For Immediate Release

Jennifer Ward for Starting Gate Communications

MEDIA CONTACT: (613) 569-2423 or www.startinggate.ca

Hospitality is a Highlight of the Vermont Summer Festival

East Dorset, VT — August 9, 2006 – For competitors, the annual Vermont Summer Festival, this year held July 12-August 13 in East Dorset, Vermont, is much more than simply a horse show.

Held over consecutive five weeks in the picturesque Green Mountains of southern Vermont, the well-organized hunter/jumper competition is renowned for its weekly exhibitor parties. Thanks to the gracious hospitality extended by organizers John and Dotty Ammerman, the Vermont Summer Festival has developed a reputation as an event where the focus is on fun.

"We feel that it is important for our exhibitors to have fun while they are here - it is not all about the competition," notes Dotty Ammerman. "Ever since we started the show, our approach has always been to ensure that the exhibitors enjoy themselves. Not everybody wins, but everyone should have a good time."

Each Wednesday, the Vermont Summer Festival hosts an exhibitor party open to all competitors and their families and friends. During the opening week of the Vermont Summer Festival, the historic Ross Estate was the site of the first exhibitor's party. The private residence was the first Morgan horse farm in the state of Vermont, which is especially significant given that the Morgan horse is the official state animal. In the courtyard of the converted stables on a beautiful Vermont summer evening, guests enjoyed a gourmet barbeque catered by Manchester's Black Swan Restaurant.

A new venue proved to be very popular for Week 2. The Riley Rink welcomed horse show exhibitors for an ice-skating and pizza party. Skates were complimentary, and pony competitors and Grand Prix riders alike took to the ice. Jimmy Torano, born and raised in Florida, traded in his riding boots for ice skates despite still being dressed in his breeches! He was joined by another Florida resident, Alan Korotkin, who celebrated his victory in the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, sponsored by Hand Motors, with a spin on the ice. To cap off the evening, guests were delighted to dive into a freezer full of individual cartons of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, an iconic Vermont-based business.

The annual 'family favorite' among horse show families was held during Week 3. An outdoor family barbeque is staged at the Bromley ski resort where the 'Bromley Thrill Zone' offers summer activities including an alpine slide, a water slide, space bikes that rotate 360 degrees, and trampolines.

Barrows House was the site of the Week 4 exhibitor's party, offering a perfect evening set at a quintessential Vermont Country Inn. This year's warm summer weather allowed guests to wander through Barrows House's century-old perennial gardens before piling their plates high with the culinary fixings that the chefs are famous for, then settling down to a table in the restaurant, tavern, porch or on the front lawn.

To cap off the Vermont Summer Festival, the final exhibitor party is staged in a marquee party tent on the grounds of the Equinox Resort & Spa. The grand finale set on the beautiful resort property, complete with gourmet catering, traditionally attracts the largest crowd. The location at the Equinox Resort & Spa is also the Vermont Summer Festival's way of acknowledging a grand prix sponsor that has supported the show for over five years. In addition to the fabulous food, set with the Green Mountains as a backdrop, guests are treated to an interactive falconry exhibit from the Equinox's famed British School of Falconry, which is the first school of its kind in the United States.

The parties are also a great opportunity to introduce exhibitors, many of whom have traveled from outside the state to attend the competition, to the distinctive features of Manchester and the surrounding area.

"The weekly exhibitor parties are a nice way to highlight the recreational opportunities and the historical properties of the area," confirms Ruth Lacey, Marketing Executive of the Vermont Summer Festival. "We have always felt that one of the big draws of the Vermont Summer Festival is the community in which we have chosen to host the event."

Featuring more than $650,000 in prize money, the Vermont Summer Festival includes a $10,000 Mini Prix each Friday and, for the first four weeks of competition, a $30,000 Sunday Grand Prix. The 2006 Vermont Summer Festival closes with the grand finale, the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on Sunday, August 13. The Vermont Summer Festival is also a proud member event of the Show Jumping Hall Of Fame, the Marshall & Sterling League, and the North American League (NAL).

For more information on the 2006 Vermont Summer Festival please e-mail.

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