Lake Placid, NY—July 4, 2004—Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ won the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy to close the 35th annual Lake Placid Horse Show.

Chapot, who previously won the competition in 1996, was one of only five from the starting field of 38 to qualify for the tiebreaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the 17-jump, first-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds. Margie Engle of Wellington, FL was the first to return for the eight-jump tiebreaker that featured an unusual faults-converted format. The Sydney Olympic veteran who has been a Grandprix champion in Lake Placid six times set a tough mark by finishing clean in 36.846 seconds on her 2000 Sydney Olympic mount, Hidden Creek’s Perin.

The next to return was Chapot and she blazed over the Steve Stephens-designed course, finishing clean in 36.030 seconds on her 10-year-old Dutch-bred, Little Big Man. None of the final three entries could catch Chapot with the closest being Callan Solem of Colt’s Neck, NJ who took third place by finishing clean in 37.070 seconds on Allison.

The Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy was donated to the Lake Placid Horse Shows by Mary Lou Whitney, whose horse Birdstone upset Smarty Jones to win the Belmont Stakes and deny the popular Smarty Jones his bid to win racing’s Triple Crown. Chapot also put herself in a position to win the Lake Placid Horse Shows’ $25,000 Hidden Creek Challenge that awards a $25,000 bonus to any rider winning the Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid and next week’s $50,000 Hermes I Love New York Grand Prix. The I Love New York Horse Show immediately follows the Lake Placid Horse Show on the North Elba Showgrounds, July 7-11.

Prior to the Grandprix, Jessica Siuda rode Jasmine to victory in the $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. Siuda topped a field of 30 horses by turning in two penalty-free rounds and the fastest jump-off time of 34.418 seconds. Paige Johnson placed second on Landria W in addition to placing fourth on Reddy Teddy and sixth on Kadena R. Louis Jacobs was third on Santa Cruz. The Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic is a member event of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series that helps determine who qualifies to ride in the National Horse Show in Wellington, FL in November.

Another member event of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series is the Shamrock Ventures LLC Junior Jumper Classic that was won by Charlie Jayne on Kinda Blue. Jayne topped a field of 26 entries with two clean rides and a jump-off time of 41.319 seconds. Finishing second was Gabby Slome on Salsa with a jump-off time of 43.319.

Sunday’s other activities included the Juliam Farm Lead Line class for children under the age of seven and the C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery Parade of Champions honoring division champions from the full week of competition at the Lake Placid Horse Show.

The 2004 Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New York Horse Show sponsors include A& M Beverages, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Store, American Grandprix Association, Anonymous, Ariat International, Inc., Barbara & Michael Bitterman, Brandy Parfums, Ltd., The Brown Dog Cafe and Wine Bar, Budweiser, The Charlotte Bobcats, Jane Forbes Clark, C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., The Cottage Cafe, The Country Saddler, Ltd., David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Der Dau Custom Boots and Shoes, Fox Run, Ltd., Golden Arrow Hotel, Hermes, Hilton Lake Placid Resort, The Hooker Family, Horse Watch, James Leslie Parker Photography, Juliam Farm, Lake Placid Lodge, Lake Placid Resort Hotel & Golf Club, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, The Levy Family, Lonesome Landing Garden Center, M&M Mars, McDonald’s, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Mountain Horse, Mr. Mike’s Pizza & Pasta, Muirfield Insurance, Inc., Nicola’s Over Main, North Elba Park District, On a Fence Designs & Rentals, ORDA/Whiteface Mountain, The Pepsi Bottling Group, The Phelps School, The Phillips Family, Pin Oak Farm, Practical Horseman, Price Chopper, Red-Kap Sales, Ruthie’s Run, Sidelines, Shamrock Ventures LLC, SLVR by Aerogear, Trelawny Farm, Turtle Lane Farm, The Tytel Family, Unusual Silver, U.S. Olympic Spirit Store, Wild Horse Wines, Woodlea Farms and WPTZ News Channel 5.

Admission to the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows is just $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Tickets are available at the gate. For more information, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.