Wellington, Fl - December 5, 2005 - A large Sunday afternoon crowd, gathering for the $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship, were treated to three classes featuring the future stars of the grand prix ring, just prior to the main event. The $80,000 Young Jumper Championship Invitational was the mid day feature at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida.

The $80,000 Young Jumper Championships Invitational consists of three sections, one for horses 5 years of age, one for horses 6 years of age, and one for horses 7 & 8 years of age. Qualifying for the event took place between January 1, 2005 and October 9, 2005. Each section is restricted to thirty top entries.

The first two rounds of each section took place in the DeNemethy Arena earlier in the week and the top fifteen horse and rider combinations in each section advanced to the Championship on Sunday.

The Five Year-Old Young Jumper Championship Invitational featured the top fifteen starters competing over a course designed by Jose "Pepe" Gamarra, of La Paz, Bolivia. Scoring for the Five Year Old Jumpers was Table V, Sec. 2a. Optimum Time format with the optimum time set at 32 seconds.

Darragh Kerins emerged victorious on the stylish five-year old, Blue Danube, owned by the Tatra Farms and Patricia Garthwaite. Kerins piloted the big gray to a time of 32.333 seconds, a mere .333 seconds away from the optimum time.

Off the target by 1.351 seconds, was second place finisher Millesime Du Valy, owned by the Mill Creek Stables and piloted by Simon Kapel. Kapel's finish time was 33.351 seconds. Finishing third was Eso and David Jennings riding for Amy Lefferdink. Jennings crossed the finish line in 33.862 seconds, 1.862 seconds over the optimum time.

For Kerins, it was only his third time aboard the winning mount. "I rode him this summer at HITS at one of the qualifiers and then again at the Hampton Classic," he said. "He ended up fourth or fifth in the championship but won the futurity."

Kerins said the future for Blue Danube is bright. "He's a big horse, seventeen one or two and he's very careful and has a lot of scope. He's very quiet and he looks like a great horse for the future," he said.

Official Results -#1503-$20,000 5 Year-Old YJC Championship Invitational Championship -Table V, Sec. 2a - Optimum Time - National Horse Show - 12-04-05 - Internationale Arena -Optimum Time: 32 sec.

2- 560-Sebastian Kapel -Millesime Du Valy - 0.00 /33.351

3- 443-David Jennings -Eso -0.00 /33.862

4- 67-Amanda Flint -Will Of Iron - 0.00 /30.149

5- 61-Ronan Mcguigan -Grey Goose - 0.00 /34.312

6- 98-Eduardo Salas -Santa Teresita Monique -0.00 /35.486

7- 108-Christine Mccrea -Turbo - 4.00 /32.858

8- 99-Eduardo Salas -RMW Sanfries - 5.00 /36.167

9- 113-Candice King -Toronto -4.00 -68.646

10- 66-Aaron Vale -Moet Walk -4.00 -70.245

11- 558-Tanya Henning -Sadbya-12.00 -67.238

12- 62-Amy Betuker -Guess What-16.00 -71.359

In the Six-Year Old Jumper Championship Invitational, again featuring fifteen starters, the scoring for the more mature horses was changed to Table II, Sec. 2a. Time First Jump-off.

Of the fifteen starters, ten mastered Jose Gamarra's first round course to qualify for the timed jump-off.

The early leader in the jump-off was Five Year-Old class winner Darragh Kerins, this time up on S & L Farm's S&L Face Value. Kerins came home without penalty in the jump-off, breaking the beams in 36.071 seconds. His lead lasted to the halfway point of the tiebreaker at which point Laura Kraut and Splitfire, owned by Starwood Farm, shaved a full second off of Kerin's time and took over the top spot with a clean round in 35.070 seconds.

Kraut had no time to enjoy the lead however, as the eventual class winner Kent Farrington and Woica followed her into the arena. Woica, owned by Olivia Weeks, powered around the course, dashing home in an incredible 32.547 seconds, a full 2.32 seconds faster than Kraut.

Farrington talked about his Six Year-Old star. "I bought her as a four, coming five year old from Javier Salvador," he explained. "I think she's really going to be great. She was really competitive here earlier this year in the six year old classes and then through the summer I played around with her in a couple of the bigger classes. It's nice to come back here and have her finish up the year with a big win like this," he said.

Farrington, who piloted Madison to AGA Horse of the Year honors this year, was asked if Woica is set to follow in Madison's shoes. "I hope so," he beamed. "You never know until you have to actually do it, but that was my intention when I got her. She's got a ton of scope and she's learning how to be fast and I think she's got the makings of being something very nice."

Official Results - #1506- $30,000 6 Year Old YJC Championship Invitational -Table II, Sec. 2a -Time First Jump-off-National Horse Show - 12-04-05 - Internationale Arena

1-84-Kent Farrington -Woica - 0/32.547

2-52-Laura Kraut -Splitfire - 0/35.070

3-82-Nona Garson -Cilthe Z - 0/35.272

4-51-Ezequiel Peralta -Allain Z -0/37.451

5-488-Yvonne Bryan -Palm Sunday -0/40.976

6-74-Robert Kraut -Accordian -4/33.008

7-104-Darragh Kerins -Extraordinaire -4/34.806

8-112-Francisco Martinez -Phelox -4/35.024

9-105-Darragh Kerins -S & L Face Value -8/36.071

10-632-Casey Arndt-Hodges -Audio K -8/36.635

11-83-Nona Garson -Lacongo-4-75.127

12-107-Christine Mccrea -Quick Son-4-75.821

The Seven and Eight Year-Old Young Jumper Championship Invitational also featured the fifteen top qualifiers and a scoring format of Table II, Sec. 2a. Time First Jump-off.

Only six horse and rider combinations were able to master the first round course. Five competitors had four faults while another two had eight and two had more than eight faults.

Kachina, owned by the Deeridge Farm and ridden by Louis Jacobs, produced the first of only two clear rides in the jump-off, touring the Gamarra course without penalty in a time of 36.474 seconds.

Laura Kraut, a second place finisher in the class before, wasn't about to let that happen again. Riding Nocturnal for the Pin Oak Farm, Kraut dashed around the tiebreaker, never letting up on the gas, and finishing more than two seconds ahead of Jacobs in 34.026 seconds.

Kraut had to sit nervously by as her husband Bob Kraut, who had won earlier in the week, tried to relegate her to second place for the second class in a row. Kraut, aboard Providence, owned by Happy Hill Farm, caught Laura's time but pulled a rail coming home to drop him to third place behind Jacobs. Kraut finished with four faults and a hasty time of 33.447 seconds.

"I thought he was going to smoke me!" laughed Kraut following husband Bob's ride. "He did catch my time. He's on Providence, an eight year old who is quite a fast horse. He'd already won one this week so I thought I'd be second. But, he got unlucky and I got lucky today.

Speaking of her mount Nocturnal, Kraut said, "I'm really excited about her. I bought her at the beginning of her six year old year from Frank Conway, the same person I bought Allegiance from. Joyce Williams owns her. I've been bringing her along slowly and I think today is her first win."

Kraut was happy about the first place finish. "She's been second a lot. She was second at the Hampton Classic in the Championship and second in a lot of classes but no wins, so today is a very exciting day for us," she said.

Looking to the future is something Kraut doesn't like to do, but speculated, "You hate to ever predict too much but I've got great hopes for her. I told Schuyler Riley today that when I picked up the canter out there I thought to myself she'd have no trouble jumping the big grand prix jumps instead of the six year old jumps. I think she's got tremendous potential," said Kraut.

Official Results - #1509- $30,000 7/8 Year Old YJC Championship Invitational -Table II, Sec. 2a -Time First Jump-off-National Horse Show - 12-04-05 - Internationale Arena

2-102-Louis Jacobs -Kachina -0/36.474

3-75-Robert Kraut -Providence -4/33.447

4-80-John Brennan -San Remo -4/37.153

5-109-Pablo Barrios -Curioso Z -8/36.440

6-69-Amanda Flint -Cajun -12/34.947

7-64-Kate Levy -Mademoiselle -4- 72.802

8-557-Sebastian Kapel -Kaiser De La Cour-4-74.663

9-57-Wilhelm Genn -Happy Z -4-76.282

10-100-Eduardo Salas -Rmw Estina -4- 6.723

11-79-John Brennan -Urco-4-81.156

12-587-Charlie Jayne -Varnese -8-72.940