For Immediate Release

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

International Veterans Head List of Entries for 2004 Vermont Summer Festival

East Dorset, VT—June 21, 2004— Appearances by international show jumping veterans and Grand Prix champions will add to the excitement of this year’s Vermont Summer Festival when it returns to Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, Vermont, July 14—August 15.

The Vermont Summer Festival’s competitors and spectators can look forward to brushing shoulders and sharing the ring with some of the best show jumpers competing in the United States.

“This year’s list of Grand Prix riders is full of talent and experience at the highest levels of international competition,” said Dotty Ammerman, Executive Director of Vermont Summer Festival, “We are expecting one of the most exciting Vermont Summer Festivals ever, with a thrilling $35,000 Grand Prix every week.”

Competing in the weekly $35,000 Grand Prix will be Lisa Jacquin, a two-time Olympian who represented the U.S. in the Seoul Games of 1988 and the Barcelona Games of 1992. Jacquin won the $35,000 Valley Classic Grand Prix at the 2003 Vermont Summer Festival.

Federico Sztyrle, who represented Argentina in the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, had a major victory in 2003 when he won the $50,000 Kilkenny/ICH International Cup in Wellington, FL. He returns to compete in Vermont as he has in recent years. Also competing at the 2004 Vermont Summer Festival will be Harold Chopping, an alternate for the Canadian Olympic Team at the Barcelona Games in 1992. Chopping, currently a resident of North Carolina, has ridden for his native Canada in the World Cup Finals three times.

Also competing are such Grand Prix riders as Bill Lowery, who won the $35,000 Grand Prix at last year’s Manchester and the Mountains Horse Show; Jimmy Torano, winner of the 2001 Valley Classic $35,000 Grand Prix; Ken Berkley, winner of the 2002 Manchester Summer Festival $35,000 Grand Prix; and Mary Lisa Leffler, winner of the Vermont Summer Celebration’s $35,000 Grand Prix in 2002.

The five weeks of The Vermont Summer Festival will feature 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. The $35,000 Grand Prix series will be held on the Sunday of each week.

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

Also highlighting each week of the Festival’s schedule is a Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series is designed to give junior and amateur-owner riders an opportunity to compete at higher levels and serves as a proving ground for many riders who aspire to someday represent the United States in international competition.

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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