Gladstone, NJ—June 26, 2002—McLain Ward topped a field of 15 starters to win the $50,000 Rolex/USET Show Jumping Championship, part of the Fleet Show Jumping Division at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented by State Line Tack, held at the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, NJ.

Out of the starting field, seven horse-and-rider combinations went clean in the first round to qualify for the jump-off. Those qualifying for the jump-off included Candice King of Wellington, FL and Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, both of whom qualified on two mounts, Marylisa Leffler of Brookeville, MD, McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, and Margie Engle of Wellington, FL. Going first on Penlyn Farm’s Espadon, Candice King set the standard for the jump-off by riding fault- free in a time of 44.27 seconds. King and Espadon held the lead through the next two rides, Torano on Sir Ruly, Inc’s Aguila, and Leffler on Bruce Chovnick LLS’s Graf Rossini. King then beat her own first performance with her second ride aboard Caliskan, owned by Elizabeth Johnson, in a time of 42.596 seconds.

The second to last rider to go, Margie Engle then took over the top spot by going clear in a time of 41.754 seconds on her 2000 Sydney Olympic mount, Hidden Creek’s Perin. The class came down to a battle between Ward and Engle, who have held the top two spots on the USET Show Jumping Computer Ranking List all year. Ward, the last rider in the ring, and his mount Viktor, co-owned by Ward and Harry Gill, were able to shave six tenths of a second off of Engle’s time to cross through the timers with a clear round in 41.198 seconds to win the class.

Ward offered Viktor much of the credit for the pair’s successful weekend at the Bayer/ USET Festival of Champions. “He’s a great horse to have. You think and he does it. It’s nice to have a partner like that,” Ward said.

For further information and full results from the Bayer/ USET Festival of Champions Presented by State Line Tack, please visit the USET website at www.uset.org . Highlights of the Festival will the aired on the Outdoor Life Network on July 2 at 8:00 pm EDT.

The United States Equestrian Team is a non-profit organization that selects, trains, equips and finances equestrians of the highest possible standard to represent our country in major international competition, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships. To accomplish this the USET seeks out and nurtures the development of talented athletes - riders, drivers and horses - and provides the support and guidance they need to help them attain their fullest potential. For more information on the USET, please call (908) 234-1251, or visit USET ONLINE at www.uset.org.