Culpeper, VA (July 15, 2003)--Marilyn Little of Frederick, MD, rode her family's Hertel Landman to victory in Sunday's $50,000 HITS Culpeper Grand Prix. Little bested a field of twenty-eight horse and rider pairs, sealing her victory with a clean jump-off round that was two seconds faster than her nearest rival. Kimberly Frey was the only other rider to post a double-clear, placing her second with her mount Tyson, owned by Overlook Farm. Todd Minikus and Gardenio, owned by Y Z Partners LLC, finished in third place. Fourth place also went to Marilyn Little on her second mount Champigny.

Grand Prix course designer, Jerry Dougherty, set a challenging 13-obstacle course that narrowed the field to only four horses for the jump-off. Marilyn Little advanced to the shortened seven-fence jump-off course with two horses--Champigny and Hertel Landman. Little opened with Champigny and the pair had some trouble at the double, knocking both rails and incurring a time fault. Todd Minikus and Gardenio were next to enter the ring. Minikus was robbed of his clear round, also at the double, when he knocked the last rail. Little's second trip on Hertel Landman proved to be the winning performance of the day. The pair cruised the course in a very fast time of 45.71 seconds leaving all the rails up. Kimberley Frey and Tyson finished out the field. Frey guided Tyson clear but could not catch Little's time, finishing in a time of 48.28 seconds.

Little's win at Culpeper will bring horse and rider up to 24th place in the New Marshall & Sterling League Grand Prix standings. This year the League is introducing a national indoor finals, September 17-21, at Worcester's Centrum Centre in Worcester, Massachusetts. Riders who qualify will have the exceptional opportunity to ride in two back-to-back $100,000 Grand Prix, first at the Marshall & Sterling National Indoor Finals, and a week later at the King Shavings US Grand Prix League (USGPL) invitational finals. The New Marshall & Sterling League national standings will be used to determine the top 30 who will qualify.

The King Shavings USGPL invitational finals, September 24-28, will take place at HITS Commonwealth Park during the final week of the HITS Culpeper circuit. The King Shavings USGPL will also feature a $15,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Low Invitational, $25,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner High Invitational, and $25,000 Pre-Green Hunter Invitational Classic, sponsored by Stillwell-Hansen and Four Winds Farm.

Other major award winners at HITS Culpeper/Cavalier Classic included:

Bayer Legend Leading Hunter Rider - Patty Stovel, Manakin Sabot, VA Bayer Legend Leading Jumper Rider - Todd Minikus, Loxahatchee, FL HBO Junior Medal Winner - Katelyn Ryan, Pittsburgh, PA Charles Owen Children's Medal Winner - Taylor Brown, Palmyra, VA Charles Owen Adult Medal Winner - Kim Jungherr, Amesbury, MA

Show jumping will resume at HITS Culpeper on August 13th.

HITS CULPEPER - HITS Commonwealth Park, 13256 Commonwealth Parkway, Culpeper, VA 22701. Telephone during horse shows: (540) 825-7469

MEDIA CONTACT- HITS Media & Public Relations, 319 Main Street, Saugerties, New York 12477-1330. Tel: 845-246-8833, Fax: 845-246-6371, E-Mail: info@hitsshows.com. Web: www.HitsShows.com

HITS CULPEPER SIDEBAR INFORMATION
HITS CULPEPER 2003 SHOW DATES ARE:
Winston National - August 13-17
Constitution Classic - August 20-24 (Marshall & Sterling League Wild Card Classes Offered)
King Shavings USGPL Invitational Finals - September 24-28

FEATURED EVENTS:
August 17, $50,000 HITS Culpeper Grand Prix
August 24, $50,000 HITS Culpeper Grand Prix
September 28, $100,000 USGPL Invitational Grand Prix

$50,000 HITS Culpeper Grand Prix - Sunday, July 13, 2003
HITS Culpeper, Cavalier Classic - Culpeper, VA
Jerry Dougherty, Geneva, IL: Course Designer
Place Horse Rider Owner Prize Money Rd 1 Faults Rd 2 Faults JO Time

1st Hertel Landman Marilyn Little Raylyn Farm/Marilyn Little $15,000 0 0 45.71
2nd Tyson Kimberley Frey Overlook Farm $11,000 0 0 48.28
3rd Gardenio Todd Minikus Y Z Partners LLC $6,500 0 4 47.35
4th Champigny Marilyn Little Raylyn Farm/Marilyn Little $4,000 0 8 64.10
5th Edgar Joe Fargis Mary B Schwab/Deji Farms LLC $3,000 1
6th Caucalis Henri Prudent Fred Graham $2,500 4
7th Gasherbrum Todd Minikus Davis Robinson $2,000 4
8th Primeur 58 Chris Kappler Kamine Family / Chris Kappler $1,500 4
9th Elu De La Hardiere Michael Walton Penlyn Farm $1,500 4
10th Captain Willie Ian Silitch Page Flournoy $1,000 4
11th Landgero Ragan Roberts A&J Show Stables $1,000 4
12th Brave Ally Ian Silitch November Hill Farm $1,000 4