The 119th National Horse Show To Feature Nation’s
Best Horses and Riders
Wellington, Florida—November 8, 2002—The 119th National
Horse Show, to be held at The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club
from November 26 through December 1, 2002, will bring together
the best horses and riders in the U. S. to compete for some of
the most prestigious and lucrative prizes in the equestrian world.
A Who’s Who of riders who have represented the United States
in the Olympics will be among the competitors in the jumper classes
including Olympians such as Margie Goldstein-Engle, Lauren Hough,
Norman Dello Joio, Todd Minikus and Leslie Burr Howard.
Hough,
winner of the Grand Prix at last year’s National, will be
seeking to make it two in a row in this year’s $100,000 National
Horse Show Jumper Championship, a World Cup qualifying event.
Dello Joio, currently leading the USA East Coast League World
Cup standings, just returned from Europe with a win at the World
Cup qualifier in Oslo and a third place finish at the World Cup
qualifier in Helsinki. Other well-known jumper riders, such as
Alison Firestone, McLain Ward and Marley Goodman, will also be
competing at The National in Wellington.
Engle, a Miami native who resides in Wellington, says she is thrilled
to be competing at the National Horse Show in Wellington and loves
the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club’s facilities that are
so nice for the horses in terms of stabling, practice rings, turn-out,
and the relaxed, country environment. “There is only one
National, and it will always be considered the most prestigious
horse show in the U.S. I am excited by this year’s change
in venue.”
In the hunter rings, top horses owned by prominent people/families
such as Sale Johnson, Craig Lindner, Deeridge Farm (the Jacobs
family), Caroline Moran and Salamander Farm (the Johnson family
of BET) will be showing at their best. Betty Oare, Dee Thomas
and Robin Swinderman, who are the #1-ranked amateur-owner hunter
riders, will also be competing having earned the right by virtue
of their top status.
Five-time U.S. Olympic dressage rider Robert Dover has announced
that he will be coming out of retirement to participate in the
dressage competitions at the National. This is the first time
in The National’s history that a full schedule of dressage
competition is included.
For more information on the 119th National Horse Show, please
contact Mason Phelps, Jr., Barbara Lundy or Beverly Lake Wilkes
at (561) 753-3389.
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