December 8, 2005 – Wellington, Florida – Millesime du Valy, owned by Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON, was crowed the National Five-Year-Old Young Jumper Reserve Champion at the CSI-W National Horse Show on December 4 in Wellington, FL.

The Young Jumper Championships consisted of two preliminary rounds of competition held Thursday and Friday in the de Nemethy Arena with the top 15 horses qualifying to compete in Sunday’s $20,000 Championship. With a win on Thursday, Millisime du Valy, piloted by Sebastien Kapel, secured his place in Sunday’s final round of competition, held on grass footing in the Internationale Arena.

On Sunday, the best Five-Year-Old show jumping horses in the United States attempted the test set by course designer Jose ‘Pepe’ Gamarra of Bolivia. Blue Danube, ridden by Darragh Kerins and owned by Tatra Farm, took first place with a clear round in a time of 32.333 seconds while Kapel and Millesime du Valy were also clear in a time of 33.351 seconds to claim second place and $4,000 US in prize money. The placing also earned Millesime du Valy the title of National Five-Year-Old Young Jumper Reserve Champion, an impressive feat for a Canadian-owned horse to accomplish south of the border.

“While every success here at home in the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series has been significant, it is extremely gratifying to have these kinds of results in order to benchmark our success against the best young horses that the United States has to offer,” said Phil Henning, owner of Mill Creek Stables. “This horse’s quality as a breeding stallion was proved when he was named the Grand Champion at the Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association (CWHBA) Stallion Inspection in August, and now he has proved his athletic ability in the competition ring as well.”

At the CWHBA Stallion Inspection, Millesime du Valy earned scores of 9 for his scope, technique, bascule, rideability and gallop. Imported from France as a three-year-old by Mill Creek Stables, Millesime du Valy is a selle francais stallion by Verdi by Narcos II out of a Matador du Bois dam. An active breeding stallion, he already sired several foals that possess their father’s calm temperament and aptitude for jumping.

In addition to claiming the National Five-Year-Old Young Jumper Reserve Championship title, Mill Creek Stables also qualified two other horses for Sunday’s Finals. Sandhya by the Oldenburg sire, Silvio II, placed eleventh overall in the Five-Year-Old Division with rider Tonya Henning of Cambridge, ON. In the $30,000 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 Millesime du Valy, took eighth place after incurring four faults under Kapel, a Dutch native who has been riding for Mill Creek Stables for the past year.

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.