Tampa, FL-December 9, 2002-In the first ever Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series year-end finals held at the National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, Michael Morrissey and Summer Gay emerged as the Junior and Amateur-Owner Champions. Each bested a field of the nation's top riders and horses who had qualified for the Finals based on their performances in the Series throughout the year.

Morrisey, of Bradenton, FL, rode Eugene R. Mische's Gera 28 to the win by topping a starting field of 16 horse-and-rider combinations in the $15,000 BET Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Championship. Morrissey produced two clear rounds on the day and crossed through the timers with the fastest time in the jump-off of 42.470 seconds.

Only four horse-and-rider combinations jumped clear over the first round course, which was made up of twelve obstacles. Morrissey and the brother-and-sister duo of Maggie and Charlie Jayne were the only riders to qualify to ride over the shortened jump-off course. Charlie Jayne also produced two clear rounds on the day aboard Champion but his time of 43.905 seconds put him in second place. Maggie Jayne aboard Kinda Blue and Charlie Jayne aboard his other mount, Melbourne, each dropped one rail in the jump-off to put them in third and fourth place.

While Morrissey took top honors in the junior division, Summer Gay of Ridgefield, CT, and RGC Farm LLC's Pamina shone in the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner Classic. Gay was the only rider out of the starting field of fifteen to produce a clear ride in the first round and thus the need for a jump-off was eliminated. Six horse-and-rider combinations had one knock down on course to finish with a total of four faults in the first round creating a six-way tie for second place in the championship class.

The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, which is sponsored in part by a grant from the National Horse Sports Foundation, held classes at 51 horse shows across the country in 2002. The Series is designed to give Amateur-Owner and Junior riders the opportunity to compete at higher levels and serves as a proving ground for many riders who aspire to someday represent the United States in international competition.

The focus of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., located in Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL, is to encourage broader interest and participation in the equestrian sport of show jumping, as well as to educate the equestrian and non-equestrian alike by sharing the sport's lore, fundamentals, history and greatest achievements.

For more information about the 2002 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, please visit the Show Jumping Hall of Fame website at www.showjumpinghalloffame.net.