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Five-Time
Olympian Bruce Davidson Leads After Dressage Phase At MBNA
Foxhall
Cup
Tina Konyot Wins Grand Prix Dressage Competition
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ATLANTA
(April 19, 2002) -Five-time U.S. Olympic veteran Bruce Davidson
of Unionville, PA and his mount Welton Tangle held their lead after
the completion of the dressage phase of the 2002 MBNA Foxhall Cup,
the National Championship of Eventing, at Foxhall Farm just outside
Atlanta, GA.
Established
in 2000 by Jim Richards, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is a three-star level
eventing competition designated by USA Equestrian as the National
Championship of Eventing and by the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET)
as its three-star Spring Championship. The title sponsor of this
event is the MBNA America Bank. The MBNA Foxhall Cup donates proceeds
to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta based catastrophic care hospital
that treats individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord injuries.
Davidson
competed his 11-year-old British Thoroughbred owned by Amy Ruth
DeWind of Unionville, PA, on Thursday's opening day and he received
a score of 47.21 penalties from the panel of three judges. Despite
a record field of 99 horses, Davidson's lead held up through Friday's
second half of the dressage phase.
Moving
into second place on Friday was Darren Chiacchia of Ocala, FL and
Windfall, a 10-year-old Trakaner stallion owned by Dr. Timothy Holekamp
of Ocala. They received a score of 47.60 to earn the same position
in the standings they held after dressage in 2001.
Davidson,
a two-time World Three Day Event Champion and the 14-time U.S. Combined
Training Association (USCTA) Rider of the Year, also holds third
place after scoring 47.81 on Friday on his other mount, Squire's
Cap, a 9-year-old, American Thoroughbred owned by Mr. And Mrs. Phelps
Witter of Unionville. Davidson, a member of two Gold Medal-winning
USET Olympic squads, at Montreal in 1976 and Los Angeles in 1984,
as well as Silver Medal-winning teams at Munich in 1972 and Atlanta
in 1996, placed fourth place at the inaugural Foxhall Cup CCI***
in 2000.
The
Eventing Championship continues with the exciting cross country
phase on Saturday before culminating with the stadium jumping phase
on Sunday.
In
its third year, the MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI*** is the first of five
2002 selection trials for USET riders hoping to qualify to represent
the United States at the Eventing World Championships to be contested
at the World Equestrian Games in Spain in September. The World Equestrian
Games are held every four years and, other than the Olympics, is
the world's most important equestrian competition.
In
the Grand Prix dressage competition being contested in conjunction
with the MBNA Foxhall Cup, Tina Konyot of Palm City, FL rode her
horse Abrikos to
first place, receiving a score of 67.600% from the three-judge panel
of Marianne Ludwig, Lorraine MacDonald and Brenda Minor.
Placing
second was James Koford who had a score of 62.866% on Petit Ribot.
They were followed in the standings by Mimi Block and Asarhaddon
(62.866%),
Heather Bender on Mikhail (62.733%), James Koford on Fellipe (62.600%)
and Olympic eventer Carl Bouckeart on Goodwood (58.733%). The $20,000
dressage
competition concludes Sunday with the musical freestyle prior to
the conclusion of the stadium jumping phase of the eventing championship.
All
six horses will compete in inverse order of Friday's finish.
The
inaugural Foxhall Flower Show is also being held in conjunction
with the MBNA Foxhall Cup. Based on the spirit, tradition and elegance
of outdoor
European flower shows, the event is the largest open-air flower
show in the eastern United States and offers over $100,000 in prizes.
Proceeds benefit
botanical gardens of Georgia. For more information on the flower
show, please visit www.foxhallflowershow.com.
For
more information on the MBNA Foxhall Cup, including full results
and how to purchase tickets, please visit www.foxhallcup.com
Full results are also available at
www.skunkware.tv
.
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