December 2, 2005 – Wellington, Florida – Millisime du Valy emerged the winner in the opening round of the $20,000 National Five-Year-Old Young Jumper Championships at the CSI-W National Horse Show running November 30 to December 4 in Wellington, FL.

Owned by Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, Canada, Millisime du Valy posted the fastest clear round to top a field of his peers. Ridden by Sebastien Kapel, a Dutch native who has been riding for Mill Creek Stables for just over a year, Millisime du Valy will now compete in Friday’s second round before the top 15 horses advance to Sunday’s Final. While the first two qualifying rounds are held in the de Nemethy Arena on all-weather footing, the top 15 horses will move into the grass International Arena for the third and final round, used to determine the National Five-Year-Old Young Jumper Champion.

“He felt great, he is fit, we just did a fast round and ended up winning the class,” said Kapel, who recently competed with Millisime du Valy in the Canadian National Young Horse Finals at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto. “The jumps were a little bigger than we had at the Royal, and the course was a little longer so the horses needed to be in good condition. And he is naturally a fast horse. I think he should do well in Sunday’s Final when the horses go into the International Arena for the first time. While some of the young horses can be spooky, he is very brave.

“I think Millisime is going to be a future Grand Prix horse,” continued Kapel, who will move Millisime du Valy into the Six-Year-Old Division at the Winter Equestrian Festival, also in Wellington, this winter. “He has always done well in the Young Horse classes, always posting clear rounds. Now that the jumps are getting a little bigger, we can really see what he is capable of.”

An active breeding stallion, Millisime du Valy was named the Grand Champion at the Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association (CWBHA) Stallion Inspection in August after earning scores of 9 for his scope, technique, bascule, rideablity and gallop. Imported from France as a three-year-old by Mill Creek Stables, Millisime du Valy is a selle francais stallion by Verdi by Narcos II out of a Matador du Bois dam.

In addition to Millisime du Valy’s victory, two other horses owned by Mill Creek Stables enjoyed top ten placings in opening round of the Young Jumper Championships. Sandhya by the Oldenburg sire, Silvio II, placed eighth in the Five-Year-Old class after incurring one time fault with Tonya Henning. In the opening round of the Seven and Eight-Year-Old Young Jumper Championships, Kaiser de la Coeur, a seven-year-old selle francais stallion by Verdi, and also a half-brother to Millisime du Valy, took seventh place with a clear round under Kapel.

Located less than an hour southwest of Toronto, Mill Creek Stables is one of Canada’s largest sport horse breeding operations and sales barns, offering prospects in a variety of disciplines to suit all budgets. For more information, please visit www.millcreekstables.com, e-mail: phenning@millcreekstables.com or call (519) 740-1121.