For Immediate Release

Mary Hilton for Starting Gate Communications

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

Julie Welles Wins USEF Show Jumping Talent Search and USEF Medal at Vermont Summer Festival

East Dorset, VT — July 13, 2006 – Julie Welles, 18, of West Simsbury, Connecticut, riding Littlefoot logged two major victories today at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, Vermont, winning both the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search and the USEF Medal. “It was a good day, I’m happy,” said Welles, and credited her horse, “He was very good. It’s a good feeling.”

The 'Manchester Summer Festival', opening week of the five-week Vermont Summer Festival, runs through Sunday, July 16, and features five rings of hunter/jumper competition.

Welles aboard Littlefoot won the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search in the two-phase morning class. Welles rode the eight-year-old bay gelding owned by North Run and Missy Clark to first place in the jumping phase and first place in the equitation phase to come out on top, besting a field of 31 horses. Welles trains with Missy Clark and Linda Langmeier. Brooke Coleman of Houston, Texas, riding her own Charlie Z, placed second. Nikko Ritter of Geneva, Florida, aboard Double O Seven owned by Bibby Farmer-Hill placed third.

Welles was renewing her partnership with Littlefoot today, having not shown him for more than a year. “The course was straightforward. He has a huge stride. There were a lot of straight lines, so it was easy for him. He jumped really well,” Welles said of the first phase over 11 fences, which included a triple and a double, built by course designer Anthony D’Ambrosio. Welles assessed that her horse’s ride-ability was an important factor in her overall victory. “He kept the same expression over the whole course. Whatever you ask him to do, he’ll do. He’s really good. He was really good on the flat too.” Welles noted that the mud and rainy weather conditions didn’t affect Littlefoot’s performance.

Welles won the 2005 USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final at Gladstone, the headquarters of the USET Foundation in New Jersey, and is now working towards adding to her collection of USEF medals – she has earned her Bronze and Silver, and after this victory has only four more USEF classes to win in order to log the 20 victories necessary for her to be presented with her Gold Medal, a goal she hopes to achieve by the end of this year. The medals are presented annually at Gladstone. “I’m going to go to Gladstone but I’m not going to show because once you win the Final, you can’t do it again,” Welles explained. “So I’ll go and watch everyone and hope for the best for them.”

In the afternoon, Welles again rode Littlefoot to victory, this time in the USEF Medal class. Welles and Littlefoot topped a class of 29 horses. Georgia Lee Taylor of Florida riding Pascal claimed second place while Lauren Sturges of Indiana aboard Lando was third.

As a Connecticut resident, Welles is required to earn 60 points to qualify for the USEF Medal Final at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and Thursday's win put her over that required number of points. Welles plans to compete at the Final in Harrisburg this fall.

The riders in the USEF Medal class were required to jump a first round of eight jumps, then the judges called back four riders to jump a shortened course or “test”. In the test, riders cantered directly from the line to Fence 1, cantered to Fence 2, trotted to Fence 5, cantered to Fences 6 and 3, and then halted and returned to the line in sitting trot. “He was really good about everything,” Welles praised Lightfoot. “He’s very obedient.”

It was a serendipitous partnership between Welles and Lightfoot today – the horse’s regular rider could not be at the show, and Welles’ own mount was also not able to be at the show, so trainer Missy Clark put Welles and Lightfoot together for the two classes. “We do a lot of trading around,” Welles explained, noting that she had ridden Lightfoot when he first arrived at North Run last year before he became the mount of several other riders.

Welles recently graduated from the Ethel Walker School and will take the next year off from her academic career to work with Missy Clark at North Run.

Division Champions
The first of the Division Championships were awarded at the Vermont Summer Festival. All division champions at the 2006 Vermont Summer Festival are awarded $50 gift checks from sponsor Manchester Designer Outlets. Riders can redeem the gift checks at a number of prestigious outlet shops including Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Escada. Division winners were:

Featuring more than $600,000 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, or to request a prize list, please e-mail.

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