July 20, 2006 – East Dorset, Vermont – Christi McQuaker, 34, of Schomberg, Ontario, Canada, aboard her eight-year-old Belgian mare Ella won Thursday's $3,000 Open Speed III, a Level 7 class in the North American League (NAL) Speed Series, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset. The action marks day two of the Manchester Classic Horse Show (July 19-23), the second of five weeks comprising the 2006 Vermont Summer Festival.

“I’m very happy to win it,” beamed McQuaker who is showing in Vermont for the first time. “It’s nice to win a class anywhere but it’s always nice to win a class in the States because the competition is always a little tougher.”

Course designer Michel Vaillancourt of Canada set a track of 11 jumps with doubles at Fences 4 and 9. Knockdowns resulted in four seconds being added to the rider’s time in this race against the clock. The Open NAL Speed class is a qualifier for the NAL Finals, which will be held at the Pennsylvania National Horse show in Harrisburg this fall.

Leading off the roster, Robert Ross of Wellington, Florida, aboard Argensohn owned by Romance Farm & Joe Zada, set the pace with a clean trip in 67.748 seconds, but as the class progressed, the times got quicker and the lead changed hands several times, finally putting Ross in sixth place. Christine McCrea of East Windsor, Connecticut, who has recently returned from competing in the Samsung Super League in Europe, was the third rider on course and took over the lead with Laddidor, posting a clean round in 62.583 seconds, but it wasn’t fast enough to maintain the top slot and McCrea ended up fourth.

Alan Korotkin of Wellington, Florida, aboard Julie Aitken's Rocketman, winners of the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix on Sunday, followed McCrea into the ring and snatched the lead from her with a rocket-fast fault-free trip in 61.08, but the win eventually eluded them and they had to settle for second place.

Two more riders chased Korotkin, but it was not until McQuaker that the lead changed hands once again. McQuaker aboard her Ella became the new leaders, clocking in clean almost a full second faster than Korotkin at 60.354 seconds, a time that would hold up for the win.

The last four riders took aim at the leader, and though two riders posted clean rounds, they could not go faster than McQuaker. Tiffany Cornacchio riding Intrepide D’Elle for SCNC Investments Inc., broke the beam clean in 62.621 for third place.

"I actually didn’t think I was going that fast,” reflected McQuaker who has been partnered with the bay mare for three years. “I wasn’t really trying to go that fast, I just wanted to be efficient, do nice snug turns, and be clean. She’s pretty quick anyway so you don’t really have to try and go that fast. She jumped really well and we were clean.”

McQuaker reviewed where she shaved fractions to beat the pacesetters before her. “I left a stride out in the last line. I don’t know if [Korotkin] did or not, but I was pretty quick to the last line and down the last line. Also, from the first jump to the second jump I was pretty quick. Everywhere else I was just efficient,” McQuaker explained. She also credited her mare’s skill, saying, “She jumps way up in the air but she’s pretty quick to the jumps. She doesn’t waste any time.”

McQuaker and her rider/trainer husband, Mac McQuaker, brought nine horses to the Vermont Summer Festival, all belonging to clients except for Ella. “They’ve all done very well,” McQuaker noted. She plans to compete Ella in Friday's $10,000 Mini Prix and in the $30,000 Otter Creek Grand Prix on Sunday, July 23, which just happens to be her 35th birthday! The McQuakers also brought their three and a half-year-old daughter Kieley, who competed in the Lead Line class last Sunday and plans to have another go this coming Sunday.

McQuaker is pleased with her first visit to the Vermont Summer Festival. “We’ll be back next year. I love it! It’s a beautiful horse show and it’s a great place to come,” she said. “We brought clients that are on summer holiday and it’s a great town for them to come to.”


Competition Highlights

Julie Welles and Little Foot Claim Second Victory in USEF Show Jumping Talent Search
For the second week in a row at the Vermont Summer Festival, Julie Welles, 18, of West Simsbury, Connecticut, won the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search. Welles’s mount was again Little Foot, the eight-year-old bay gelding owned by North Run and Missy Clark. Welles trains with Missy Clark and Linda Langmeier. Nikko Ritter of Geneva, Florida, placed second riding Valvert owned by Annabel Simpson. Zazou Hoffman of Santa Monica, California, aboard Tonight, also owned by North Run and Missy Clark, placed third.

The two-phase competition kicked off at 7:30 a.m. with 32 horses entered to compete in the over-fences class designed by Michel Vaillancourt, which required riders to jump a course of 10 fences, including a triple, in 64 seconds. Welles rode Little Foot to a first place finish in this phase. The top 20 horses were called back to the ring for the equitation phase, and again Welles placed first on the flat to claim overall victory in the class.

Welles, who won the 2005 USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final, is now one win closer to her goal of earning her USEF Gold Medal. She needs to win three more USEF classes to reach the required 20. The medals are presented annually at the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final held at USET Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey.

Toronto's Tatiana Dzavik Rides Matrix to Win in USEF Hunter Seat Medal
Tatiana Dzavik of Toronto, Canada, aboard Matrix owned by Green Hills Farm won the USEF Hunter Seat Medal today. Cortie Wetherill of Devon, Pennsylvania, riding his own Moondance placed second. Hannah Beresford and Gothic owned by Holly Hill Farm placed third.


Featuring more than $650,000 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 about the 2006 Vermont Summer Festival, please e-mail: info@vt-summerfestival.com or visit www.vt-summerfestival.com. For full show results, visit www.vt-summerfestival.com.