For Immediate Release

Contact: Marty Bauman, (508) 698-6810, classic.pr@verizon.net

2004 Vermont Summer Festival to Host Weekly Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series Classes for Junior and Amateur-Owner Riders

East Dorset, VT—June 1, 2004—This year’s Vermont Summer Festival will host weekly Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series classes for junior and amateur-owner riders during its five-week run at the Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT, July 14 to August 15.

As in 2003, the Festival will hold separate Hall of Fame classes for juniors and amateur-owners during each of its first three weeks of competition. For the final two weeks, the classes will be combined. Prior to last year, the Festival had hosted combined Hall of Fame classes each week.

“In splitting the classes for the juniors and amateur-owners, we double the total prize money available,” said Dotty Ammerman, Vermont Summer Festival Executive Director. “But more importantly for many of our exhibitors is the opportunity to earn coveted Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series points.”

Held each Sunday just prior to that week’s featured $35,000 Grand Prix, the Show Jumping Hall of Fame classes at the Vermont Summer Festival will offer a $10,000 purse and the opportunity to earn Series points towards qualifying to compete in the Year-End Championship at the National Horse Show in November.

Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series classes are held under Grand Prix rules and specifications. The Series, which is sponsored in part by a grant from the National Horse Sports Foundation, holds classes at nearly one hundred horse shows across the country. It is designed to give junior and amateur-owner riders an opportunity to compete at higher levels of competition and serves as a proving ground for many riders who aspire to someday represent the United States in international competition. For more information on the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, please visit www.showjumpinghalloffame.net.

In addition to exciting Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series classes, the Vermont Summer Festival’s five weeks of exciting equestrian competition — the Manchester Summer Festival, July 14-18; Manchester Classic Horse Show, July 21-25; Valley Classic, July 28-August 1; Manchester and the Mountains Horse Show, August 4-8; and the Vermont Summer Celebration, August 11-15 — will be highlighted by a USEF-recognized Grand Prix as well as a Mini Prix each week.

A Grand Prix showcases horses and riders competing at the highest level in the sport of show jumping. Olympic veterans and U.S. stars of international competition regularly compete in the Vermont Grand Prix.

The Vermont Summer Festival also awards numerous circuit championships in various levels of the hunter, jumper, and equitation divisions and features Marshall & Sterling and North American League Children’s and Adult Hunter and Jumper Classics.

Besides breathtaking equestrian competition, the Vermont Summer Festival provides a chance for equestrians to spend July and August in Vermont’s verdant Green Mountains where the summer is its most beautiful. The quaint New England towns of the Manchester and the Mountains area are noted for their charm, first-class accommodations, and superior dining. The region also offers a world-class shopping experience, including antiques and handmade arts and crafts as well as brand name outlets.

For further information on the 2004 Vermont Summer Festival, including prize lists and entry forms, please call (802) 496-4878 or email requests for entry forms to prize@vt-summerfestival.com.

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