NEWS RELEASE

March 13, 2008

Forty-five Riders from 12 States, Canada to
Start George H. Morris Excellence in Equitation

WELLINGTON, Fla., Mar. 13--Forty five riders from 12 states and Canada will start in the inaugural George H. Morris Excellence in Equitation competition at the CN Winter Equestrian Festival presented by Zimmerman Advertising at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center Friday, March 14.

A star studded cast of judges and officials will score the three-round competition in the glittering International Arena under floodlights that is the centerpiece of PBIEC. Dozens of entries were received from around the country for the class.

George Morris will be joined by Olympic individual gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa in one panel, while Olympian Melanie Smith Taylor and Jimmy Torano of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. will make up the second panel of judges. Olympian Anne Kursinski will be in the schooling area to judge how the riders perform their warm up and horse care throughout the class which bars trainers and anyone else from being in contact with the riders.

The unique format of the class of junior riders calls for two rounds over courses designed by Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios in consultation with Morris and a third round of the Final Four exchanging horses.

The class was created to honor George H. Morris who literally wrote the book on the discipline. During a career that has spanned several decades, Morris won the AHSA Hunter Seat Medal and the Maclay Finals at age 14, was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 1960 Rome Olympics, the trainer of numerous Olympic medalists and, most recently, chef d'equipe of the U.S. Equestrian Team.

A riders' meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on the rider's deck next to the ingate of the International Arena. Depending on the completion of classes scheduled earlier in the day, show management hopes to allow time for hacking in the arena before the rider's meeting. An announcement will be made if that is possible.

The course walk will follow immediately after the riders' meeting.

The first round of the class will begin at 4 p.m.

Order Of Go

1 Annie Davidson, Newtown, Penn.
2 Rachel Roter, Ottsville, Penn.
3 Danielle Cooper, Oyster Bay, N.Y.
4 Olivia Fass, New York, N.Y.
5 Julia Weiss, Greenwich, Conn.
6 Laura King-Kaplan, Irvington, N.Y.
7 Amanda Knowles. King City, Ontario
8 Schaefer Raposa, Wellington, Fla.
9 Anna Becker, Branchville, N.J.
10 Karen Polle, New York, N.Y.
11 Zazou Hoffman, Santa Monica, Calif.
12 Olivia Clancy, Colts Neck, N.J.
13 Emily Gardner, Tallahassee, Fla.
14 Julianna Richardson, Redding, Conn.
15 Lauren Vogel, Darien, Conn.
16 Kelly Tropin, New Caanan, Conn.
17 Catherine Pasmore, White Hall, Va.
18 Alexandra Thornton, Bedmister, N.J.
19 Faye Keegan, Greenwich, Conn.
20 Quincy Hayes, Aurora, Ontario
21 Amelia McArdle. Barrington Hills, Ill.
22 Mathew Metell, N. Falmouth, Mass.
23 Paulena Johnson, Wellington, Fla.
24 Johanna Hyyppa, Simsbury, Conn.
25 Christy DiStefano, Ramsey, N.J.
26 Alexandra Biederman, Dallas, Tex.
27 Sophie Benjamin, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
28 Hillary McNerny, Lake Forest, Ill.
29 Kelsey Hart, East Greenbush, N.Y.
30 Kyle Wolf, Westport, Conn.
31 Reed Kessler, Wellington, Fla.
32 Maggie McAlary, Amherst, N.H.
33 Christina Lin, Lewisburg, Penn.
34 Emma Lipman, Bedford, N.Y.
35 Chelsea Moss, Medford, N.J.
36 Julianna Fischer, Wellington, Fla.
37 Jessica Springsteen, Colts Neck, N.J.
38 Alexandra Arute, Avon, Conn.
39 Katherine Newman, Upperville, Va.
40 Jacqueline Lubrano ,Glenmoore, Penn.
41 Jennifer Waxman, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
42 Carolyn Curcio, West Islip, N.Y.
43 Tilden Brighton, Rumson, N.J.
44 Victoria Birdsall, Topsfield, Mass.
45 Kimberly McCormack, Clermont, N.J.

CN is a leader in North American and worldwide freight transportation. CN is the only railroad crossing North America east-west and north-south serving ports on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts to link customers in all three NAFTA nations--the USA, Canada and Mexico. CN Worldwide makes global trade a reality.

Zimmerman Advertising, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, is an Omnicom Group company and the 15th largest advertising agency in the U.S. Offices are in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Atlanta.

FTI exists to help companies and their stakeholders protect and enhance enterprise value. FTI is the trusted advisor entrenched in many of the game-changing events that make headlines, move markets and create business history.

Back to News