Wellington, Fl - December 4, 2005 - Beautiful sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted a huge Sunday afternoon crowd for the final day of the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida. That crowd got to watch red hot Jaime Guerra of Mexico win Sunday's main event, the $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship. It was Guerra's third victory in the five days of competition at the National Horse Show.

Twenty-six starters took the field for the $75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship, scored under FEI Table A over two rounds, 1st round not against the clock and 2nd round against the clock, with a designated jump-off. Only the top eight from the first round would advance to round two, with time deciding among those with four faults or more.

Jose "Pepe" Gamarra of La Paz, Bolivia designed the challenge for the final class of the 2005 American Grand Prix Association tour and the final event of this year's National Horse Show.

Of the twenty-six starters, only three mastered the first round course, and were guaranteed a spot in the second round. Eight competitors had four faults, but only the fastest five of those would advance to round two. Two horse and rider combinations had five faults, while another six had eight and four duos had more than eight. Two riders were eliminated.

The scores from first round carried over to the second round and were added together to determine the fault total and the time over the course in the second round was the tiebreaker.

The four fault horse and riders from round one returned first. Cara Raether and Trelawny Farm's Quildano de Kalvarie led off the second round action and picked up two rails and finished with a twelve fault total for the two rounds, in a time of 52.32 seconds.

Kent Farrington aboard the AGA Horse of the Year Madison, owned by Alexa Weeks, came back for round two and stunned the large gathering with a fault free performance and a time that wouldn't be caught the rest of the afternoon. Farrington blazed across the finish line in 46.14 seconds and took over the lead with a total of four faults from the two rounds and the time of 46.14.

Next up was Norman Dello Joio and the Wembly Farms' entry of Quriel. Dello Joio equaled his first round performance, picking up four faults and coming home in a time of 46.73 seconds. His two round total of eight faults dropped him into second place.

Alison Firestone and Intrepid du Valon, owned by Bert and Diana Firestone, entered the fray fourth. Firestone also picked up a second round rail and her eight fault total with a time of 48.56 dropped her below Dello Joio, into third place.

Lauren Hough and Casadora, owned by Lauren Mateo, were the final duo to return with four faults from the first round. Hough was fault free in round two, but couldn't catch Farrington's top time and slid into second place, with a total of four and a finish time of 47.25 seconds.

The three that were perfect in the first round now faced the challenge of topping Kent Farrington who was perfect in the second round.

Ken Berkley and Carlos Boy, owned by the Rivers Edge Group, returned first. Berkley, in a careful yet efficient performance, produced his second clean round of the day but left the door slightly ajar with a modest time of 53.01 seconds.

Jaime Guerra, winner of two speed classes at the National Horse Show this week, walked through that door left open by Berkley. Guerra, aboard Santa Terisita Power Point, owned by Santa Terisita of California, was careful and clean, and just narrowly faster than Berkley, tripping the timers in 52.65 seconds. He took over the top spot by 0.36 seconds.

Todd Minikus and Harry R. Gill's Flier were the final challengers of the day. Minikus, not wanting to be caught by the first round four faulters, unfortunately failed to catch his two clean round adversaries. Minikus came home with no faults but in a time of 54.50 seconds to finish in third place behind Berkley.

"I'm thrilled," said a beaming Guerra following the class. "My horse really hasn't jumped a course this big before and he struggled a little through the triple combination in the first round, but I couldn't be happier."

Asked about his second round strategy, Guerra said, "In the second round I just decided not to be crazy fast. But it was tough to decide what to do with the fast four faulters in front of me and Todd still to come behind me."

"That format, I think, doesn't or shouldn't apply to show jumping," said an obviously agitated Todd Minikus following today's class. "The three horses that were clear over a very difficult course could have been severely penalized by having to compete in a second round with horses that had four faults in the first round!" he said. "Any one of us could have ended up in eighth place theoretically. That format penalizes horses that jumped their ass off in the first round. It penalizes the riders and it penalizes the owners. It's a bad format," he emphasized. "I've had the same complaint last year and before that too. The crowd doesn't understand it, the media doesn't understand it and I don't understand why they keep using it," Minikus said.

"I don't think it's the best format either," agreed second place finisher Ken Berkley. "But, it's the format they chose so you play by their rules, but with that in mind I was a little conservative to the last two fences, knowing I could drop down to fourth or worse."

Today's champion agreed with Minikus. "I'd prefer a normal jump-off," said Guerra. "It was difficult enough to jump without having to worry about horses with four faults beating you, for sure. It created a situation where those with four faults had everything to win and those of us that were clear in the first round had everything to lose."

Official Results #1005 -$75,000 Budweiser AGA Championship CSI***-FEI Table A over two rounds, 1st round not against the clock and 2nd round against the clock - National Horse Show -12-04-05-Internationale Arena

1 - 126 Santa Teresita Power Point -Santa Teresita-Jaime Guerra -MEX -0-0/52.65- $16250

2 - 137 Carlos Boy -Rivers Edge Group-Ken Berkley-USA- 0-0/53.01-$16250

3 - 134 Flier -Mr. Harry R. Gill-Todd Minikus-USA -0-0/54.50-$16250

4 - 47 Madison -Alexa Weeks-Kent Farrington-USA -4-0/46.14- $5250

5 - 444 Casadora -Laura Mateo- Lauren Hough- USA -4-0/47.25-$5250

6 - 568 Quriel-Wembly Farm-Norman Dello Joio-USA -4-4/46.73-$3375

7 - 69 Intrepide Du Valon- M/M B. Firestone-Alison Firestone-USA -4-4/48.58/$3375

8 - 19 Quilano de Kalvarie -Trelawny Farm -Cara Raether-USA-4-8/52.32- $2250

9 - 345 Opus Sept -South Beach Stable -Schuyler Riley-USA-4.00 -77.28- $1750

10 -117 Artur 28 -Millstream-Aaron Vale-USA- 4.00-78.73-$1750

11 - 11 Summer Storm -Shaine Brooks-Amy Momrow-USA -4.00 -77.87-$1750

12 - 480 -Crabamboli-Eugene R. Mische-Michael Morrissey-USA- 5.00-81.48-$750

Lila Sessums and Continental B Top the Field in the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall Of Fame Amateur-Owner Championship

Fifteen top Amateur Owner Jumper riders competed in today's year end Show Jumping Hall of Fame Championship.

Scoring was Table II, Sec. 2a, Time First Jump-Off. Three riders advanced to the timed jump-off. Five competitors had four faults; one had six, one had eight and two had more than eight. Two riders were eliminated.

In the jump-off, Lila Sessums and the veteran Continental B emerged victorious with the only clear ride in the tiebreaker. Their clear round time was 42.546 seconds.

Louis Jacobs and Caucalis finished with a single knockdown in 38.557 seconds to grab second place and Blythe Masters and Camaro 48 were third, also with four faults but a time of 39.100 seconds.

Following the class, Sessums gave all the credit Continental B for the big day. "I just have such a wonderful horse. He's taken me to the party for thirteen years now," she said. "He's just so very careful and so good at his job that I knew I had to do my best because I knew he was going to do his best. He's eighteen," she revealed. "I bought him from Dennis Murphy thirteen years ago. He's amazing. He has placed in sixty-eight out of seventy-five grand prix events with me, winning thirteen of them. He's pretty incredible," she added.

Knowing that all she had to do was go clear to win; Sessums said that was certainly on her mind. "I was thinking about that whole way around the course," she laughed. "I knew I was going to be in trouble if I didn't go clean, but I decided to not be crazy and go for the clear round and it worked out."

How excited was Sessums following her win? "I'll tell you, this morning I was saying a little prayer and I said I'd rather win this class today than win the lottery. I'm so excited," she admitted. "This is such an important class at such an important horse show and he so deserves it because he's such a special horse."

Official Results #1104- $15,000 SJHOF Amateur-Owner Championship -Table II, Sec 2a - Time First Jump-off - National Horse Show - 12-04-05 -Internationale Arena

2-133-Louis Jacobs- Caucalis - 4/38.557

3-135-Blythe Masters -Camaro - 4/39.100

4-417-Danielle Torano -Lojana -4- 77.344

5-131-Charlie Jacobs -Innocence- 4- 77.847

6-130-Katrina Woods -Cash Flow -4-80.143

7-594-Joana Valente -Julia 107 -4-80.159

8-385-Victoria D'Agostino -Cinoa -4- 81.928

9-616-Nathalie Mathers -Zizou -6-87.121

10-585-Charlie Jayne-Conterno -8-80.082

11-559-Tonya Henning- Mill Creek Rosalinde -12- 77.384

12-264-Katherine Miracle -Tattiana -28-93.181

Whitney Weeks and Subliem Take Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Championship

Twelve juniors started today in their Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Championship. Again scoring was Table II, Sec. 2a, Time First Jump-off.

Three competitors advanced to the encounter against the clock with clean first round efforts. The riders had four faults while two had twelve. Two had more twelve and two were eliminated.

In the jump-off Whitney Weeks out-dueled Hillary Dobbs for top honors. Riding Subleim, Weeks blazed across the finish line with a clean round in 40.023 seconds, to take home the championship. Dobbs, aboard VDL Lotus Excell, also toured the course fault free, but her finish time was 42.108 seconds. Haylie Jayne and Cartier, with twelve faults and a time of 41.578 seconds, finished third.

Weeks talked about today's championship. "It was pretty tough course. I was first to return for the jump-off which is a tough place to be, but she was awesome. She's naturally a really fast mare," Weeks explained. "I just have to work on staying with her. The hardest part with her is turning really neat, so I was concentrating on that."

Weeks talked about her trainer Kent Farrington, who has had a tremendously successful season. "I think that Kent winning with Madison has put all of us in a really good place," she said. "It's been so exciting and when we see how hard he tries with her, it makes all of us want to try that much harder for him. I can't imagine riding with anyone else."

"This is my last show as a junior so it was a great way top go out," Weeks added.

And what about next year when she'll advance to the Amateur-Owners and face her sister Alexa? "It will be a showdown," she laughed. "She's an awesome rider and I love riding with her and my younger sister too. So, it'll be interesting for sure."

Official Results #1204- $15,000 SJHOF Junior Jumper Championship -Table II, Sec 2a - Time First Jump-off - National Horse Show - 12-04-05 -Internationale Arena

2-300 Hillary Dobbs -VDL Lotus Excell -0/42.108

3-588 Haylie Jayne -Cartier -12/41.578

4-423 Julianna Fischer -Lola-4 -73.488

5-331 Katie Brown -Rashnu -4 -75.255

6-352 Lexy Reed -Ludwig -4-78.328

7-376 Josephine Nash -Razzmatazz -12 -80.570

8-136 Katie McDaniel -Quasar -12 -80.730

9-564 Elisabeth Hayes -Gut Reinhardshof Top Secret -13- 82.688

10-256 Ali Wolff -Lanoo- 37-106.04

T11-484 Jennifer Urioste -Casanova-ret.

T11-273 Andrew Welles -Edesa's Lennetaler-elim.

NHS Children's and Adult Championships Conclude DeNemethy Arena Activity at the 122nd National Horse Show and Family Festival

The $10,000 Palm Beach Daily News NHS Adult Amateur Jumper Championship made headlines today in the DeNemethy Arena with a 10 a.m. start. The jumps were perfected before the coursewalk by course designer Manuel Esparza before 21 entries took on the challenge. The first round consisted of 15 obstacles and a time allowed of 67 seconds.

"I tried to make it a little bit harder than yesterday's speed class," commented Esparza. "I made it tougher today, with less options and a tighter time. It's also a little higher."

Under a Table II. 2 (a) format, eight exhibitors posted clear first rounds and returned for the jump-off phase. The jump-off included eight obstacles, with the last fence heading towards the in-gate. Katelin Kane and Le Beau Cheval blazed over the course in a time of 37.344. Kane's time was untouchable, and she led the victory gallop for a purse of $3,000.

The Settaukett, New York resident also claimed the division championship after her success in today's class and her win yesterday. A junior at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, the 21 year old will commute from New York to show during the Winter Equestrian Festival. She has trained with Ralph Caristo for four and a half years.

"I haven't ridden in a few months," Kane admitted with a smile, "and I'm really proud of myself for coming down here as riding as well as I did. My horse was fantastic; I couldn't have asked him to be any better for me this week." She further explained, "He was smooth through the entire course, and I think we were just really on it this weekend."

Along with the National Horse Show cooler and medal, Kane was presented the Skymaster Memorial Challenge Trophy. This Adult Amateur Jumper high point award was donated by Patricia Adikes-Hill and the Adikes Family Foundation and is awarded to the division champion. If won three times by the same horse and rider combination, the trophy is retired by the winner for permanent possession.

The reserve championship was pinned on the bridle of Rigadoon and Casey Martino from Loxahatchee, Florida. Martino picked up ninth today after a third place finish yesterday and a first in Friday's class.

Final Standings for The Palm Beach Daily News NHS Adult Amateur Jumper Championship:

2.) Ganowe 2, Bud Martin, 0, 39.119

3.) Jurist, Tim Boulton, 0, 40.900

4.) Romanof, Julie Ann Fontaine, 0, 41.051

5.) Candeletto, Gigi Stetler, 0, 43.244

6.) Da Vinci, Gigi Stetler, 4, 43.391

7.) Oriola, John Martino, 4, 48.757

8.) Romario, Tim Boulton, 8, 39.823

9.) Rigadoon, Casey Martino, 4, 63.248 R1

10.) Colleen, Megan Abbott, 4, 66.248 R1

11.) Tiny Toon, Alexandra Cherubini, 4, 66.585 R1

12.) Iroquois, Allene Simmons, 4, 67.662 R1

The $5,000 NHS Children's Jumper Championship was next in the queue for the DeNemethy Arena with a pool of 30 entries to show. After 20 exhibitors qualified for the jump-off, the riders were put to the test in the second round. The jump-off, with a time allowed of 47 seconds, allotted only seven clear rounds out of the 20 that returned. Of those seven, Heather Timm and Manuela Del Juncal powered through the course in a time of 32.796 seconds. Timm edged Lexy Reed and Newdle into the second position, surpassing Reed's time of 36.375 by almost four seconds.

Timm rides at Castlewood Farm with Alan Korotkin and resides here in Wellington, Florida. "If that horse goes clean, then I don't think there is anyone who can beat her," related Korotkin. "She is such a fast horse. She's like a little thoroughbred and really careful. The jump-off rode with a fast pace, had a couple turns, and a long gallop home. It really suited our horse."

In addition to her win today, Timm received the division championship. Reserve champion went to Alexandra Arute aboard Brave Heart, owned by Pala Mosteller.

Final Standings for the NHS Children's Jumper Championship:

2.) Newdle, Lexy Reed, 0, 36.375

3.) Royal D'or, Katherine Newman, 0, 38.038

4.) Private Reserve, Alexandra Arute, 0, 38.558

5.) Skyland's Wonder, Josh Dolan, 0, 41.333

6.) Carrera, Nicole Witala, 41.776

7.) Arko, Sarah Owen, 0, 44.263

8.) Ludacris, Euri Uchiyama, 4, 37.913 9.)

9.) Gallent De Saintho, Isabel Jolicoeur, 4, 39.219

10.) Seal Harbor, Samantha Senft, 4, 41.043

11.) Skyland's Con Chito Z, Josh Dolan, 4, 41.869

12.) Tiger Lily, Nicole Bellissimo, 8, 37.929