August 23, 2005 – Edinboro, Pennsylvania – Canadian equestrian athlete Nicole Shinton of Uxbridge, ON, claimed victory in the Open Preliminary Division of the Erie Hunt Horse Trials held August 19-21 in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.

Riding O-Topia, her nine-year-old English Thoroughbred gelding, Shinton took the early lead by posting a dressage score of 27.5 penalty points in the opening phase. In fact, her impressive score was the lowest of all divisions. The following day, Shinton slipped from the lead after incurring 12.4 time penalties on cross-country, putting her just .4 penalty points behind the leaders.

“The cross-country course was very nice, it asked a lot of different questions, but the night before we had a huge thunderstorm so the ground was a little slick and I had to be careful on the turns,” said Shinton. “We took it a little slow, but O-Topia was very good and since we were leading by 10 points after dressage, we had a bit of breathing room. As it turned out, one second made the difference between retaining the lead and dropping to third, so the pressure was on for show jumping.”

The final phase of show jumping proved to be a strong one for Shinton and O-Topia as they posted one of a handful of clear rounds to finish with a total score of 39.9 penalty points and claim their first victory since being partnered together last November.

“It was a difficult show jumping course, and the field had some ups and downs, but it was one of our nicest show jumping rounds,” said Shinton, who will now aim O-Topia at the CCI* Mid-South Horse Trials this fall. “The competition was very well-organized, and the organizers went out of their way to make us feel welcome as the only Canadian competitors. Of course, I was very proud of my horse, all season he has been very consistent and is always near the top of the placings after dressage. This win was very positive as it shows that everything is coming together. He is quite a sensitive horse, but he is developing trust and a true partnership with me.”

Shinton, who had spent two days training with Phillip Dutton immediately prior to the event, gave credit to the Australian Olympic Gold Medalist for the role he played in their success.

“One of the problems I sometimes have with O-Topia is the ability to steer him,” said Shinton. “Phillip had us work on lots of exercises to get him thinking and paying attention. He was really a big help.”

In addition to training with Dutton, Shinton also traveled to England several times this summer to work with 2004 Olympic Individual Gold Medalist, Leslie Law. The sessions allowed her to spend several weeks observing his training methods, and also presented the opportunity for her to purchase a new horse, an 11-year-old bay English Thoroughbred gelding that she hopes to gain experience with at the advanced levels.

Named the 2004 United States Eventing Association (USEA) Intermediate Adult Amateur Rider based on her success riding The Grey Pony, Shinton has been only competing in the Olympic equestrian sport of eventing for five years. She and her husband, Alan Shinton, operate Greenbrier Farm, a 160-acre eventing training facility, in Uxbridge, ON.