NEW YORK, NY - November 6, 2004 - "It was my day," said Georgina Bloomberg of New York City, after claiming victory in the $100,000 Tavern on the Green Metropolitan Cup and the $50,000 Liberty Cup at the evening session of the Metropolitan National Horse Show at Pier 94 in Manhattan tonight.

Both competitions were held over three days, November 4, 5, and 6, in a modified World Cup format in which faults were carried over from each performance. For her win in the Metropolitan Cup, Bloomberg was also awarded the Whitney Stone Memorial Challenge Trophy donated by the late Mrs. Whitney Stone.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in the audience to watch his daughter ride to both victories and congratulate her. "He was just happy to see me go and see me do well," beamed Bloomberg.

In the past three nights of competition, the 21-year-old college student rode three of her horses, Lumina 2, Nadia, and Action, all owned by Gotham Enterprizes, in a total of 11 jumping courses and posted 10 clear rounds. "I find once you have one under your belt you go off of it and the self confidence helps, so I find they're easier to put together," she said. "Self confidence is probably the number one thing you can go into the ring with."

In the evening's featured class, Round 3, the $25,000 Two Round Final, 19 riders competed. Bloomberg came into the competition in a three-way tie for third position, carrying three faults forward from Rounds 1 and 2. Bloomberg had placed 11th in the Round 1 $25,000 Speed Class on Thursday with Lumina 2, and she won the $25,000 Jump-Off class on Friday with Nadia. In Round 3, the riders jumped a first round course, faults incurred were added to their tallies, and then the top 12 moved forward to a shortened jump-off course. Bloomberg went clean in both rounds, but her overall tally of three faults kept her tied with Kent Farrington of Chicago, Illinois, and his mount Madison owned by Alexa Weeks.

To break the tie, Bloomberg and Farrington went head-to-head in another jump-off. Farrington had the first two rails down, adding eight faults for a final score of 11 faults, which placed him second in the class. Bloomberg put in yet another clean trip to win the Round 3, $25,000 Two Round Final.

In the final placings for the $100,000 Tavern on the Green Metropolitan Cup, Bloomberg clinched her victory with a total tally of 3 faults. Farrington placed second overall with 11 faults. There was a two-way tie for third place in the overall standings before the Bloomberg/Farrington showdown, with Peter Pletcher of Magnolia, Texas, riding Charmed for owner Alex Dillard finishing with eight faults, as did Laura Linback of Mundelein, Illinois, riding Quintin for Woodrun Farm.

Tonight's top 12 competitors divided an additional $25,000 based on overall rankings. Georgina Bloomberg earned a total of $23,000 for her participation in the Metropolitan Cup.

Georgina Bloomberg And Action Win $50,000 Liberty Cup

Earlier in the evening, Georgina Bloomberg riding Action won the Round 3, $12,500 Two Round Final, which clinched the victory for her in the $50,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Liberty Cup.

Bloomberg had placed second in the $12,500 Speed Class on Thursday and won the $12,500 Jump-Off Class on Friday, so as the highest-ranking rider going into Round 3, she carried no faults.

Twenty-five riders attempted Linda Allen's tough first round course of 12 jumps. Only six riders cleared the course and did not add any more faults to their tally. The format called for the top 12 riders to return for the Jump-Off, but with ties, a total of 14 riders moved on to the short course.

Bloomberg rode a fairly conservative jump-off round with Action. "In a jump-off or speed run with him, I really tend to take a lot of risks and go for it, but today I really protected the clear rounds because I was going in with something to lose as opposed to the other way around," she explained. "I knew that if I had a rail I would be tied and we'd have to jump-off so I was really just trying to jump clear rounds."

The $12,500 Two Round Final ended in a three-way tie for first place when three riders all put in double-clear performances - Bloomberg with Action; Carolyn Kelly of New York, New York, riding Blast for River's Edge Farm; and Natalie Johnson of Greenwich, Connecticut, aboard Calino de Lezeaux for owner Brooke Johansen. But in the overall rankings, finishing with a total of zero faults, Bloomberg claimed victory in the $50,000 Liberty Cup. There was a tie for second place in the overall rankings. Danielle Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, aboard Lojano had eight faults, as did Blythe Marano of Denville, New Jersey, with River.

"It means a lot to really earn it as opposed to getting it by somebody else messing up," Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg trains with Jimmy Doyle and credited him, her office Manager Tracy Brindle, and her barn staff for their help in her success as a rider. "The team that I have behind me is absolutely better than anybody could ask for, from Jimmy to everyone at the barn," she said. "The emotional support team and the support team of the horses is incredible. I haven't been able to ride as much as I would really like to with school. I haven't been able to give it as much mentally and physically as I 'd really like to, and they have been so supportive and always have the horses ready for me. They always understand when I can't be there. Honestly couldn't do any of this without them."

Intermission Exhibition

During the intermission between the Liberty Cup and Metropolitan Cup competitions, dressage Olympian Belinda Nairn-Wertman performed a Grand Prix Freestyle exhibition riding her Friesian stallion Goffert. This duo is currently ranked 18th in the 2005 US League Final Rankings. Goffert is the only Friesian stallion in the United States competing at this level.

Maggie Jayne And Jubulent Win $25,000 Open Jumper

This year's Metropolitan National Horse Show also offered two $25,000 Open Jumper classes. Wrapping up the daytime session of the show, Maggie Jayne, 20, of Elgin, Illinois, marked her debut in the Open Jumpers in indoor competition by claiming victory in the $25,000 Open Jumper class riding Jubulent owned by Alex R. Jayne.

Maggie bested a field of 15 horses. Her brother Charlie Jayne rode Champion, also owned by Alex R. Jayne, to second place. Ragan Roberts of Carversville, Pennsylvania, aboard Narew for owner Jennifer Hoctor took the third place slot.

Course designer Linda Allen designed the track that required riders to jump 14 efforts within 79 seconds; those who went clear immediately tackled the shortened Jump-off course of six elements with Time Allowed set at 38 seconds.

Eight riders managed to move on to the jump-off, with five of them posting clean trips. Maggie Jayne and Jubulent set the pace as the second rider to go clean, clocking in at 31.07. Only Charlie Jayne was able to come close - going last in the order with Champion he cleared the course in 31.66 seconds for second place. Ragan Roberts and Narew took third place with a clear round in 32.43.

Jubulent is a 12-year-old Belgian gelding that Maggie has been riding for three years. "He was my junior jumper and I just started doing grand prix the past two years," said Maggie, who rides as a professional. "I just wanted to have a good solid clean round. He's naturally really fast so he was just fast on his own," she said of her winning jump-off time. "I've done the Juniors a lot here, but never in the Opens at the Metropolitan or any indoors before. This is my first week competing indoors in the Open Jumpers."

For complete results of The Metropolitan National Horse Show, visit www.nhs.org

The Metropolitan National Horse Show

The Metropolitan National Horse Show features five days and five nights of action, November 3-7, 2004, at Pier 94 and the Show Piers on the Hudson in New York City. Tickets and passes are available in a variety of packages and can be reserved by calling 866-NHS-SHOW or on the web at www.nhs.org

Directions

Pier 94 and The Show Piers is located at Twelfth Avenue (West Side Highway) and 54th Street. Use any access point to New York City, including the Lincoln, Holland, or Queens Midtown tunnels, or the George Washington Bridge, and proceed to the West Side Highway in Manhattan at 54th Street. Ample parking is available at Ship Terminal, Pier 92.

Public Transportation

Subway: A, C, E, to 50th Street, Manhattan

Bus: M31, M11, M50, Manhattan

Livery Cars: On standby at Pier 94 Entrance during show hours

Information

For further information on the Metropolitan National Horse Show, contact the National Horse Show Association of America, Ltd., PO Box 386, Greenvale, NY 11548. E-mail: NationalHS@aol.com; Phone: (516) 484-1865; Fax: (516) 484-1982. Or on the web, visit: www.nhs.org