NEWS RELEASE

March 11, 2008

$200,000 CN Worldwide Grand Prix & USA vs. The World
Top WEF Week 9 Highlights

WELLINGTON, Fla., Mar. 11--The $200,000 CN Worldwide Grand Prix and World Cup qualifier and a $50,000 winner take all U.S.A. against The World showdown are highlights this week of the CN Winter Equestrian Festival presented by Zimmerman Advertising.

The CN USA vs. The World pits two teams of 10 riders each against each other in three jumping classes--an accumulator, a match race and a six-bar in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Saturday night.

The jumping spectacular will be followed by an arena polo match of USA vs. The World three-man teams in a three-chukker shootout.

The $200,000 Grand Prix will be preceded by a dressage musical freestyle and a hunter demonstration as a taste of the International Hunter Derby and the CDI Grand Prix Musical Freestyle competitions to be held in the centerpiece show ring the following Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Last week, the eighth on the WEF calendar, was all about international show jumping competition with the emphasis on the upcoming Olympic Games. The CSIO5* CN Wellington Open, held at the state-of-the-art PBIEC, featured three Selection Trials for the U.S. Team, the only Nations' Cup held in the United States, and two grand prix events.

In Friday night's $75,000 FEI Nations' Cup, presented by CN, the United States claimed their first victory since 2003.

The U.S. held the lead following the first round which nine nations started with a score of one, counting only the time fault incurred by Hillary Dobbs and Quincy B. In the second round, Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui delivered a clear with Ft. Lauderdale's Danielle Torano providing the drop score of eight faults with Marlo. When Dobbs of Sussex, N.J., came home clear, the victory was sealed for the United States without anchorman McLain Ward of Brewster, N.Y. and Sapphire having to go.

"It felt good to pull my weight on the American team," said Dobbs, 19. "All of us put in a clear round to claim the victory. I was so excited and so proud to be a part of another Nations' Cup team. It was an exciting experience."

The week of excitement came to a head on Sunday as the $150,000 CN US Open Jumping Championship, presented by Cosequin, got underway. From the 34-horse starting field, seven posted clear rounds over the course designed by Jose Gamarra of Bolivia. First back for the jump-off, Ireland's Edward Doyle guided Sequoyah Farm's Utopia home clear in a time of 46.92 seconds, a performance that would eventually place the pair third. Canada's Eric Lamaze and Hickstead provided the next double clear, racing around the course in a time of 41.62 seconds.

Lamaze's lead would be short-lived, however, as Farrington, who now calls Wellington home, and Up Chiqui entered the International Arena and did the seemingly impossible, shaving almost three seconds off Lamaze's time by crossing the timers in 38.81 seconds to claim victory.

"I watched Eric go, I was in the gate, and he's fast and Hickstead is very fast, but I think my horse is also naturally very fast," said Farrington, 27, of the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by William Dobbs, Alex Boone, and Jim McNerney. "I've gone light with him; I've hardly shown him at all this circuit. With so many weeks, I think it is easy to burn your horse out. I wanted to wait until the big money classes."

As for his decision not to enter the Olympic Selection Trials with Up Chiqui, Farrington explained, "Obviously the Olympics are a very special thing, and I hope one day to have the opportunity to do that, but I didn't think that was the right decision for that horse."

The event also acted as the fifth and final United States Show Jumping Team Selection Trial for the 2008 Olympic Games, presented by Equine Motor Coach and Hong Kong Tourism. Sydney Olympian Laura Kraut of Wellington topped the Selection Trial standings with a total of seven faults riding Cedric. For Kraut, winning the Selection Trials with Cedric was an incredible achievement.

"He's an amazing animal," said Kraut of the 10-year-old gray gelding owned by Happy Hill Farm. "Like I've said before, he really gets this sport and understands that he's not supposed to have rails down. The one rail that he had over the five selection trials was, for sure, my fault. He's grown up a lot through this process."

Following the conclusion of the Selection Trial process, the U.S. Equestrian Federation's Ad Hoc Committee on Selection approved 10 horse-rider combinations that will participate in a pre-Olympic European tour before the 2008 Olympic Show Jumping Team is named. The top six riders in the Selection Trial standings were named to the list and included Kraut with Cedric, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson with SRF Dragonfly, Anne Kursinski with Champ 163, Charlie Jayne with Urbanus, Kate Levy with Vent du Nord and Kursinski with her second mount, Roxana 112.

Beezie Madden's Authentic and McLain Ward's Sapphire were given byes before the Selection Trials began while Jeffery Welles and Armani were granted a bye following the second Selection Trial. The final subjective choice was Will Simpson and Carlsson vom Dach who had been sitting third in the standings coming into the final selection trial. On Saturday morning, the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by El Campeon Farms was found traumatized in his stall, most probably due to stress caused by a severe overnight thunderstorm, and was unable to contest the final selection trial.

The 2008 CN Winter Equestrian Festival, presented by Zimmerman Advertising, attracts the best horses and riders from around the world to Wellington, Fla., and offers more than $5 million in prize money. For more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com.

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