Editor's Note: Apologies to anyone who believed that the Dressage would start at 8:00 AM as stated on the Fair Hill web site and repeated in these reports. Guess what? - the Test Ride was at 9:08 AM and the first competitor was scheduled for 9:30 AM. Due to the fog, the first ride was delayed until 10:00 AM. What can I tell you?

True Prospect Farm Dominates The first Day of Dressage

At the lunch breakof the first day of Dressage at the Dansko Fair Hill International CCI***, the Phillip Dutton/ Boyd Martin/Kayla Kitayama combo, of True Prospect Farm, in West Grove, PA, - former Aussie and Aussie and American - were in first, second and third place in the CCI*** Dressage after 16 rides.

Boyd, Phillip's Assistant Trainer at True Prospect Farm, is currently 4.8 faults ahead of his boss. (Boyd and Ying Yang Yo are pictured at the right. Yes! It was foggy!)

Boyd brought Ying Yang Yo from Australia almost two years ago. The pair ran at the Rolex-Kentucky CCI**** in 2006, where they finished eleventh. Their score here at Fair Hill was 46.1, thus far the only score in the forties.

Phillip rode Acorn Hill Farm's Woodburn, his first of three entries in the CCI***, to a score of 50.9. (Phillip and Woodburn are pictured at the left.)

Just to put some icing on the cake of True Prospect Farm, Cayla Katayama, of Orindo, California, who is based with Phillip at True Prospect in the east, is in third place with Esker Riada, on a score of 53.9. Boyd's wife, Silva Martin, a Grand Prix rider initially from Dusseldorf, Germany, works with Phillip's horses in Dressage and helps Cayla. (Cayla and Esker Riada are pictured at the right below. At last, the fog had dispersed.)

Cayla and Esker Riada won a section of the Advanced at Morven Park earlier this month. Esker Riada is the former ride of Werner Geven, who will represent The Netherlands here at Fair Hill tomorrow in the second portion of the Dressage.

Cayla said that she had been with Phillip since 2004 when she came east to go to college at Villa Nova which had been her first choice. "Phillip is the best rider in the country so I chose a college nearby because I wanted to ride with him."

About acquiring Esker Riada Cayla explained that the horse had come to Phillip's (True Prospect Farm) after the WEG, at Aachen, in 2006 where he had been ridden by Werner Geven for The Netherlands. Her former three star horse had been sent back to California, so she rode Esker Riada a few times and then bought him

New Zealand's Donna Smith, scheduled to ride in the sixth slot on Thursday morning, was unable to compete due to illness and may be rescheduled later today or tomorrow.

The CCI*** Dressage will start at 9:00 AM on Friday, fog permitting, NOT at 8:00 AM as stated on the Fair Hill web site.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: BethGold, 410-392-4682, Beth@classic-communications.com

Australian Boyd Martin Takes the Lead in Eventing
After First Day of Dressage Phase at Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country

Fair Hill, MD-October 18, 2007-Boyd Martin of Australia, and Ying Yang Yo held the lead in the Fair Hill International CCI*** Eventing Championship following the first of two days of the dressage phase at the 19th annual Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country.

Martin's score of 46.1 penalties puts him in the lead over Phillip Dutton of West Grove, PA, who had 50.9 penalties aboard Woodburn. Behind Dutton, a three-time winner of the event, was Cayla Kitayama of Orinda, CA, who turned in a score of 53.9 on Esker Riada.

The start of competition was delayed a half-hour due to a dense morning fog. Some fog still remained when competition began but it did not seem to impact either Dutton or Martin who rode third and fifth respectively. Kitayama rode 16th and the fog was pretty much gone by the time the Villanova University undergrad entered the ring.

The CCI***, which serves as the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) CCI*** Eventing Championship, continues with second half of the dressage phase on Friday and the cross-country phase on Saturday (starting at 12:30 pm) before culminating with the show jumping phase on Sunday (scheduled for 1:00 pm).

In addition to the CCI eventing competition, Friday's equestrian action at the Dansko Fair Hill International also features the opening dressage phase of five USEF Combined Driving Championships-the Advanced Single Pony Championship, Advanced Pair Pony Championship, Advanced Pony Four-in-Hand Championship, Advanced Single Horse Championship and Advanced Pair Horse Championship. Driving competition then continues on Saturday with the marathon (starting at 8:00 am) and concludes with the cones phase on Sunday (scheduled for 9:00 am).

Fair Hill's popular Dog Agility Trials are also on hand with over 400 canine competitors. Many additional exciting activities, including appearances by the Delmarva Miniature Horse Club with driving and hunter/jumper demonstrations, are set for the weekend.

Members of the United States Pony Club are on hand participating in the President's Cup Invitational Games. During the Games, riders in teams of five compete in a variety of challenging and entertaining relay races; awards will be presented to winning teams on Sunday.

The Kids Corner offers a variety of activities for the younger set. Puppeteer JackForeaker will perform and live music will be provided by RebeccaPitre's Whoa Buddy Productions.

Fair Hill's Country Shops boast a wide variety of shopping and dining, featuring vendors of tack, jewelry, artwork, pet needs, exceptional apparel and fine gifts for the approaching holiday seasons. The Fair Hill Club offers fine dining, while visitors seeking a more casual snack or meal will find pubs around the Fair Hill grounds serving classic Maryland crab-cakes and other treats. In fact, the Maryland Department of Agriculture named the Fair Hill International as a "Maryland Top Event!"

Healthy feet, healthy body, healthy planet. That's the spirit behind Dansko, founded in 1990 by husband and wife team, PeterKjellerup and Mandy Cabot, both former horse trainers. Now sold in over 3,000 leading independent and specialty retailer locations across North America, Dansko is the leader in all-day comfort footwear.

The 2007 Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country benefits Union Hospital in Elkton, MD. The hospital, whose mission is to enhance the health and well-being of the residents of Cecil County and its neighboring communities, has been caring for area families and neighbors for nearly 100 years.

Further information on this year's Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country is available by calling 410-398-2111 or by visiting the Fair Hill website at www.fairhillinternational.com.

Editor's Note: Times on the Fair Hill web site are not always accurate and should be checked on these pages. Cora Cushny, Editor.

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4047 IRON WORKS PARKWAY, LEXINGTON, KY 40511-8483 : (859) 258-2472 : (859) 231-6662 FAX

UNITED STATES EQUESTRIAN FEDERATION®

WWW.USEF.ORG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 18, 2007

USEF Champions to be Crowned at Fair Hill International and Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event

By Joanie Morris

Elkton, MD - As the 2007 competition year winds down, two eventing championships will be held over the weekend of October 19-21. Many of the country's best riders will culminate their season at the USEF National CCI*** Championship at the Fair Hill International Horse Trials in Elkton, MD. Up-and-coming horses and riders will test their skills at the CCI* level at the Hagyard Midsouth Three Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

Fair Hill International will offer the following 2007 USEF championships: National Under 25 Eventing Championship, National CCI*** Championship and the National Owner/Rider Championship. Two USET trophies are also offered, the Markham Trophy to the leading young rider and the Gladstone Trophy to the winning rider.

The hotly contested CCI*** Championship is available for the first time to Phillip Dutton. Dutton rode under the Australian flag until 2007 and has won the top honors at Fair Hill International three times (1996, 2000 and 2004). He represented the U.S. at this summer's Pan American Games picking up Team Gold and Individual Silver with Tru Luck. He hasn't been eligible for a national championship until this year. Fortunately, he'll have three chances.

Dutton rides the one and only horse to have won the competition before, The Foreman who had a banner year in 2005, placing second at both the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and the Burghley CCI****, has been sidelined with a minor injury for much of this year.

“He's had niggling splint soreness since April,” said Dutton about Ann Jones' 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. “He hasn't had a lot of runs but he's a good horse and hopefully he'll have a good shot at it.”

Dutton also brings two horses new to this level of competition. Acorn Hill Farm's Woodburn enters his first CCI*** with back to back wins at Five Points Horse Trials and in the CIC***-W at Wit's End in Canada in September. At 11 years old, Woodburn boasts an impressive record at the two-star level with former rider Emily Beshear. Dutton looks forward to not only next weekend but to the horse's future in general.

“He's won twice now in Southern Pines and at Wit's End,” said Dutton about the New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred. “I'm very excited about him and his prospect not just for Fair Hill but for the future.”

Rounding out Dutton's trio is Matchplay, owned by August Vettorino (who also owned his 2000 winner Drizzle). The 9-year-old English Thoroughbred-cross gelding had a hiccup on the cross-country at Wit's End in his final prep, but Dutton thinks he is another strong addition to his up-and-coming string of Advanced horses.

“I'm excited about Matchplay too,” Dutton said. “He was unlucky at Wit's End but he's had a good year.”

Dutton's teammate from the Pan American Games, Karen O'Connor will be the busiest rider of the weekend. She has four rides, two of which are contesting their first CCI***.

Mandiba and Hugh Knows are both inexperienced at this level but will have one of the most experienced pilots in the world to guide them around their debut. They were second and third respectively at the Florida International CCI** in April.

Mandiba, owned by Joan Goswell, has found life very easy since he was imported from Ireland as a 4-year-old. Bred to event, by Master Imp out of High Dolly (who represented Ireland in the Young Rider Europeans on multiple occasions) Mandiba has jumped through the levels with relative ease.

Hugh Knows, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Katherine Bruenig, won his first Advanced at Richland Park over the summer.

O'Connor's veteran, 16-year-old Upstage has jumped around the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** multiple times, the Burghley CCI**** and the 2006 World Equestrian Games -he will go out first something O'Connor considers the luck of the draw.

“I got really lucky on the draw so I get to on Upstage first and see how the course is riding,” she said about riding the New Zealand-bred gelding owned by Dick and Vita Thompson. “The two first timers go at the end. When I get to ride Upstage first the important thing, if he goes well, is not let my guard down and underestimate the exercises on the other horses. Both young horses have had great lead ups and I feel like they're fully prepared.”

O'Connor's fourth ride is relatively new to her, but they tested their partnership at the Jersey Fresh CCI*** in June and galloped to sixth place. Allstar, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Rebecca Broussard, was an alternate for this summer's Pan American Games.

“Allstar has had a great season,” said O'Connor. “I've actually ridden him the least of all the horses but I know him better now than in the spring.”

O'Connor won the Fall Championships in 2003 with Grand Slam when she was also the Silver medalist on the Pan American Championship division held concurrently that year with Joker's Wild.

75 horses will contest the eventing championship, which runs concurrently with four USEF National Driving Championships. Champions will be crowned over the weekend in the following categories: Advanced Single Pony, Advanced Single Horse, Advanced Pair Horse and Advanced Pony Team.

Almost 600 miles away at the Kentucky Horse Park, four individual National CCI* championships will take place. The Open CCI* Championship, the Championship for riders 19-21, the Junior Championship and the Amateur Championship have attracted solid fields of horses and riders.

Held in conjunction for the first time will be Eastern edition of the Junior/Young Rider National CCI* Team Championships. This championship has attracted five teams. The West coast version will be held at Galway Downs in Temecula, CA November 1-4.

ENDS

For more information please contact Joanie Morris: jmorris@usef.org

The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership for

equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the pursuit of

excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games. This is based on a

foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of horses. Embracing

this vision, the USEF strives to be the best national equestrian

federation in the world.