December 3, 2006 – Wellington, Florida – Sandhya, owned by Phil Henning's Mill Creek Stables of Cambridge, ON, claimed the $20,000 National Six-Year-Old Championships on Sunday, December 3, during the CSI-W The National Horse Show in Wellington, FL.

Having won the first phase of qualifying competition on Thursday, Sandhya, ridden by Sergio Campos of Brazil, was among the top 15 horses to advance to Sunday's Final. Competing in the Internationale Arena, the best Six-Year-Old horses in the country were challenged by a track set by course designer Jose Gamarra of Bolivia. Six horses passed the test to advance to the jump-off where four managed double clear performances. However, none were faster than Campos and Sandhya, who stopped the clock in a time of 32.103 seconds to secure victory in only their second competition together.

"Sandhya is very fast, she can do those tight turns like no other horse," said Campos, who operates Longwood Equestrian Center in Orlando, FL. "I have only been riding her for a few weeks, and I am really enjoying it. She is my favourite horse to ride right now. I see a great future for this horse, and think she can be a top grand prix horse."

For his victory in the National Six-Year-Old Championships, Campos collected the $6,000 winner's cheque on behalf of Mill Creek Stables, one of Canada's largest sport horse producers.

"I went up to Mill Creek Stables at the beginning of November and rode maybe 20 or 30 horses," relates Campos of how his partnership with Sandhya, chestnut Luxembourg mare, began. "Phil asked me which horse I liked best and I said Sandhya. He told me I could have her for the winter circuit in Ocala. I think from now on, there's going to be more horses for me from Mill Creek."

The 30-year-old Brazilian's prediction is already coming true, as he will have approximately 20 sales horses to show in Ocala, FL, this winter. In addition, Tonya Henning will compete with a further10 horses at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, under the guidance of her coach, Olympic Champion Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil.

In partnership with Pessoa, Campos recently purchased Cognac from Mill Creek Stables. At the recent Atlanta Fall Classic II, Campos and the eight-year-old Zangersheide gelding placed third in the $40,000 Atlanta Grand Prix. With two Mill Creek horses currently excelling in the show ring, there is optimism for continued success. This is especially true of Sandhya as her lineage indicates that she is destined for an impressive show jumping career - her sire is the well-known Oldenburg stallion, Silvio II by Sandro, while her dam sire is the Hannoverian sire Mondial by Matcho.

"Sandhya has been great," praised Campos. "She doesn’t ride green at all. She’s a very honest, straightforward horse, no tricks, no hard times. She’s very willing to do anything I ask her to do."

Imported to Canada as a three-year-old, Sandhya was developed through the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development Series, competing as a four, five and six-year-old.

"It is a real thrill to win at the Young Jumper International," said Phil Henning, owner of Mill Creek Stables. "Sergio rode for the win and Sandhya responded. We are very excited about the coming season; we have a great team this year and are looking forward to having a lot of fun in Florida this winter. It doesn't get any better than this!"

Located in Cambridge, 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.