April 19, 2005 – East Dorset, Vermont – The Vermont Summer Festival will be welcoming Canadian competitors back to East Dorset this year for five consecutive weeks of show jumping competition running July 13 to August 14, 2005.

The Vermont Summer Festival has obtained Equine Canada (EC) sanctioning in order to make the show even more attractive to Canadian exhibitors. Angela Covert-Lawrence, winner of last year’s $35,000 Otter Creek Grand Prix riding Marc Sabbah’s Belgian Warmblood gelding, Tomboy Major, needs no extra incentive to return for her eighth year.

“John and Dotty Ammerman really know how to put on a great circuit and treat the exhibitors well,” says Covert-Lawrence, who, like fellow Canadians Harold Chopping and Mario Deslauriers, makes the Vermont Summer Festival a regular stop on her summer schedule. “The setting is beautiful and the show day is usually finished in time to enjoy the area’s great shopping and fantastic restaurants. Our customers love the friendly and relaxed country atmosphere, combined with a high level competition. Overall, the Vermont Summer Festival is the perfect way to spend the summer.”

In addition to Canadian competitors, Canadian course designers will be setting the tracks for three of the five weeks of the Vermont Summer Festival. David Ballard, Pierre Jolicoeur and Michel Vaillancourt will join well-known Americans, Anthony D’Ambrosio and Conrad Homfeld, on this year’s roster of FEI course designers. Each week of competition at the Vermont Summer Festival will feature a $30,000 Sunday Grand Prix as well as a $10,000 Friday Mini Prix. New for 2005, the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix held Sunday, August 14, will be the grand finale to the five-week Vermont Summer Festival.

“As Chairman of the Jump Canada Competitions Committee, I am thrilled to welcome the Vermont Summer Festival as an Equine Canada sanctioned competition for 2005,” noted John Taylor. “It is exciting to see such prestigious shows working with Equine Canada to offer another showcase for our Canadian athletes. I am certain that both the Vermont Festival and our Canadian riders will find this alliance very useful and rewarding.”

In addition to being EC sanctioned, the Vermont Summer Horse Show is New England’s largest ‘AA’ rated hunter-jumper horse show, awarding numerous circuit championships in various hunter, jumper and equitation divisions, and also featuring the Marshall & Sterling and North American League Children's and Adult Hunter and Jumper Classics. The show grounds provide fabulous facilities for riders, horses, and spectators alike, boasting an all-weather Grand Prix ring and jumper annex ring, three all-weather hunter rings and several all-weather riding/schooling rings.

The Vermont Summer Festival kicks-off with the Manchester Summer Festival held July 13-17. Competition continues with the Manchester Classic Horse Show from July 20-24, the Valley Classic Horse Show from July 27-July 31, the Manchester and the Mountains Horse Show from August 3-7, and concludes with the Vermont Summer Celebration from August 10-14. Competitors are surrounded by Vermont’s well-known Green Mountains, while the quaint New England villages and towns offer great accommodations, shopping, and dining options.

For more information on the Vermont Summer Festival, please visit www.vt-summerfestival.com or call (802) 496-9667.