base_template

Former Olympians from both the US and Canada hold the top spots after the first day of dressage competition in the CIC** division and for points in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series. Mara DePuy Dean, from Round Hill, VA, with Willow Bend LLC’s Good Stuff holds the lead with a score of 40.6. Mara is a veteran of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, where she placed 6th in the individual competition. (Mara and Good Stuff are pictured at the right below in the Dressage Phase at the Radnor CCI** last fall.)

Following close behind her is Kelli McMullen Temple, who placed 5th individually, just ahead of Dean, at the Atlanta Games, riding for Canada. Temple rode Paris II, an 8 year old Selle Francais gelding owned by Christine Stiller, to garner a score of 43.8. Darren Chiacchia, of Springville, NY, hopes to return to the winners circle here at the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials & CIC**. Darren won the event in 2002 and 2003. He sits in third place with a score of 48.4 with Gaspar II, who at 6 years of age, is the youngest horse competing in the CIC** division.

Friday’s competition will see the remaining riders in the international division, including more Olympic veterans, try to best Dean’s score.

This popular event, which attracts over 15,000 spectators, features an international division (CIC**), which is one of ten competitions in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series and offers a total purse of $7,500. In addition, the event hosts five other divisions--Novice, Training, Preliminary and Intermediate, for which in excess of $50,000 worth of prizes will be awarded. An extra day has been added to this year’s schedule to accommodate the increasing number of entries. Competitors travel from all over the country as well as Australia, Canada, Mexico, Finland, Hungary and India to compete over these spectacular grounds. Cosequin is now in its fourth year of sponsorship of this event, which remains the highlight of local competitors' event schedule.

The Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials & CIC** takes place through Sunday, July 24th, in Victor, NY. Friday’s action begins at 7:30 am and features dressage, stadium jumping and a United States Pony Club Games demonstration. For more information about the daily competition and directions to the event, please visit the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials & CIC** website at www.stuarthorsetrials.org.

Editor's Note: eventingetc had been scheduled, initially, to cover Stuart in person. However, Stuart has a "NO DOGS RULE". Because Misty was unable to go to Stuart, eventingetc was unable to go to Stuart.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------