Wellington, FL - February 18 - 35 competitors turned out for the fourth round of the $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup CSI 3* at the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida. This week's show is the Lincoln Florida Classic/WCHR Huner Spectacular.

The WEF Challenge Cup is a nine week long series of $25,000 Grand Prix events that conclude in Tampa as part of the final week of the Winter Equestrian Festival. The series is also a major money qualifier for the grand finale of the Winter Equestrian Festival, the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational. The Invitational will be held on Saturday night, April 2, 2005, under the lights at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.

Guilherme Noguiera Jorge of Campinas, Brazil, is the course designer this week. The Challenge Cup classes alternate between jump-off classes and first round speed events. Scoring for today's class was under FEI Table A. One Round Against the Clock. Art. 238.2.1 or "Fastest Clear Round."

The hunters, spotlighted this week at the Winter Equestrian Festival, are competing in the Internationale Arena. Today's WEF Challenge Round 4 was held in the adjacent DeNemethy Arena.

Laura Kraut, already a Grand Prix winner three times this circuit, made a bid to make it four with a clean round and a time of 66.94 seconds. Aboard Joyous owned by the Summit Partners, Kraut rode out of the second spot in the jumping order.

Following Kraut, nine entries challenged, and while a couple had the time, none could produce the clean round to go with their fast times. Three riders, in fact, had the time to win but had a single rail down. The exacting course saw only seven clear rides on the day. Twelve horse and rider combinations had four faults and another six had eight faults. Ten duos accumulated 12 or more jumping penalties.

In the 12th spot, Languster, owned by Ryan Automotive and ridden by Nona Garson, produced the second clear ride of the day but came home well short of Kraut's target time in 70.57 seconds.

Today's Challenge Cup headlines came from the 14th spot in the jumping order and were made by Cara Raether and News, owned by the Trelawny Farms. Raether piloted her chestnut gelding around the twisting and turning course in a new top time of 65.91 seconds to take over the number one spot. Raether's only challenge after that came from Little Big Man, owned and ridden by Laura Chapot, as the second last to go in the class. Chapot finished short of the mark however, in 67.87 seconds, winding up third.

Today's win was the biggest of the 25 year old Raether's career. "This is my biggest win for sure. I won with News in Culpepper, Virginia and in Lexington, Kentucky, but for sure today was the biggest and the nicest," she said, smiling.

Raether noted that getting a chance to watch Kraut go earlier was a big help. "I watched Laura Kraut go first and I know she's fast and I knew her horse is similar to mine, so I watched her plan," Raether explained. "I know that News is very fast and I had a chance to catch her. I just had to be sure to slow it down to the double combination that was causing all of the problems today and then work my plan and hope for the best," she said.

Raether also acknowledged the change of venue. "You're in a much smaller space in the DeNemethy Arena," she said. "So really, the only place you can be faster is in the turns. In the Internationale Arena you definitely can leave out some strides here and there. The big ring favors the big, long striding horses, so this really favored me today," Raether admitted. "My horse doesn't have that biggest stride but can make the really tight turns."

The partnership with her mount News is beginning to develop into something special. "I've been with him four years. I know him very well," Raether related. "He's a ten year old that I purchased as a six year old. He's really come on strong since last year in Europe, where he won a lot of the speed classes. That's why I chose the 'speed' WEF Challenge Cups as my classes."

For Raether, being healthy is something she's really cherishing right now. "For sure. I was injured twice during the 2003 season. I had reconstructive shoulder surgery and then I broke my humerus (long bone of the arm)," noted Raether. "The shoulder was a bit of an ongoing situation that they finally insisted I fix and just as I was coming back from that surgery, a horse in France flipped over on me and I broke my arm. Each injury kept me out of the saddle for three months, so I pretty much missed the entire 2003 show season," she said. "It took almost all of last year to get back to where I was before the injuries."

Today's win moves Raether into contention for one of the coveted spots in the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, the season ending finale, at Raymond James Stadium, in April.

Official Results - #101 $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series, Round 4, CSI 3* -2-18-05-DeNemethy Arena

2 - Joyous, Laura Kraut - 0/66.94

3 - Little Big Man, Laura Chapot - 0/67.87

4 - Languster, Nona Garson - 0/70.57

5 - Tarco, Candice King - 0/71.73

6 - Going Bananas, Ragan Roberts - 0/74.05

7 - Canaille, Margie Engle - 0/75.14

8 - Faldo, Anne Kursinski - 4/63/75

9 - Conquest II, Beezie Madden - 4/64.57

10 - Lorenzo, Anne Kursinski - 4/64.99

11 - Nadia, Georgina Bloomberg - 4/66.11

12 - Quarco V'T Merelsnest - 4/67.85

2005 Winter Equestrian Festival Fast Facts

EVENT: Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida

WHAT: Seven-week hunter/jumper and 3-week dressage horse show circuit produced by Stadium Jumping, Inc.

WHERE: Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club, 14440 Pierson Rd., Wellington, Florida 33414

WHEN: Wednesday through Sunday 2005 Show Dates:

Feb 16-20: Lincoln Florida Classic/WCHR Spectacular, CSI-W/Y/Ch, 'AA-WCHRA'

Feb 17-20: Zada Enterprises, LLC Florida Dressage Classic

Feb 23-27: Zada Enterprises, LLC Wellington Masters, CSI 3*, 'AA'

March 2-6: Cosequin Wellington Open, CSI-W, 'AA'

March 9-13: CN Finale, CSIO-US 4*, 'AA'

March 17-20: Zada Enterprises, LLC WEF Dressage Classic, CDI 3*/Y

HOURS: Wednesday through Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m.

ADMISSION: General Admission Tickets are available at the gate.

Wednesday: Admission is free. *Children 12 &Under Free Everyday

Thursday and Friday: Adults- $5.00, Seniors (65)/Children 13 & Over- $5.00

Saturday: Adults- $10.00, Seniors (65)/Children 13 & Over- $5.00

Sunday: Adults- $15.00, Seniors (65)/Children 13 & Over- $5.00

Weekly General Admission Pass- $30.00

Seasonal General Admission Pass- $125.00

VIP SEATING: Box Seats Tickets may be purchased at the gate. (Limited availability)

Location: Internationale Arena

Thursday and Friday: $15.00

Saturday: $20.00

Sunday: $30.00

Seasonal Reserved Box Seats- $250.00 per seat

VIP Tables in The Jockey Club (located at the International Arena) are available for purchase through Phelps Media Group, Inc. Please call 561-753-3389.

PARKING: Parking is free Wednesday through Sunday

DIRECTIONS: Approaching the show grounds from the Florida Turnpike, take Exit #93, Lake Worth Blvd., and travel west, crossing over 441. Travel five miles to South Shore Blvd., turn right on South Shore and proceed one mile to Pierson Road, then turn left at the light. Spectator Entrance is first left, on Equestrian Road. Approaching the show grounds from Interstate I-95, take Exit 49. Travel west on Forest Hill Blvd. 11 miles to South Shore Blvd. Turn left on South Shore and follow to Pierson Road. Turn right at the light on Pierson. Spectator Entrance is first left - Equestrian Road.

THE FACILITY: The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club is the home of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the site of the first outdoor Nations Cup held in the United States. The competition areas include the 400' x 400' grass Internationale Arena, which is surrounded by bermed seating, chalets, and VIP areas; plus the Bertalan DeNemethy Arena and Grand Hunter Field, both with all weather footing. Amenities include The Jockey Club VIP area.

PRIZE MONEY: Over $3 Million in total prize money, including:

* $1 Million Grand Prix Series

* $450,000 1.50 M-1.30M Jumper Series

* $300,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper Series

* $100,000 Senior Jumper Series

* $395,000 USEF 'AA' Hunter Section Series

* $200,000 Junior Jumper Series

* $168,000 Adult Amateur Jumper Series

* $32,000 Children's Jumper Series

* $9,500 Pony Jumper Series

HIGHLIGHTS: * Sunday, Feb 13, 2:00 p.m.: $50,000 Kilkenny/ICH Internationale Cup, CSI 3*

* Saturday, Feb 19, 7:00 p.m.: AHJF Hunter Spectacular of Palm Beach

* Sunday, Feb 20, 9:00 a.m.: $10,000 WEF Individual Young Rider Team and Individual Competition, CSI/Y Final

* Sunday, Feb 20, 2:00 p.m.: $60,000 Lincoln Idle Dice Classic presented by Palm Beach Post, CSI-W

* Friday, Feb 25, 7:00 p.m.: $15,000 Solaray Junior Jumper Gambler's Choice

* Sunday, Feb 27, 2:00 p.m.: $75,000 Zada Enterprises, LLC Masters Cup, CSI 3*

* Friday, March 4, 7:00 p.m.: $15,000 Solaray Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler's Choice

* Sunday, March 6, 2:00 p.m.: $75,000 Cosequin Florida Open Grand Prix, CSI-W

* Friday, March 11, 7:00 p.m.: $50,000 Samsung Nations Cup CSIO 4* presented by CN

* Sunday, March 13, 2:00 p.m.: $100,000 US Open Jumper Championship CSIO 4* presented by CN

FOOD: A diverse menu of food and beverages is available at the vendor courtyard and at vendors around the Internationale Arena, and are open during show hours.

SHOPPING: The vendor courtyard and individual booths around the Internationale Arena both offer equestrian equipment, apparel, jewelry, and home furnishings.

ECONOMIC IMPACT: The Winter Equestrian Festival, produced by Eugene R. Mische and Stadium Jumping, Inc., is the largest and longest consecutively running sporting event in the world. It is also the largest equestrian event and major contributor to Palm Beach County's $553+ million equestrian industry. (Courtesy of Palm Beach County Equestrian Commission, Inc.)

PALM BEACH POLO EQUESTRIAN CLUB: 14440 Pierson Rd., Wellington, FL, 33414; Tel: 561-793-JUMP; Fax: 561-753-7727; Website: www.stadiumjumping.com

STADIUM JUMPING, INC.: Corporate Office- 1301 Sixth Ave West, Suite 406, Bradenton, FL, 34205; Tel: 941-744-5465; Fax: 941-744-0874; Website: www.stadiumjumping.com