Contact:
Jennifer Wood of Phelps Media Group, Inc.
at (561) 753-3389 or at pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com Tampa Bay Classic, CSI 3*-W

Tampa, FL - March 26, 2008 - Today marked the opening day of competition for week two of the Tampa Equestrian Festival. This week is the Tampa Bay Classic, CSI 3*-W and runs through Sunday, March 30. The biggest class of the day for the jumpers was the 1.40m Jumper class.

The jumper courses this week are designed by Jose "Pepe" Gamarra of Bolivia. Today's 1.40m class format was Time First Jump-off. Twelve were clean in the first round to advance to the immediate jump-off course.

The third combination to go in the class was District and Georgina Bloomberg. They set the time to beat in the jump-off at 36.463 seconds and more importantly, had a clear round. Bloomberg made the inside turns and had smooth trip. Many pairs followed her into the jump-off, but no one was able to beat her time. The only other double clear round was Norman Dello Joio on Malcolm, who finished in 37.714 seconds.

This was a good win for New York City resident Bloomberg, who has only shown District, an 11-year-old French-bred horse, since this past fall. "I really kind of got thrown into the grand prix too quickly with him because I had a lack of horses, and I really didn't have time to get to know him," she explained. "So he's taken a step back through Florida. We've kept him lower, and I've gotten to know him a little bit better. It's really starting to pay off now."

Bloomberg was happy to have a change of scenery at the Tampa Equestrian Festival. "I'm happy to be here," she said. "It was nice to start off with a win. It's good for the confidence for the week, (and) it's great to know that he's comfortable in there and that tomorrow I can really go for it."

Bloomberg will contest the $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup tomorrow afternoon, which is the highlight class for the jumpers for the day. It is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. in the covered ring on the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center show grounds.

Tomorrow's grand prix is one of three remaining qualifiers for the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, held at Raymond James Stadium at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. The qualifying events left are:
March 27: $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup at week two of the Tampa Equestrian Festival
March 30: $75,000 FEI World Cup Qualifier & the Just World Grand Prix of Tampa CSI 3* W at week two of the Tampa Equestrian Festival
April 2: $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup, CSI at week three of the Tampa Equestrian Festival

Tickets for the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational are still available. Advance ticket prices are $25 in the white section, $35 in the blue section, and $40 in the red section. An Advance Family 4-pack is available for $70 in the white section and $125 in the blue section (Prices higher day of show: $30, $40, $45, $85, $140). Group prices for 20 or more people are available with advance purchase only. They are $17 each in the white section and $30 each in the blue section. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster 813-287-8844, 727-898-2100 or ticketmaster.com.

For more information on the Tampa Equestrian Festival and the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, please visit www.stadiumjumping.com.

Final Results: 1.40m Jumpers
1. District, Georgina Bloomberg: 0/0/36.436
2. Malcolm, Norman Dello Joio: 0/0/37.714
3. Can Get You, Kate Levy: 0/1/40.311
4. Lutopia, Molly Ashe Cawley: 0/4/33.727
5. Ormsby Hill, Jimmy Torano: 0/4/36.413
6. Pacific Beach, Kate Levy: 0/4/36.519
7. Larioso, McLain Ward: 0/4/36.753
8. Cool Flood, Ashley Partow: 0/6/41.511