Lake Placid, NY—July 3, 2004—Margie Engle of Wellington, FL rode Nobility to victory in the Golden Arrow 1.45m Open Jump-off Saturday at the 35th annual Lake Placid Horse Show.

Engle was one of only four from the starting field of 24 to qualify for the tiebreaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the 14-jump, first-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds. She was the third of the four to try the seven-jump tiebreaker, riding immediately after Christine Tribble of Suffield, CT who took the class lead with a clean jump-off ride in 37.882 seconds on Vegas. Engle, the Sydney Olympic veteran who has been a Grandprix champion in Lake Placid six times, beat Tribble’s time, finishing in 34.549 seconds for the win. Third place went to Ramiro Quintana of Argentina who finished the jump-off with four faults in 34.735 seconds on LaBelle.

Saturday’s other big winner was Kate Levy of South Salem, NY who rode Sampson to victory in the Charlotte Bobcats Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. Engle, Tribble, Quintana and Levy are all among the 45 entries in the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy that concludes the 35th annual Lake Placid Horse Show on Sunday afternoon.

Levy, whose win in the Charlotte Bobcats Jumper Classic clinched her the horse show’s Low Amateur-Owner championship, was one of 12 entries from the starting field of 62 to reach the jump-off with a clean first round. She then turned in a second clean round and her time of 29.215 seconds was the day’s fastest to earn her the win.

Saturday’s other winners included Julie Welles, who won the Adirondack Life Low Junior Jumper Classic on Lapeti and Jane Silfen who won The Phelps School North American League (NAL) Adult Amateur Jumper Classic on Mancuso. Silfen’s win earned her and Mancuso the championship in the horse show’s Adult Jumper (age 18-40) division.

The Phelps School Adult Amateur Jumper Classic is part of the North American League (NAL) that runs season-long series in six hunter and jumper divisions – Children’s Hunter, Children’s Jumper, Adult Hunter, Adult Jumper, Pony Jumper, and Open Jumper Speed. Each series culminates with a championship final at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA, in October. Riders need not be members of the NAL to compete in any qualifying classes, but only current members earn points toward year-end finals. For more information and a list of qualifying competitions for 2004, please visit the Ryegate Show Services website at www.Ryegate.com.

The 2004 Lake Placid Horse Show concludes Sunday with its main event, the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy. 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. This year, for the first time, the Lake Placid Horse Shows are presenting the $25,000 Hidden Creek Challenge, with a $25,000 bonus to be awarded to any rider who wins both 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 will follow the Lake Placid Horse Show, running July 7-11 at the same site.

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.