Wellington, Fl - March 3 - Thirty-three top Amateur Owner jumpers took the field in the early Thursday morning feature at the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington. When the results were finalized and the cards were marked, it was Cara Raether racing to victory on Pedro, one of the newest additions to her string of horses.

The Cosequin Wellington Open is the title of the sixth of seven weeks of show jumping action at the nation's largest and longest running equestrian series. Following next week's CSIO United States-CN Finale, the equestrian community will pull up stakes in Wellington and move to Florida's west coast for two weeks of action in Tampa at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds. The festival's grand finale is the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational at Raymond James Stadium at 7 P.M. on Saturday, April 2, 2005.

The Amateur Owner Jumpers were just the beginning of what promises to be one of the busiest Thursdays in the history of the Winter Equestrian Festival with close to 90 entries expected to go to the post in the $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup, Round Six, at 7 P.M. in the Internationale Arena. The WEF Challenge Cup will be the first opportunity for many of the international show jumping stars, here from around the world for next week's Samsung Nations Cup, to jump under the lights and on the grass in Wellington.

Today's class was scored under Table II sec 2(b), Time First Jump-Off. This week's Internationale Ring Course Designer is Germany's Dr. Arno Gego.

Of the 33 starters, 11 produced first round clears and five of those horse and rider combinations went on to be double clear. Thirteen riders came home with four faults while ten had eight or more faults.

One of this year's most successful riders, the red hot Cara Raether, qualified all three of her horses for the tiebreaking jump-off against the clock. She would face stiff competition from Georgina Bloomberg, who advanced with both of her mounts and Federico Fernandez, also with two for the speed round.

Raether had knockdowns with her first two mounts and faced a clean round challenge from Georgina Bloomberg, who led the class with Action, owned by the Gotham Enterprises. Bloomberg was atop the leader board with no faults and a time of 34.056 seconds.

Raether's final chance came aboard the Trelawny Farm's Pedro, one of newest additions to her talented stable of jumpers. Raether blistered the jump-off course, knocking almost two seconds off of Bloomberg's top time. Raether flashed across the finish line in 32.075 seconds to take the lead.

Bloomberg had one final shot at Raether. With La Movida, another mount owned by the Gotham Enterprises, she fell just short of the mark, breaking the beams in 33.484 seconds, 1.409 seconds off the pace.

Having more than one shot at the top prize was an obvious benefit for Raether. "Georgina went before me on Action and I know that horse is always very, very fast," Raether accounted. "I had gone before Georgina with my other horse, early in the jump-off, and was three or four seconds slower than Georgina, so I knew I really had to pick up the pace with Pedro. And Georgina still had another one to go after me, so I knew I had to be fast. But Pedro is such a fast horse that I ended up making up all that time and coming home with the win," she said.

It appears that Pedro will fit in nicely with Raether's speedy style of riding. "He's a horse I bought this past summer in Spain and down here is the first time I've really gotten a chance to show him," she said. "Today was the first day that I actually turned him loose, let him go fast and tried to win. And we did win! The Amateur Owner division is the perfect spot for him to start. It's a great division, with great competition and we jump out on the big field," she added.

Raether knew that the competition and the courses this week would be some of the toughest yet, with Course Designer, Dr. Arno Gego setting the tests. "It was a tough course because it was Arno (Gego)," Raether laughed. "This was the first time we had the water jump all season and it was the opening class of the week. Plus it wasn't a great approach and there was no rail, so that got to a lot of people today. It was typical Arno; tough, very technical with options for adding or leaving out and while it wasn't crazy big, it was certainly hard enough," she said.

The Amateur Owner Jumpers take center stage again on Saturday morning in the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur Owner Jumper Classic at 8 A.M.

Official Results - #1028 - High Amateur Owner Jumpers, Table II 2(b) - 03-03-05 - Internationale Arena

2 - La Movida, Georgina Bloomberg -0-0/33.484

3 - Action, Georgina Bloomberg -0-0/34.056

4 - Garibaldy, Federico Fernandez -0-0/36.242

5 - Kenay, Federico Fernandez -0-0/39.535

6 - Quarnak De Longpre, Meghan Moran - 0-4/36.983

7 - Hippie De Blagni, Cara Raether - 0-4/38.777

8 - Zizou, Nathalie Mathers - 0-4/40.336

9 - Campezino, Lara Gay - 0-8/37.574

10 - Quilano De Kalvarie, Cara Raether - 0-8/38.562

11 - Roche Bobois Cobra, Aurora Rangel De Alba - 0-12/38.555

12 - Ronan, Alexa Weeks - 4-65.076

France's Philipe Rozier Tops a Field of 71 to Win 1.45m on Thursday Afternoon

Philip Rozier, a two time Olympian from the French Equestrian Team, expected to compete in the Samsung Nations Cup on Friday, March 11th, tuned up with a victory on Thursday afternoon at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Rozier, aboard Senna, posted a double clear round and crossed the finish line in a time 29.497 seconds for the victory. Lisa Jacquin aboard the Flintwood Farm's Kassidy finished off the pace by 0.172 seconds to finish in second place. Jacquin stopped the timers in 29.669 seconds.

Brianne Goutal and Onira from the Cloverleaf Farm, finished third in 29.826 seconds. Enzo La Mulotier, owned by Caroline Lloyd and ridden by Federico Sztyrle, had the fastest jump-off time but pulled one rail in the tiebreaker. Sztyrle, who finished in seventh place, came home in 27.389 seconds but with four faults.

Sixteen of the 71 starters were clear over the first round course but only 6 managed to produce double clear rides.

Official Results - #1002 1.45m - Table II, Sec 2(b) - 03-03-05 - Internationale Arena

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