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Articles: Press Release
McLain Ward and Sapphire Open Up Huge Leads in AGA Races Following CN
Worldwide Florida Open Win
Photo Credit: McLain Ward and Sapphire are leading the races for AGA
Rider and Horse of the Year respectively. Photo (c) 2007 by
PhelpsSports.com.
Contact:
Kenneth Kraus of
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
at (561) 753-3389 or at info@phelpsmediagroup.com
Wellington, FL – March 27, 2007 – The
2007 American Grand Prix Association tour is only five events old, but McLain
Ward, a three-time American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year, has
already put himself in a excellent position to take home a fourth title,
following his impressive victory in the richest grand prix ever held in the
United States.
Entering its twenty-ninth year, the AGA
Grand Prix Series of Show Jumping is the world’s richest and longest running
series of equestrian show jumping events. The AGA series offers over $3 million
dollars in prize money on a tour that encompasses thirty events and twenty
different equestrian markets across the United States.
Ward, and his mount Sapphire, who concurrently leads in the race for AGA
Horse of the Year, won the $395,781 CN Worldwide Florida Open on March 17 at the Winter Equestrian Festival
in Wellington, Florida. Ward, who leads with 166 points,
picked up an unprecedented 135 points for the victory, this was in addition to
the three clear rounds he registered for the biggest win of his career. The CN
Worldwide Florida Open win was Ward’s second of the 2007 season in five events.
In February he captured the top prize in the $75,000 Bainbridge Idle Dice
Classic, CSI-W. In that victory, by comparison, Ward only pocketed 25 points,
along with two clear rounds.
Canadian riders rank second through
fourth in the latest AGA Rider of the Year standings. Frankie Chesler-Ortiz, a
second place finisher to Ward in the Florida Open, is second in the rider race
with 93 points, while fellow Canadian Eric Lamaze, with four top finishes during
WEF, is in third place with 65 points. Mario Deslauriers rounds out the top
four, one point behind Lamaze, with 64. Danielle Torano is fifth with 56 points,
and Todd Minikus is a distant sixth with 38 points.
Sapphire, Ward’s Olympic and WEG partner,
has nearly a $69,000 lead over Chesler-Ortiz’s Picolien Zeldenrust in the race
for AGA Horse of the Year. Sapphire, owned by Ward and Blue Chip Bloodstock has
bankrolled a whopping $157,927.00, while Chesler’s mount banks in at $89,052.00.
Third place in the race for Horse of the Year is held down by Paradigm, Mario
Deslauriers’ top mount, with a total of $59,750.00 in prize money won. Hickstead
from the Torrey Pines Stable, with $58,578.00, and Vancouver D'Auvray owned by
Sir Ruly, Inc., with $52,770.00, round out the top five.
The next two events on the 2007 AGA tour
are in Tampa, Florida. The $75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa,
CSI-W is on April 1st at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center, and the
grand finale of the 2007 Winter Equestrian Festival, the $200,000 Budweiser
American Invitational, CSI 4* is at Raymond James Stadium on April 7, 2007.
Following the two Florida events, the
East Coast AGA tour moves to the Charlotte Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, North
Carolina, on April 15, for the $150,000 Grand Prix of Charlotte, CSI
4*.
On the West Coast, the $100,000 HBO Grand
Prix of Del Mar takes place on May 5th at the Del Mar Fairgrounds
Arena in Del Mar, CA.
AGA Rider of the
Year Standings:
|
Standing |
Rider |
Total Clear
Rounds |
Total
Points |
|
1 |
Ward,
McLain |
5 |
166 |
|
2 |
Chesler-Ortiz,
Frankie |
3 |
93 |
|
3 |
Lamaze,
Eric |
5 |
65 |
|
4 |
Deslauriers,
Mario |
4 |
64 |
|
5 |
Torano,
Danielle |
3 |
56 |
|
6 |
Minikus,
Todd |
2 |
38 |
|
7 |
Deusser,
Daniel |
0 |
34 |
|
8 |
Fuchs,
Marcus |
2 |
32 |
|
9 |
Engle,
Margie |
2 |
30 |
|
10 |
Chapot,
Laura |
3 |
25 |
|
11 |
Levy,
Kate |
2 |
24 |
|
12 |
Berkley,
Ken |
2 |
23 |
|
13 |
Madden,
Beezie |
2 |
21 |
|
|
Pessoa,
Rodrigo |
1 |
21 |
|
|
Silverman,
Lisa |
1 |
21 |
|
16 |
Goutal,
Brianne |
2 |
20 |
|
17 |
Riley,
Schuyler |
2 |
19 |
|
18 |
Ashe,
Molly |
2 |
17 |
|
19 |
Bucci,
Laurie |
3 |
16 |
|
20 |
Garofalo,
Judy |
0 |
14 |
|
21 |
Kraut,
Laura |
1 |
13 |
|
22 |
Raether,
Cara |
0 |
11 |
|
23 |
Ballard,
Erynn |
2 |
10 |
|
24 |
Bloomberg,
Georgina |
2 |
9 |
|
|
Kerins,
Darragh |
1 |
9 |
AGA Horse of the
Year Standings:
|
Standing |
Horse |
Owner |
Total
Money |
|
1 |
Sapphire* |
McLain
Ward |
$
157,927 |
|
2 |
Picolien
Zeldenrust |
Sher-Al
Farm |
$
89,052 |
|
3 |
Paradigm |
Mario
Deslauriers |
$
59,750 |
|
4 |
Hickstead |
Torrey
Pines Stable |
$
58,578 |
|
5 |
Vancouver
D'Auvray |
Sir
Ruly, Inc. |
$
52,770 |
|
6 |
Pavarotti |
Todd
Minikus, LLC |
$
33,957 |
|
7 |
La Toya
III |
JURI
ADOLFO |
$
30,000 |
|
8 |
Hidden Creek's
Quervo Gold |
Hidden
Creek Farm, Inc. |
$
27,000 |
|
9 |
Pristanna |
Stal
Tops |
$
26,385 |
|
10 |
Little Big
Man |
Laura
Chapot & Chado Farm, Inc. |
$
22,250 |
|
11 |
Vent Du
Nord |
Kate
Levy |
$
22,000 |
|
12 |
Carlos
Boy |
Krista
Weisman |
$
20,457 |
|
13 |
Obelix
R |
South
Shore
Farm |
$
20,277 |
|
14 |
Coeur |
Double
H Farm |
$
20,000 |
|
15 |
Ilian |
South
Beach
Stable |
$
16,500 |
|
16 |
Oliver
III |
Higher
Ground Farm |
$
14,392 |
|
17 |
CoCu |
Jane
F. Clark |
$
13,200 |
|
18 |
Ublesco |
Trelawny
Farm, Inc. |
$
10,734 |
|
19 |
Casar
(DE) |
Cloverlea
Farm |
$
10,000 |
|
20 |
Quidam's
Ramiro |
Claude
Dufresne |
$
9,750 |
|
21 |
Onira |
Cloverleaf
Farm |
$
8,000 |
|
22 |
Judgement |
Iron
Spring Farm |
$
7,957 |
|
23 |
Robin Van
Roosendael |
Looking
Back Farm |
$
7,800 |
|
24 |
Hooligan De
Rosyl |
Stal
Tops |
$
7,500 |
|
25 |
Anthem |
The
Summit Group |
$
7,000 |
|
|
CIM
Christo |
Gotham
Enterprizes |
$
7,000 |
|
2007 AGA Tour
Events
|
6 |
Grand Prix
of Tampa, CSI-W
more info
|
$
75,000 |
Apr 01, 07
|
Bob Thomas Equestrian
Center
Tampa, Florida
|
CSI-W |
|
7 |
Budweiser
American Invitational, CSI 4*
more info
|
$
200,000 |
Apr 07, 07
|
Raymond
James Stadium
Tampa, Florida
|
CSI
4* |
|
8 |
Grand Prix
of Charlotte, CSI 4*
more info
|
$
150,000 |
Apr 15, 07
|
Charlotte Bobcats
Arena
Charlotte,
NC
|
CSI
4* |
|
9 |
HBO Grand
Prix of Del Mar
more info
|
$
100,000 |
May 05, 07
|
Del Mar
Fairgrounds Arena
Del Mar, CA
|
|
|
10 |
Mary Rena
Murphy Grand Prix
more info
|
$
50,000 |
May 12, 07
|
Kentucky
Horse Park
Lexington, KY
|
|
|
11 |
Memorial Day
Classic Grand Prix
more info
|
$
25,000 |
May 28, 07
|
Los
Angeles
Equestrian Center
Burbank, CA
|
|
|
12 |
Budweiser
Grand Prix of Devon
more info
|
$
75,000 |
Jun 07, 07
|
Devon Horse
Show Grounds
Devon, PA
|
|
|
13 |
Budweiser
Upperville Jumper Classic, CSI 3*
more info
|
$
100,000 |
Jun 10, 07
|
Upperville
Show Grounds
Upperville, VA
|
CSI
3* |
|
14 |
Oaks Classic
more info
|
$
30,000 |
Jun 10, 07
|
The
Oaks
San Juan
Capistrano, CA
|
|
|
15 |
Budweiser
Grand Prix of Lake Placid CSI 3*
more info
|
$
75,000 |
Jul 01, 07
|
Lake
Placid
Show Grounds
Lake Placid,
NY
|
CSI |
|
16 |
Hermes I
Love New York Grand Prix, CSI
more info
|
$
75,000 |
Jul 07, 07
|
Lake
Placid
Show Grounds
Lake Placid,
New-York
|
CSI |
|
17 |
Rocky
Mountain Grand Prix
more info
|
$
40,000 |
Jul 21, 07
|
Colorado
Horse Park
Parker,
CO
|
|
|
18 |
Merrill
Lynch Cleveland Grand Prix
more info
|
$
65,000 |
Jul 22, 07
|
Cleveland
Metroparks Polo Field
Moreland
Hills, OH
|
|
|
19 |
Oregon High
Dessert Classic Grand Prix
more info
|
$
25,000 |
Jul 28, 07
|
J Bar J Boys
Ranch
Bend, Oregon
|
|
|
20 |
Sussex
County Grand Prix
more info
|
$
50,000 |
Aug 11, 07
|
Sussex County Fairgrounds
Sussex, NJ
|
|
|
21 |
Kentucky
Summer Classic
more info
|
$
40,000 |
Aug 12, 07
|
Kentucky
Horse Park
Lexington, KY
|
|
|
22 |
Budweiser
Grand Prix of Indianapolis
more info
|
$
65,000 |
Aug 19, 07
|
Wild Air
Farm
Zionsville, IN
|
|
|
23 |
Fidelity
Investments Jumper Classic
more info
|
$
75,000 |
Sep 09, 07
|
Grand Prix
Field
South
Hamilton, MA
|
|
|
24 |
World Cup
Qualifying Grand Prix - CSI-W
more info
|
$
50,000 |
Sep 16, 07
|
The
Oaks
San Juan
Capistrano, CA
|
CSI-W |
|
25 |
Los
Angeles
International CSI-W
more info
|
$
50,000 |
Sep 22, 07
|
Los
Angeles
Equestrian Center
Burbank, CA
|
CSI-W |
|
26 |
American
Gold Cup CSI-W
more info
|
$
100,000 |
Sep 23, 07
|
Cleveland
Metroparks Polo Field
Moreland
Hills, OH
|
CSI-W |
|
27 |
Budweiser
Grand Prix De Penn National, CSI-W
more info
|
$
65,000 |
Oct 27, 07
|
Farm Show
Arena
Harrsiburg, PA
|
CSI-W |
|
28 |
LA National
CSI-W
more info
|
$
50,000 |
Nov 17, 07
|
Los
Angeles
Equestrian Center
Burbank, CA
|
CSI-W |
|
29 |
AGA
Championship (Final)
more info
|
$
0 |
Dec 23, 07
|
Palm Beach Polo Equestrian
Club
Wellington, Florida
|
AGA
Championship |
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