United States Equestrian Team's Gold Medal Pan American Games Team To Compete at 2003 Hampton Classic Horse Show U.S. Team Also Includes Two Individual Medalists

Gold Medal United States Team (Pan American Games) l-r: Margie Engle, Chris Kappler, Lauren Hough, Beezie Madden

Photo Credit: Diana De Rosa © 2003

Contact:
Contact: Marty Bauman, (508) 698-6810
uset.pr@verizon.net

Bridgehampton, NY--August 18, 2003--All four riders who won the team Gold Medal for the United States at the XIV Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will compete at the 28th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, August 24-31 in Bridgehampton, New York.

The U.S. squad of Margie Goldstein Engle of Wellington, FL; Lauren Hough, also of Wellington, FL; Chris Kappler of Pittstown, NJ and Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY will be on hand throughout the week, competing daily with an eye on the Classic's premier event, the $150,000 Prudential Financial Grand Prix which culminates the Classic on Sunday, August 31. Engle, who also won the Individual Bronze Medal at the Pan Am Games, has won the Prudential Financial Grand Prix a record three consecutive years.

The U.S. win at Santo Domingo was particularly noteworthy in that the United States entered the Games needing to finish first or second in order to qualify for next year's Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The U.S. successfully pulled this off, clinching the Gold and adding two individual medals. In addition to Engle's individual Bronze, the U.S. had another medal win by Kappler who turned in two fault-free rides in the Nations' Cup on his way to the Individual Silver Medal.

Joining the U.S. Pan Am riders at the Hampton Classic will be Eric Lamaze who competed at the Pan Am Games for Canada. Lamaze's wife, U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) veteran Megan Johnstone Lamaze, will also compete at the Classic this year.

The 2003 Hampton Classic show jumping competition gets underway on Manhattan Mortgage Company's Opening Day, presented by Distinction Magazine, with a new open jumper speed class, the $20,000 David Yurman Time Challenge. This competition, a new event honoring David Yurman's 10 years of generous sponsorship of the Hampton Classic, marks the first time the Classic has presented a show jumping competition in its Grand Prix Ring on Opening Day. Following an off-day on Monday, August 25, the Classic will feature world-class show jumping competition daily throughout the week, all leading up to the Prudential Financial Grand Prix on August 31.

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Each year the Hampton Classic Horse Show attracts more than 50,000 spectators and celebrities to watch the country's best horses and riders compete. With the creme de la creme of show jumping riders attending the show and a star-studded audience cheering them on, the Hampton Classic is a weeklong sports and entertainment spectacle.

There simply is no other competition that brings together the thrill and prestige of the hunter-jumper circuit with so many thousands of spectators, extravagant social events, and celebrities, all surrounded by the beaches and elegant villages of Long Island's summer playground--The Hamptons.

Five show rings, plus vendors, restaurants, and the children's area will be operating throughout the week. Admission is $5 per person or $15 per carload, with children under 6 admitted free. Reserved grandstand seating for Sunday, August 31 is $15 per person (in addition to $5/person or $15/carload admission) or $25 per person in the special Premium Seating center sections. Parking is free throughout the show week.

For more information on the Hampton Classic be sure to visit the website at www.hamptonclassic.com or call 631-537-3177. For further press information: Marty Bauman, (508) 698-6810, classic.pr@verizon.net.