’s 12th annual Doggie Costume Contest, sponsored by the Lonesome Landing Garden Center of Saranac Lake and the Brown Dog Café & Wine Bar of Lake Placid. Children and adults are invited to dress up and show off their dogs. There is no fee to enter the contest and participants can sign up right on the show grounds. All people with leashed dogs in costume will be admitted to the horse show at no charge and all contestants receive prizes. The Doggie Costume Contest begins at 12:00 noon.

The 2004 I Love New York Horse Show schedule includes the Trelawny Farm 1.45m Open Jumper Stake and the WPTZ News Channel 5 1.35m Time First Jump-Off on Wednesday, July 7; the 1.40m Wild Horse Winery NAL Open Jumper Speed Stake and the 1.50m Pin Oak Farm Open Jumper Stake on Thursday, July 8; the Nicola’s Family Restaurants 1.45m Open Jumper class, the Price Chopper 1.40m Speed Challenge, and The Hooker Family Children’s Jumper class on Friday, July 9; the Woodlea Farms Parade of Champions on Saturday, July 10; and finishing the week at the I Love New York Horse Show is the Pepsi Pony Hunter Classic, the Muirfield Insurance Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, the Levy Family Low Junior Jumper Classic, as well as the Lake Placid Lodge WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic and the Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau WIHS Children’s Jumper Classic on Sunday, July 11. Both the Adult Amateur and the Children’s Jumper Classics are member events of the WIHS Championship series and these classes will count as bonus points towards the Championships held at the Washington International Horse Show. The I Love New York Horse Show also features a Large Junior Working Hunter section, sponsored by the Tytel Family.

The 2004 Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New York Horse Show sponsors include A& M Beverages, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Store, American Grandprix Association, Anonymous, Ariat International, Inc., Barbara & Michael Bitterman, Brandy Parfums, Ltd., The Brown Dog Café and Wine Bar, Budweiser, The Charlotte Bobcats, Jane Forbes Clark, C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., The Cottage Café, The Country Saddler, Ltd., David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Der Dau Custom Boots and Shoes, Fox Run, Ltd., Golden Arrow Hotel, Hermès, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, The Hooker Family, Horse Watch, James Leslie Parker Photography, Juliam Farm, Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid Resort Hotel & Golf Club, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, The Levy Family, Lonesome Landing Garden Center, M&M Mars, McDonald’s, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Mountain Horse, Mr. Mike’s Pizza & Pasta, Muirfield Insurance, Inc., Nicola’s Over Main, North Elba Park District, On a Fence Designs & Rentals, ORDA/Whiteface Mountain, The Pepsi Bottling Group, The Phelps School, The Phillips Family, Pin Oak Farm, Practical Horseman, Price Chopper, Red-Kap Sales, Ruthie’s Run, Sidelines, Shamrock Ventures LLC, SLVR by Aerogear, Trelawny Farm, Turtle Lane Farm, The Tytel Family, Unusual Silver, U.S. Olympic Spirit Store, Wild Horse Wines, Woodlea Farms and WPTZ News Channel 5.

Admission to I Love New York Horse Show is just $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. 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.