UNIONVILLE, PA-September 13, 2000-Canadian driver Sue Mott strengthened her lead in the Jaguar Triple Crown of Combined Driving by winning the Advanced Singles division at the Laurels Combined Driving Event in Unionville, PA, with her black Canadian gelding Caesar. Mott also won the first leg of the Jaguar Triple Crown, which was held at the Bayer/U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Festival of Champions in June in Gladstone, NJ. The final leg of this prestigious event occurs at the Fair Hill International in Fair Hill, MD on October 27-30.

Mott's winning score of 105.95 at the Laurels, gives her a 10.87 margin in the Triple Crown standings over fellow Canadian Kirsten Brunner, who scored 109.73 with Beaverwoods Birchley. Chandler Irwin of Chesapeake City, MD, and his Greystone Ben d'Or stand in third place following his third place score of 110.4 points. Nancy Johnson (Lincoln, MA) and her horse Canequin's Look Out are in fourth, followed by Scott Monroe (Sharon, CT) driving Bethesda After Dark, and Tom Hilgenberg (Newnan, GA) with Who's Zooming Who, respectively.

The Laurels, Gladstone, and Fair Hill events-traditionally the three events in the Jaguar Triple Crown of Driving-offer a testing, three-phase competition. The components are dressage, highlighting training and obedience; the exciting marathon, where speed, timing, and nerve rule the day; and cones, which emphasizes accuracy. The competition is for horses showing at the advanced level.

The World Singles Championship is being held in lieu of the Gladstone Driving Event, normally the second leg of the Jaguar Triple Crown. To accommodate Pairs drivers as well as Singles drivers not eligible for the World Championship, scores from the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions will be substituted for those normally scored at the Gladstone Driving Event. The driver with the best two scores in the Advanced Singles or Pairs competitions from the three legs of the Triple Crown will be crowned the 2000 Jaguar Triple Crown of Driving Champion at the conclusion of the Fair Hill International driving competition on Sunday, October 29.

The winner of the 2000 Jaguar Triple Crown of Driving receives an all-expense paid trip for two to the 2001 Royal Windsor Horse Show, generously donated by the Carriage Association of America, plus the free use of a new Jaguar while there.

For more information about the Jaguar Triple Crown of Combined Driving, please call (508) 698-6810.