By HITS Public Relations and USEF Staff

SAUGERTIES, NY (June 9, 2005)-Michael Walton of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, riding Elu De La Hardiere, a 13-year-old French stallion, raced to a top place finish in the Rolex/USEF $20,000 Opening Match-giving him the initial lead in the three-leg $150,000 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship.

The Championship takes place over three days and the $20,000 Opening Match was an exciting speed class run under Table C specifications with faults converted into penalty seconds. The competition delivered some heart-stopping moments with riders going all out to earn valuable points and a chance at a top placing in the final standings.

Out of a field of 21, Michael Walton emerged the clear victor with 58.46 seconds on the clock, the fastest time by over a second. He was one of seven riders to master the course with no knockdowns. Ten riders had four time faults. Three accumulated 8 time faults, and one had 12 time faults.

Steve Stephens was the course designer for the competition. "I was pleased with today's results-we had just the right number with no rails down, and we will have a fairly tight group going into the second leg on Friday."

This was another in a string of victories for Michael Walton and Elu De La Hardiere. The pair has been showing stellar form with three Grand Prix wins and a second place finish in the past five weeks. Delighted with his win today, Walton praised his horse for his speed and grace under pressure. "He is a naturally fast horse, so I just tried to give him the ride to keep the jumps up. Being aggressive in nature and very fast across the ground, the speed class suited us well and gave us an edge. He also likes the ring here and has done well here so far this circuit, and also last year."

For his win, Michael Walton has earned 22 points. His nearest rival, Jimmy Torano, riding Marcel, finished in 59.74 seconds and accumulated 20 points. Each successive rider based on time earned one point less. The full point standings are listed below.

The next leg of the Championship will be the $30,000 Rolex/USEF Intermediate Match taking place on Friday, June 10 at 3pm. The Grand Finale $100,000 class will take place on Sunday, June 12th at 1pm.

Placing # Horse Owner Rider Rider City/St Time Points

1 1016 ELU DE LA HARDIERE PENLYN FARM MICHAEL WALTON VALLEY FORGE, PA 58.46 22

2 987 MARCEL JIMMY / DANIELLE TORANO JIMMY TORANO FT LAUDERDALE, FL 59.74 20

3 500 SUMMER STORM SHAINE BROOKS AMY MOMROW LOUDONVILLE, NY 59.93 19

4 1039 ARMANI KIMMEL, YAGER EQUINE LLC / TRITON VENTURES FARM JEFFERY WELLES POUND RIDGE, NY 60.70 18

5 214 MEMPHIS CAITLYN SHIELS CAITLYN SHIELS SOMERS, NY 60.89 17

6 534 TARCO ERNIE / JOAN KALMAN CANDICE KING WELLINGTON, FL 62.07 16

7 1303 PRIMEUR 58 KAMINE FAMILY / CHRIS KAPPLER CHRIS KAPPLER PITTSTOWN, NJ 62.74 15

8 1152 CATCH 22 AINSLEY VINCE / TRINITY FARM AINSLEY VINCE MILTON, ON 63.13 14

9 1338 FREESTYLE MICHAEL STONE ELLIOTT STONE MIDLAND, ON 63.44 13

10 269 MADISON ALEXA WEEKS KENT FARRINGTON CHICAGO, IL 63.79 12

11 663 RIO CORDE WINSOR FARM SALES, INC WILLIAM LOWRY N SCITUATE, RI 63.89 11

12 985 GIBSON SIR RULY INC DANIELLE TORANO FT LAUDERDALE, FL 66.28 10

13 599 FUNNY DE LIERE KATE LEVY KATE LEVY SOUTH SALEM, NY 68.44 9

14 62 INDY STAR J DIMENNA / EQUULEUS FARMS LAURA BOWERY BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY 69.38 8

15 443 JENNIETA KNIGHTS FORK INC KRISTI SMITH ROCKPORT, MA 70.24 7

16 335 SUN GOD RON KRISE NONA GARSON LEBANON, NJ 70.35 6

17 654 GREAT AMERICAN RI-ARM FARM INC / ALL SEASONS FARM MARK LEONE OAKLAND, NJ 72.82 5

18 318 MAZELLE FLORIAC LLC ERIC FLAMENG WINNETUCA, IL 77.56 4

19 464 ENTERPRISE R A FRANCOEUR MARK JUNGHERR AMESBURY, MA 78.15 3

20 1240 CABRIO BRUNO BAES M MICHAEL MELLER TIVERTON, RI 87.70 2

21 510 GREAT POINT LILA / BOB KOMMERSTAD ANNE KURSINSKI FRENCHTOWN, NJ 89.21 1