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Tampa, FL - March 31, 2007 - The Tampa Bay Classic, CSI-W is the ninth week of competition for the 2007 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), and it continued to bring more action and excitement in the jumper ring today. In their first 1.50m Classic together, McLain Ward and Pinkata de Longpre went first in the jump-off and could not be beaten. Laura Kraut and Le Prestige St Lois were second, while amateur rider Francis Tres Roig and Acertijo were the only other double-clears for third.

Today's Robert Ellis' designed course was a stout 1.50m course of 12 obstacles that included a triple combination and a triple bar into a one stride. There were six clear rounds that advanced to the jump-off and eight had four faults out of the total 34 entries. "It was a pretty stiff 1.50m today. I thought it was as difficult as the grand prix on Thursday," Kraut said. "Bob Ellis does a great job building a course. He made it technical and a little bit difficult, but my horse handled it so well."

The first clear round and the first to return for the jump-off was Ward on Pinkata de Longpre, a 15-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Ri-Arm Farm. Ward set down a very fast round with neat turns to be double clear in a time of 40.673 seconds. "There were some very fast horses and riders behind me," Ward acknowledged. "I thought I had to put on some pressure. I've never done a jump-off with this horse before. I've done some power and speeds and whatnot. I wasn't sure what to expect, but thought I had to take shot, especially in the beginning. I really took a shot to 15, and the horse responded beautifully."

Rodrigo Pessoa and Double H Farm's Oasis were next in, but a refusal after a tight right-hand rollback left Pessoa circling to try again. They finished with the four jumping and 13 time faults in 69.791 seconds for sixth place.

Puerto Rico's Francis Tres Roig and Acertijo galloped in next. Tres Roig made wider turns and galloped to the last oxer. Acertijo jumped everything easily for another clear round, this time in 43.968 seconds.

Tres Roig, a 22-year-old amateur rider, and the nine-year-old Acertijo have been together for two years. This is their first year in the open division, and the pair rode in all of the WEF Challenge Cup classes in Palm Beach.

"He jumped really, really well," Tres Roig said. "I was supposed to do the WEF and grand prix this week, but I didn't ride last week, so we came back slowly and did this. He felt fresh."

For the jump-off, Tres Roig said his plan was "just to go clean and fast." This was his best finish in the open classes this year and he noted, "It kind of surprised me. It's always nice to do well."

Eric Lamaze (CAN) and Lindberg des Hayettes, owned by Steven Cohen, had a chance to beat Ward, but were foiled by a rail at the first of the one stride. Lamaze slowed down after that and finished with four faults in a time of 44.374 seconds.

With another new horse, Laura Kraut made her way into the ring to challenge Ward. She and Le Prestige St Lois, owned by the Freedom Group, sliced across the first fence to rollback to the second jump. Le Prestige St Lois bucked in one turn and tried his hardest over fence 15. They finished clear, but just off the pace in 42.685 seconds.

"Today was his very first 1.50m class of his life, so I'm really happy with him," Kraut revealed. "He's a funny horse. When you ask him to go fast, he wants to buck. You have to just suggest that he goes fast and hope that he doesn't buck! Out on the field in Palm Beach, he got better about it, but in the indoor he was bucking and playing. I was just hoping I could finish double clear and maybe be in the top three."

The last to challenge was Richard Spooner on Ace. Spooner had fantastic rollbacks and had Ward's time beat, but a rail fell at fence 15. Their four-fault score in 40.082 seconds put them in fourth place.

Pinkata de Longpre, a 15-year-old Selle Francais gelding, is usually shown by Mark Leone. "I've been riding him starting the second half of Palm Beach, just getting to know him and doing the 1.45m classes. It's his longtime partner, and he just wanted to try something new. He was very kind to ask me to ride his horse. I was a little short on horses, so I jumped at the opportunity."

Hillary Dobbs capped off a great week in the amateur division with a win in the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic (sponsored by Prestige) on Corlett, who is owned by The Dobbs Group. Dobbs trains with Missy Clark and John Brennan of North Run. She was one of ten that were clear in the first round to advance to the jump-off.

Michelle Spadone and R Mable KZ were first to go in the jump-off, but pulled two rails, and Danielle Torano and Kruimel totaled 12 faults. The first double clear round was Christina Serio on Olympieck, who crossed the timers in 44.787 seconds.

Whitney Goulart and Kalinero du Galete had a bead on the lead and a better time in 42.919 seconds, but they had a rail for four faults. Torano, on her second mount Pandoer, also had four faults. Chloe Wormser had an unfortunate dismount at fence 15 from Modra.

Dobbs was next in and sped around the course clear in 39.434 seconds to take over the lead. "It was a big track. I wasn't worried about the jump-off until I got through the first round. It was complicated, but when I was walking the course, I said to Missy, 'I really hope I can make the jump-off today because it looks like a lot of fun.' There were so many places where you could get a good jump and slip inside to the next," she recalled. "Both horses are so fast. I knew if I could give them a good ride, I could get to the jump-off and have a good time."

Alex Parrish and Kadorijke tallied 12 faults, while Francis Tres Roig and Lady in Blue had a rail at the liverpool vertical in 39.562 seconds. The last to challenge Dobbs was Clara Lindner on Quriel. Lindner almost had the time and were chasing down to the last vertical, but it fell for four faults in 40.650 seconds.

Dobbs had come away with her fourth win of the week and her first win in a SJHOF classic. "It was such a surprise. This whole week was a shock; I'm still in shock. I've never had one week quite like this. I was thrilled to death with that. This is just a cap on a great week. I can't ask for any better," she exclaimed.

The Tampa Bay Classic concludes tomorrow at 2 p.m. with the main show jumping event, the $75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa, presented by Kilkenny, which is the final World Cup qualifier for the East Coast riders.

The grand finale of the Winter Equestrian Festival is the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, which will be held in Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m. General admission tickets, which range from $25 to $40 for advance purchase, are still available by calling 877-909-9436.

Tampa Bay Classic

March 28 - April 1, 2007

T/A: 81.00 T/A: 57.00

1 655 PINKATA DE LONGPRE MCLAIN WARD 0.00 75.272 0.00 40.673 RI-ARM FARM

2 732 LE PRESTIGE ST LOIS LAURA KRAUT 0.00 75.723 0.00 42.685 FREEDOM GROUP

3 800 ACERTIJO FRANCIS TRES ROIG 0.00 73.508 0.00 43.968 J ADALBERTO ROIG JR

4 8 ACE RICHARD SPOONER 0.00 78.889 4.00 40.082 S & B LLC CORP.

5 926 LINDBERG DES HAYETTES ERIC LAMAZE 0.00 74.848 4.00 44.374 STEVEN COHEN

6 426 OASIS RODRIGO PESSOA 0.00 71.440 17.00 69.791 DOUBLE H FARM

7 283 FANCY HILL JONATHON MILLAR 4.00 71.748 JEBB'S CREEK INV

8 149 CHURCH ROAD MAX AMAYA 4.00 72.238 SARAH BECKER

9 72 ONLIGHT BEEZIE MADDEN 4.00 72.641 TEAM ONLIGHT

10 69 SELECT BEEZIE MADDEN 4.00 73.564 ELIZABETH BUSCH BURKE

11 669 SEA COAST CANTONA Z DANIELLE TORANO 4.00 74.355 JUMMY TORANO

12 733 OLYMPIA LAURA KRAUT 4.00 74.514 PANIC PARTNERS

Results of Class 1025 SJHOF A/O JP CLASSIC HIGH II, SEC 2A

Tampa Bay Classic

March 28 - April 1, 2007

T/A: 86.00 T/A: 57.00

1 529 CORLETT HILLARY DOBBS 0.00 77.381 0.00 39.434 $3000 THE DOBBS GROUP

2 468 OLYMPIECK CHRISTINA SERIO 0.00 81.489 0.00 44.787 $2000 CHRISTINA SERIO

3 671 PANDOER DANIELLE TORANO 0.00 78.209 4.00 38.688 $1000 JIMMY TORANO

4 801 LADY IN BLUE FRANCIS TRES ROIG 0.00 77.161 4.00 39.562 $700 J ADALBERTO ROIG JR

5 380 QURIEL CLARA LINDNER 0.00 77.715 4.00 40.650 $600 ALL SEASONS FARM

6 155 KALINERO DU GALETE WHITNEY GOULART 0.00 81.234 4.00 42.919 $500 WHITNEY GOULART

7 898 R MABLE KZ MICHELLE SPADONE 0.00 75.648 8.00 37.946 $475 MORGAN HILL PTNRS

8 590 KADORIJKE ALEX PARRISH 0.00 76.235 12.00 43.927 $400 ALEXANDER FARM

9 661 KRUIMEL DANIELLE TORANO 0.00 79.609 12.00 50.864 $380 JIMMY TORANO

10 592 MODRA CHLOE WORMSER 0.00 74.988 elim. $315 CHLOE WORMSER

11 525 MARENGO HILLARY DOBBS 4.00 74.588 $315 THE DOBBS GROUP

12 419 MADONNA KATHERINE MIRACLE 4.00 76.059 OVERLOOK FARM INC