Marty Bauman
Classic Communications
404.572.7200
classic.pr@verizon.net

ATLANTA (April 19, 2002) -Five-time U.S. Olympic veteran Bruce Davidson of Unionville, PA and his mount Welton Tangle held their lead after the completion of the dressage phase of the 2002 MBNA Foxhall Cup, the National Championship of Eventing, at Foxhall Farm just outside Atlanta, GA.

Established in 2000 by Jim Richards, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is a three-star level eventing competition designated by USA Equestrian as the National Championship of Eventing and by the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) as its three-star Spring Championship. The title sponsor of this event is the MBNA America Bank. The MBNA Foxhall Cup donates proceeds to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta based catastrophic care hospital that treats individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord injuries.

Davidson competed his 11-year-old British Thoroughbred owned by Amy Ruth DeWind of Unionville, PA, on Thursday’s opening day and he received a score of 47.21 penalties from the panel of three judges. Despite a record field of 99 horses, Davidson’s lead held up through Friday’s second half of the dressage phase.

Moving into second place on Friday was Darren Chiacchia of Ocala, FL and Windfall, a 10-year-old Trakaner stallion owned by Dr. Timothy Holekamp of Ocala. They received a score of 47.60 to earn the same position in the standings they held after dressage in 2001.

Davidson, a two-time World Three Day Event Champion and the 14-time U.S. Combined Training Association (USCTA) Rider of the Year, also holds third place after scoring 47.81 on Friday on his other mount, Squire’s Cap, a 9-year-old, American Thoroughbred owned by Mr. And Mrs. Phelps Witter of Unionville. Davidson, a member of two Gold Medal-winning USET Olympic squads, at Montreal in 1976 and Los Angeles in 1984, as well as Silver Medal-winning teams at Munich in 1972 and Atlanta in 1996, placed fourth place at the inaugural Foxhall Cup CCI*** in 2000.

The Eventing Championship continues with the exciting cross country phase on Saturday before culminating with the stadium jumping phase on Sunday.

In its third year, the MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI*** is the first of five 2002 selection trials for USET riders hoping to qualify to represent the United States at the Eventing World Championships to be contested at the World Equestrian Games in Spain in September. The World Equestrian Games are held every four years and, other than the Olympics, is the world’s most important equestrian competition.

In the Grand Prix dressage competition being contested in conjunction with the MBNA Foxhall Cup, Tina Konyot of Palm City, FL rode her horse Abrikos to first place, receiving a score of 67.600% from the three-judge panel of Marianne Ludwig, Lorraine MacDonald and Brenda Minor.

Placing second was James Koford who had a score of 62.866% on Petit Ribot. They were followed in the standings by Mimi Block and Asarhaddon (62.866%), Heather Bender on Mikhail (62.733%), James Koford on Fellipe (62.600%) and Olympic eventer Carl Bouckeart on Goodwood (58.733%). The $20,000 dressage competition concludes Sunday with the musical freestyle prior to the conclusion of the stadium jumping phase of the eventing championship. All six horses will compete in inverse order of Friday’s finish.

The inaugural Foxhall Flower Show is also being held in conjunction with the MBNA Foxhall Cup. Based on the spirit, tradition and elegance of outdoor European flower shows, the event is the largest open-air flower show in the eastern United States and offers over $100,000 in prizes. Proceeds benefit botanical gardens of Georgia. For more information on the flower show, please visit www.foxhallflowershow.com.

For more information on the MBNA Foxhall Cup, including full results and how to purchase tickets, please visit www.foxhallcup.com. Full results are also available at www.skunkware.tv.