Wellington, FL (May 30, 2012) – Bon Orpheo, a beautiful bay Lusitano, rode away with the Interagro Lusitano High Score Award at the Gold Coast Dressage Association Finale.

Horse Show is the Biggest Winner With Rave Reviews Across the Board  North Salem, NY—May 22, 2012— Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, made his long-anticipated return from a three-month layoff and showed that he hasn’t lost a thing as he swept both featured Grand Prix at the 2012 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows. As impressive as Ward was in his two Grand Prix wins, it was Old Salem Farm itself that seemed to make the biggest impression. “These horse shows were phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal,” said Grand Prix rider Jimmy Torano, a member of the Board of the North American Riders’ Group (NARG).  “The field, the footing, the hospitality — everything!  I think it’ll be in our top 10 and there’s one thing I can tell you for sure — you will absolutely see me back here next year!” McLain Ward and Antares The horse shows attracted a star-studded line-up that included Olympic riders such as Ward, Beezie Madden, Chris Kappler, Nona Garson, Leslie Howard, Anne Kursinski, Peter Leone and Mario Deslauriers.  It also featured internally-respected course designers like Alan Wade of Ireland and Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela who had great words or praise for Old Salem’s huge, grass Grand Prix Field. “It was a privilege for me to design courses in a ring like this,” the Olympic course designer said.  “The footing was perfect and the terrain gave me the chance to design courses that allow horses to be horses!” McLain Ward and Zander at the awards presentation.   In the ring, Ward announced loud and clear that he is back, riding to the win in the first week’s $40,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix on Grant Road Partners’ Antares F and then electrifying a packed crowd on Grant Road Partners’ Zander to capture the top prize in the second week’s $75,000 Empire State Grand Prix Sponsored by the Kincade Group.

Last Night: Casady Trumps the Joker in “Gambler’s Choice” The $3,750 Junior Jumpers Gambler’s Choice couldn’t have taken place on a more perfect evening, Friday night in the Dixon Oval. The air was full of excitement and the tension continued to build as the ring crew set boldly colored, towering jumps that looked like they would present quite a challenge for the 17 competitors

Opening Day in the Dixon Oval By Halie Greening T he opening day of Devon started out brilliantly in the Dixon Oval as the WIHS Equitation Classic- Jumper Phase got underway, with over 120 riders making the competition nothing but arduous. With a double and triple thrown into the mix, and an allowance of 81 seconds to complete the 3’6” course, this challenge set the standards for the junior jumpers. Meg O'Mara on Fernleigh (Photo by James Leslie Parker) The WIHS is divided into four sections and had strong riders in each setting the bar high for scores. The highest open numerical score was set by Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL who rode VIP Z to the score to beat of 91, and won the first of the four sections, Colvin had a fluid and flawless ride.  A spectator commented as the section continued, “She’ll win, she’ll stay on top,” and she most certainly did. Junior jumper Meg O’Mara of Rumson, NJ brought in the blue in the second section of WIHS atop Fernleigh in a flawless round with acute accuracy giving her a score of 90 finishing in a clean 68.778 seconds.  Continuing on to the third section of the first junior jumper class of the day, Elizabeth Benson of Whitehouse Station, NJ and trained by Stacia Madden put up a clean score of 89 on San Remo VDL for the win. In the fourth and final section of the WIHS Equitation Classic- Jumper Phase, a mere point put Schaefer Raposa of Wellington, FL riding Charlie Z.  with a score of 87 safely ahead of Julia Fowler’s 86. Elizabeth Benson on San Remo VDL (Photo by James Leslie Parker) A long list of robust junior equestrian athletes commanded all attention in the Dixon Oval during the WIHS Equitation Classic sponsored by Turner Investments and set high expectations for Junior Weekend