Gold
Medal United States Team (Pan American Games) l-r: Margie
Engle, Chris Kappler, Lauren Hough, Beezie Madden
Photo Credit: Diana De Rosa (c) 2003
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United
States Equestrian Teams Gold Medal Pan American Games
Team To Compete at 2003 Hampton Classic Horse Show
U.S.
Team Also Includes Two Individual Medalists
Bridgehampton,
NYAugust 18, 2003All four riders who won the
team Gold Medal for the United States at the XIV Pan American
Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will compete
at the 28th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, August 24-31
in Bridgehampton, New York.
The
U.S. squad of Margie Goldstein Engle of Wellington, FL;
Lauren Hough, also of Wellington, FL; Chris Kappler of Pittstown,
NJ and Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, NY will be on hand throughout
the week, competing daily with an eye on the Classics
premier event, the $150,000 Prudential Financial Grand Prix
which culminates the Classic on Sunday, August 31. Engle,
who also won the Individual Bronze Medal at the Pan Am Games,
has won the Prudential Financial Grand Prix a record three
consecutive years.
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The
U.S. win at Santo Domingo was particularly noteworthy in that
the United States entered the Games needing to finish first or
second in order to qualify for next years Olympic Games
in Athens, Greece. The U.S. successfully pulled this off, clinching
the Gold and adding two individual medals. In addition to Engles
individual Bronze, the U.S. had another medal win by Kappler who
turned in two fault-free rides in the Nations Cup on his
way to the Individual Silver Medal.
Joining
the U.S. Pan Am riders at the Hampton Classic will be Eric Lamaze
who competed at the Pan Am Games for Canada. Lamazes wife,
U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) veteran Megan Johnstone Lamaze, will
also compete at the Classic this year.
The
2003 Hampton Classic show jumping competition gets underway on
Manhattan Mortgage Companys Opening Day, presented by Distinction
Magazine, with a new open jumper speed class, the $20,000 David
Yurman Time Challenge. This competition, a new event honoring
David Yurmans 10 years of generous sponsorship of the Hampton
Classic, marks the first time the Classic has presented a show
jumping competition in its Grand Prix Ring on Opening Day. Following
an off-day on Monday, August 25, the Classic will feature world-class
show jumping competition daily throughout the week, all leading
up to the Prudential Financial Grand Prix on August 31.
Each
year the Hampton Classic Horse Show attracts more than 50,000
spectators and celebrities to watch the countrys best horses
and riders compete. With the crème de la crème of
show jumping riders attending the show and a star-studded audience
cheering them on, the Hampton Classic is a weeklong sports and
entertainment spectacle.
There
simply is no other competition that brings together the thrill
and prestige of the hunter-jumper circuit with so many thousands
of spectators, extravagant social events, and celebrities, all
surrounded by the beaches and elegant villages of Long Islands
summer playgroundThe Hamptons.
Five
show rings, plus vendors, restaurants, and the childrens
area will be operating throughout the week. Admission is $5 per
person or $15 per carload, with children under 6 admitted free.
Reserved grandstand seating for Sunday, August 31 is $15 per person
(in addition to $5/person or $15/carload admission) or $25 per
person in the special Premium Seating center sections. Parking
is free throughout the show week.
For
more information on the Hampton Classic be sure to visit the website
at www.hamptonclassic.com
.