www.eventingetc.com

Allison Springer, of Marshall, Virginia, the second into the ring with Arthur, scored 52.4 to slide into third place just 1.5 faults ahead of Cayla Katayama and Esker Riada who had scored 53.9 on Thursday. Allison and Arthur had placed third at the American Eventing C hampionships, in Wayn, Illinois in September.

Their third place position at Fair Hill lasted through five horses, only to be dropped to fourth by Mara Dean and High Patriot, whose lovely, forward test scored 48.3 to move into second place. High Patriot's Dressage was only the second to score in the forties. High Patriot's test was 2.2 faults behind the overnight leader Australia's Boyd Martin and Ying Yang Yo. (Mara and High Patriot are pictured at the right.)

In the second rotation of the morning, Corinne Ashton, of Princeton, Massachusetts, and Dobbin laid down one of their typical high class rides to slide into third place on a score of 49.8 1.5 faults adrift of second place High Patriot. Dobbin's score became the third to break into the forties.

Just after the start of the way into the first rotation of the afternoon the heavens opened. The heavy rain effected the almost the entire rotation with Bonnie Mosser and Happy Valley getting the absolute worst of it. Bonnie rode in a deluge!

Donna Smith and Rocket scored a 46.7 to slip into second place just .6 of a fault behind Boyd Martin and Yong Yang Yo, the overnight leaders. Clark Montgomery received a Dressage mark of 48.3 with Up Spirit.

The second to last rider in the draw was Phillip Dutton with The Foreman.To no ones surprise, The Foreman laid down a spectacularly accurate test to land Phillip in the top spot on a score of 42.4 - 3.8 faults ahead of the overnight leader, his assistant trainer Boyd Martin. Donna Smith and Rocket are in third on 46.7.

Phillip said of The Foreman, "He's done two four stars.three star or a four star this year. Qualifying began the first of this year. He's not qualified for the Olympics because he did not do a He has had a splint so most of the work he has done has been Dressage. He went to Betsy Steiner in Florida for about a month' Phillip said he also got help from Mara Dean and Mark Phillips and Boyd Martin's wife.(Phillip is pictured at the right at the Press Conference.)

Boyd Martin, who is 28 years old, spoke about Ying Yang Yo. "He was a failed race horse and was about to be sent to be slaughtered. I got him for $600.00 through Ronnie Easy. He'd never seen grass until he moved to this country. We were trying th head for Kentucky (this spring); but, he had an injury and missed Kentucky.

Donna said of Rocket that he had been bred and was owned by Mrs. Jacqueline Mars.

(Pictured above at the Post Dressage Press Conference are Phillip Dutton, Donna Smith and Boyd Martin.)

The Cross Country for the CCI*** begins at 12:30 PM on Saturday. It follows the Driving Marathon which begins at 8:00 AM. The first carriage goes on Phase "C" at 9:00 AM. This Phase ends at approximately 11:42 AM.

The Top 12 Competitors After Two Days of Dressage are:

1. Phillip Dutton, The Foreman - 42.4
2. Boyd Martin (AUS), Ying Yang Yo - 46.1
3. Donna Smith (NZL), Rocket - 46.7
4. Becky Holder, Courageous Comet - 47.8
5T. Clark Montgomery, Up Spirit - 48.3
5T. Mara Dean, High Patriot - 48.3
7. Corinne Ashton, Dobbin - 49.8
8. William Coleman, K. du Manoir - 50.0
9. Phillip Dutton, Woodburn - 50.9
10. Kristen Bond, Three Wishes III - 51.1
11T. Allison Stringer, Arthur - 52.4
11T. Boyd Martin (AUS), Neville Bardos - 52.4
10T John Williams, Sloopy - 52.4

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Editor's Note: I made a dreadful mistake today! Imagine this: I had the temerity to think that it would be all right for me to drive in to the Press Tent, park in front of it for no more than two minutes, drop off my computer and seat, and return my car to the regular parking space. This is something I had been doing daily at Fair Hill ever since it's inception.

The head of "Security" Sean Brescia told me that under no circumstances could I do such a thing. That I would have to park in the regular parking lot and wait for someone from the Press Tent to drive out and pick me up in a golf cart.

My apologies to everyone at Fair Hill. Obviously my prior actions had caused a dreadful breach of security and had represented a dire threat to Fair Hill International, its competitors, its horses and its personnel. How could I have been so thoughtless all these years?

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4047 IRON WORKS PARKWAY, LEXINGTON, KY 40511-8483 : (859) 258-2472 : (859) 231-6662 FAX

UNITED STATES EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION®

WWW.USEF.ORG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2007

Dutton Tops Dressage at the USEF National CCI*** Eventing Championships – Wright, Temple, Peacock and Singer Best of the Drivers in the Four USEF National Driving Championships at the Dansko Fair Hill International

By Joanie Morris

Elkton, MD – Unsettled weather continued on Friday for the second day of dressage at the USEF Eventing National CCI*** Championships at Fair Hill International, and Thursday’s leader Boyd Martin (Australia) staved off challenges for almost two entire days on a score of 46.1.

It wasn’t until the second to last rider of the day, Phillip Dutton, Martin’s employer, put an end to his reign. Dutton, who is riding for the first year under the American flag put in a stellar test with Ann Jones’ The Foreman and ended the day on a score of 42.4, the career best for the horse at this level.

The 11-year-old Thoroughbred has been relatively idle this year, battling a sore splint, but he is a seasoned veteran. Second at both the Rolex Kentucky and Burghley CCI****s in 2005, he showed his experience in the ring and put in a forward and accurate test.

“He hasn’t done much this year so I’m really pleased with him,” said Dutton, who won two Team Gold medals while riding for the Australian Team in 1996 and 2000, and this summer picked up Individual Silver and Team Gold at the Pan American Games for the US. “He showed a lot of maturity in there.”

The main arena had plenty of atmosphere and Dutton took his time preparing the former racehorse. Dutton is based in West Grove, PA, minutes from Fair Hill and has won the event three times previously, including in 2004 with The Foreman.

Martin’s score held on for second place and New Zealand rider, Donna Smith, riding Jackie Mars’ 8-year-old Rocket put in a dynamite test to be third. Smith has been battling migraine headaches all week.

Becky Holder, riding her husband Tom’s flashy grey gelding Courageous Comet, were the second highest placed Americans, ending up on a score of 46.7, just six tenths of a point behind Smith. (Becky andCourageous Comet are pictured at the right.)

Courageous Comet is another experienced ex-racehorse having galloped confidently around Burghley CCI**** last fall. The Minnesota-based pair won the US Eventing Association’s Adequan Gold Cup Series this year at the Advanced level.

Clark Montgomery won the CCI** at Jersey Fresh this spring and thought he would have a nice Advanced horse for next year in Up Spirit. The 8-year-old Irish-bred horse (owned by Holly and Bill Becker) matured by leaps and bounds over the summer and Montgomery felt he was ready for the challenge of a CCI*** this fall. He and fellow Virginia rider Mara Dean are tied for fifth on a score of 48.3.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to death that this 8-year-old went in there and performed the way he did and got that score,” said Montgomery. “He’s still so green. He felt so good and without a two-star championship this fall, I thought we’d have a shot at it. He stepped up to the plate. There are so many things that can get better too. Down the line I think he could score really well.”

Dean recently began riding High Patriot and their partnership thrived in the dressage arena. Only nine years old, the Oldenburg gelding owned by Irish Oaks Farm didn’t disappoint his new jockey.

“Considering the partnership I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Dean. “He was better than I expected. He’s a phenomenal jumper. He’d probably be the best jumper I’ve ever had and I’ve had some good ones.“

Captain Mark Phillips, Chef d’Equipe of the US Team who commandeered a medal sweep at this summer’s Pan American Games was pleased with the quality of up-and-coming horses in the eventing program at the moment and with the return to form for some of the more experienced horses.

“It’s nice to see The Foreman back and he’s looking like he’s in good form,” said Phillips. “I think we’ve seen the nicest collection of young horses that we’ve seen at Fair Hill for a long time. They are not all right up there at the moment but you’ve got Clark and Mara and Karen (O’Connor)’s horses, there are a lot of first time three star horses in the middle to low fifties. Allison Springer’s horse (Arthur), Kristen Bond’s Three Wishes and Will Coleman’s horse (K. du Manoir) as well as seeing Becky’s horse back on form. Hopefully some of them will be there for Hong Kong but in terms of the World Equestrian Games in 2010 and the 2012 London Olympics I think we’ve had one of the best days at Fair Hill we’ve had in years.”

Cross country gets underway at 12:30 on Saturday. The newly updated track, designed by Derek DiGrazia, takes a different route through the Fair Hill Natural Resources Center than in previous years.

Top Drivers Brave Elements

Driving dressage was underway concurrently with the eventing and in the Advanced Single Pony division, Shelly Temple took a commanding lead, finishing the first phase with a score of 38.2, more than 12 points better than her closest competitor. With her 9-year-old Morgan gelding, Laramie Beeline (Cooper to his friends), she put in a very solid performance in the pony’s third year at the Advanced level.

“He didn’t warm up that great but he put his foot in the ring and snapped to it,” said Temple. “He knows his job now and he has very good focus and I was very pleased with him. I probably could have gone for it a little bit more but I was very pleased with him.”

Temple knows that Cooper is a professional now but thinks the track and the field will both be a challenge for tomorrow’s marathon.

“It’s a hard marathon course and there are some good marathon drivers in our class so our work is cut out for us,” she said.

Cooper came from Wyoming with one of Advanced Pair Horse division leaders, Laramie Bengali. Driven in tandem with Count on Me in today’s dressage by Lisa Singer the horses put in a great effort to finish less than a point in front of Larry Poulin’s pair on a score of 51.33.

“It was raining and raining and then we were ready to go in and the sun came out,” said Singer about the afternoon’s very confused weather. “I did pretty well, I had one horse that surprised me and broke which he usually doesn’t do but we fixed it and carried on.”

Singer’s pair have been to Fair Hill seven times and know the venue and what is expected of them. Tomorrow she will use one of the most experienced horses in the game, Avalon Avante Garde (Farm) in pair with Laramie Bengali. She also thinks that the marathon course will be a challenge.

“I think I need to go and take some Ginseng or something so my brain will work,” said Singer about the course designed by Lana Wright DuPont. “It has a lot of brain issues. There are a lot of things blocking you and if you go past where you want to go you’ll be going through a gate backwards. Its tough. I think your mind really has to be set as to where you are going.”

This competition will be Farm’s finale, as Singer will be retiring him on Sunday. The 20-year-old gelding has been a staple on the driving scene for more than a decade.

“It’s going to be hard,” she said. “But I think its time. He just did the championship in Poland and he’s fine but I just think its time.”

Bill Peacock drove his Single Advanced Horse to a commanding lead in his division, finishing on a score of 49.79, well clear of his closest competitor. In the largest division, Peacock was fourth in the ring and made his test stand up to seven more challenges.

Based in Belleville, TX, Peacock who is 61 has made his trip to the East Coast worthwhile on the first day of competition.

Boots Wright made the 1200 mile trip from her Ocala, FL base worth the drive by sitting atop the leaderboard at the end of the dressage in the Pony Team Championship on a score of 50.08. She was another one unfortunate to get caught in the rain squall. Having driven at Fair Hill since 1990, she knows her way around the showgrounds.

“I was warming up out there getting absolutely drenched, “ said Wright. “I’ve been coming here since 1990 but this is this team’s first time here. I could have driven better but the ponies were great. I could have done a better job.”

Wright looks forward to counting on the experience of her marathon team around tomorrow’s challenging course.

“The marathon team have been driving the marathon together since 2005 so they know what they’re doing,” she said. “It is just a matter of trying to go as fast as you can. Yesterday before it rained the ground was very hard. This is probably just perfect now.”

The marathon starts at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning. For more information please see www.fairhillinternational.com.

ENDS

The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership for

equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the pursuit of

excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games. This is based on a

foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of horses. Embracing

this vision, the USEF strives to be the best national equestrian

federation in the world.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: BethGold, 410-392-9245, Beth@classic-communications.com

Phillip Dutton Takes the Lead in Eventing
Following the Conclusion of Dressage at Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country

Fair Hill, MD-October 19, 2007- Phillip Dutton of West Grove, PA and The Foreman take the lead in the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) CCI*** Eventing Championship following the completion of the dressage phase at the 19th annual Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country.

Dutton's score of 42.4 penalties puts him in the lead over the Australian rider, Boyd Martin, also based in West Grove, PA, who had 46.1 penalties aboard Ying Yang Yo. Behind Martin was New Zealand rider Donna Smith of The Plains, VA, who turned in a score of 46.7 penalties on Rocket.

"Preparation for the test went very well today," said Dutton, who represented the United States on the gold medal winning team at the PanAmericanGames in July. "It is exciting for The Foreman to be in the lead after dressage. He took a deep breath today and did his best. Compared to the rest of the field, he is one of the most experienced horses. We are here to get qualified for Beijing next year. The first step is to get qualified, the second is to have a good performance and the third step is to get selected."

The CCI***, which serves as the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) CCI*** Eventing Championship, continues with the cross-country phase on Saturday (starting at 12:30 pm) and the culminating show jumping phase on Sunday (scheduled for 1:00 pm).

In addition to the CCI eventing competition, Friday's equestrian action at the Dansko Fair Hill International also featured the opening dressage phase of four USEF Combined Driving Championships. Shelly Temple of Powatan, VA, took the early lead in the Advanced Single Pony Championship with a score of 38.20 penalties. Boots Wright of Ocala, FL, led the Advanced Pony Four-in-Hand Championships with a score of 50.08 penalties.

Bill Peacock of Bellville, TX, led the Advanced Single Horse Championship with a score of 49.79, and Lisa Singer of Chadd's Ford, PA, led the Advanced Pair Horse Championship with 51.33 penalties. Driving competition continues on Saturday with the marathon (starting at 8:00 am) and concludes with the cones phase on Sunday (scheduled for 9:00 am).

Fair Hill's popular Dog Agility Trials are also underway with over 400 canine competitors. Many additional exciting activities, including appearances by the Delmarva Miniature Horse Club with driving and hunter/jumper demonstrations, are set for the weekend.

Members of the United States Pony Club are on hand participating in the President's Cup Invitational Games. During the Games, riders in teams of five compete in a variety of challenging and entertaining relay races; awards will be presented to winning teams on Sunday.

The Kids Corner offers a variety of activities for the younger set. Puppeteer JackForeaker will perform and live music will be provided by RebeccaPitre's Whoa Buddy Productions.

Fair Hill's Country Shops boast a wide variety of shopping and dining, featuring vendors of tack, jewelry, artwork, pet needs, exceptional apparel and fine gifts for the approaching holiday seasons. The Fair Hill Club offers fine dining, while visitors seeking a more casual snack or meal will find pubs around the Fair Hill grounds serving classic Maryland crab-cakes and other treats. In fact, the Maryland Department of Agriculture named the Fair Hill International as a "Maryland Top Event!"

Healthy feet, healthy body, healthy planet. That's the spirit behind Dansko, founded in 1990 by husband and wife team, PeterKjellerup and Mandy Cabot, both former horse trainers. Now sold in over 3,000 leading independent and specialty retailer locations across North America, Dansko is the leader in all-day comfort footwear.

The 2007 Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country benefits UnionHospital in Elkton, MD. The hospital, whose mission is to enhance the health and well-being of the residents of Cecil County and its neighboring communities, has been caring for area families and neighbors for nearly 100 years.

Further information on this year's Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country is available by calling 410-398-2111 or by visiting the Fair Hill website at www.fairhillinternational.com.