July 4, 2001 LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK-U.S. Olympic veteran Margie Goldstein Engle of Wellington, FL won the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid for the Whitney Perpetual Challenge Trophy on the opening day of the 24th annual I Love New York Horse Show.

Engle gained her 101st Grandprix win on Hidden Creek’s Perin, the 10-year-old, German-bred gelding she rode in last year’s Sydney Olympic Games. She topped a field of 40 entries at the North Elba Show Grounds by turning in two penalty-free rides and the fastest jump-off time of 37.720 seconds in the rescheduled class that was rained out last Sunday on the closing day of the Lake Placid Horse Show.

“I agreed with Sunday’s decision to postpone the Grandprix,” Engle said. “You just shouldn’t take chances with horses of this caliber. It doesn’t take much for a big horse to land wrong and get hurt. I commend Richard Feldman for going the way he did and the big crowd that we got here today shows that he knew what he was doing.”

The jump-off format was an unusual faults-converted format where faults were converted to penalty seconds and added to each entry’s time. Engle did not have any knockdowns on Perin but she did feel that the format probably altered the way riders attacked the jump-off course. “I think most of the riders go a little faster than usual because you know that if you have a rail down you still can win,” she said. I think it’s good for the crowd because they like to see us ride fast.”

Placing second was Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ, 1996 winner of the class on Aiko. The daughter of Olympic veterans Frank and Mary Chapot (who rode in eight Olympic Games between them), Chapot had a jump-off time of 41.115 seconds on Sundance Kid. Third place went to McLain Ward of Brewster, NY with a time of 41.635 seconds on Victor.

The I Love New York Horse Show runs through Sunday with Saturday a major day of highlights. The featured competition will be the $50,000 Supracor I Love New York Grandprix, a featured stop on the American Grandprix Association national show jumping series. That competition will feature many of the same horses and riders that competed in the $50,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid. The Supracor Grandprix is slated to start at 2:00 p.m.

Earlier in the day will be the $20,000 Mirror Lake Inn/Pin Oak Farm Amateur-Owner Grandprix, a member event of the National Horse Sports Foundation/Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. Following this class, A&M Beverages and the Lake Placid Horse Show Association will pay tribute to the late Jimmy Quinn, a long-time supporter of the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows. During the class, A&M Beverages will host family and friends of Jimmy Quinn in a reception in the horse shows’ new Hall of Fame Club. Afterwards, the horse show will award the third annual Jimmy Quinn Award to the leading amateur-owner rider of the two weeks of the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows.

At 12:00 noon on Saturday, canines take center stage at the I Love New York Horse Show in the horse show’s ninth annual Doggie Costume Contest. All people with leashed dogs in costume are admitted to the horse show at no charge. Contestants strut their stuff in a special ring set up near the Spectator Viewing Area, next to the grand prix arena. Lonesome Landing of Saranac Lake and The Brown Dog Deli of Lake Placid, costume contest co-sponsors, will present awards to the "top dogs" and all entrants will receive treats.

The Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows are made possible through the generosity of many supporters and sponsors. Sponsors for the 2001 Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows include A&M Beverages, Inc., American Grandprix Association, Brandy Parfums, Inc., Budweiser, C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., CellularOne, Jane F. Clark, Cosequin/Nutramax Labs, Lisa A. H. Cudahy, Der-Dau Custom Made Boots, David Fowler Carpentry, Golden Arrow Hotel, Juliam Farm, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors’ Bureau, Lake Placid Lodge, Lonesome Landing, Miller’s Harness Company, Mirror Lake Inn, Moss Communications, Nicola’s Family Restaurants, ORDA-Whiteface Mountain, Pepsi-Cola Keeseville Bottling Company, Pin Oak Farm, Price Chopper, Red Kap Sales, Inc., Sand Castle Farm, LLC, Supracor, Swedish Hill Winery, The Brown Dog Deli & Wine Bar, The Hooker Family, The Phelps School, The Philips Family, Town of North Elba Park District, Trelawny Farm, Turtle Lane Farm, and WPTZ News Channel 5.

Admission to the horse show is $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the gate. Guided walking tours of the horse show grounds are available Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 11:30 am. The cost is just $1.00 in addition to the cost of admission. For more information, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit the web site at www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.