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Leesburg, Virginia – Canadian Eventing athlete Stuart Black enjoyed a decisive victory in the Open Intermediate Division at the Loudon Hunt Pony Club Horse Trials held August 28-29 in Leesburg, VA.

Riding Fleeceworks Starlight, the Orangeville, ON, native won by a large margin, finishing the three phases of competition with a score of 41.20 penalty points. His closest rival, Bonnie Mosser riding Happy Valley, placed second with a score of 55 penalty points. Black not only won his division, but also had the lowest overall score of all the Open Intermediate competitors, who had been split into three divisions in order to accommodate the large number of entries. (Stuart and Fleeceworks Starlight are pictured at the left.)

In the opening phase of dressage, Black enjoyed a solid test to take the early lead with a score of 34 penalty points. A faultless show jumping performance, not surprising considering that Fleeceworks Starlight is by the famous show jumping sire, Cavalier, allowed him to easily retain the lead. Black came the closest to achieving the optimum time during the cross-country phase, adding just 7.2 time penalties to his score to claim yet another victory this season with Fleeceworks Starlight.

“Fleeceworks Starlight had the fastest time of the day on cross-country, she was jumping right out of stride,” commented Black, 44, of his seven-year-old Holsteiner/thoroughbred-cross mare. “The way that she is going is like a mature horse, she is a lot smarter after completing CCI** Colorado. Loudon Hunt presented quite a tough show jumping course with big fences and it was hard to make the time, but she was just a treat to ride.”

The victory was another step in the pair’s preparation for the CCI** Radnor Hunt International to be held in Malvern, PA, from October 6-10.

“We are being selective about how much we run before Radnor, that is what we have been aiming for all season,” explained Black, who lives and trains in Bluemont, VA, with his wife and fellow eventing competitor, Momi, and their one-year-old daughter, Kayleigh. “We are entered in a few events before, but Fleeceworks Starlight has been very successful and I want to be careful with her. She is running very well at the intermediate level and my goal is to have her peak for Radnor where there will be a large field of the best horses in the country.”

In addition to their win at the Loudon Hunt Horse Trials, Black and Fleeceworks Starlight recently enjoyed victory at the Wayne Horse Trials, Presented by Maui Jim, held July 9-11 in Wayne, IL, leading the Young Horse Intermediate Division from start to finish. In addition, Black claimed his third consecutive victory in the Advanced Division riding Fleeceworks Pacific Storm, his eight-year-old Canadian-bred gelding bred by Barbara Marks of British Columbia.

In May, Black and Fleeceworks Starlight won the CCI** High Prairie Three Day Event held at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, CO, where they were also the leaders in all three phases in the mare’s first two-star event.

A veteran of the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games as well as the 1998 World Equestrian Games, Black was named to the 2004 Canadian Olympic Team, but was replaced as the horses prepared to depart Toronto enroute to Athens.

“There is a misconception that I didn’t compete in Athens due to my Crohn’s disease,” clarified Black. “The one thing I would like to convey is that if there was anything wrong with me physically, I wouldn’t have been able to go out and put in a performance like this at Loudon. When the horses were preparing to leave for Athens, I was suffering from a migraine and the Selectors chose to remove me from the Team in a decision that I appealed. I have spent the past seven years getting over Crohn’s disease and building up my clientele, and the whole idea that there was something wrong with me physically is very damaging.”

Black is one of Canada’s most accomplished eventing athletes. He became the first foreign competitor to win the prestigious Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, claiming victory in 1992 aboard Von Perrier.

Fleeceworks, designers and manufacturers of high quality sheepskin products for equestrian use, sponsor three of Black’s horses – Fleeceworks Pacific Storm, Fleeceworks Starlight and Fleeceworks Blackout. Fleeceworks also sponsors Fleeceworks Mullingar, a former mount of Black’s who is now ridden by his wife and fellow international eventing competitor, Momi. For more information, please visit www.fleeceworks.com