Nicole Shinton and GB Classic won the FEI Level Championship in the 2009 Amateur Winter Dressage Championships, presented by The Paddock Saddlery. Photo Credit by www.horsesportsphotography.com

June 11, 2009 – Jacksonville, Florida – Following a successful winter competing on the Florida circuit, Nicole Shinton of Uxbridge, ON, won the FEI Level of the 2009 Amateur Winter Dressage Championships, presented by The Paddock Saddlery.

The 2009 Amateur Winter Dressage Championships, developed to recognize the accomplishments of amateur dressage competitors, encompassed all competitions held in Florida during the winter season, concluding on April 24. Counting Shinton’s three highest scores, her average score of 68.334% gave Shinton the FEI Level Championship title with GB Classic.

“GB Classic just keeps getting better and better!” said Shinton of her 15-year-old bay Rheinlander gelding. “I am very proud of our achievements this winter, especially considering that I only began competing with him one year ago. Back then, we were scoring in the mid-50’s at Fourth Level, so we have come a long way.”

Shinton was also named the Second Level Reserve Champion with Pamela, her 16-year-old English thoroughbred mare, having earned an average score of 62.91%. With O-Topia, her 13-year-old English thoroughbred gelding, Shinton finished the 2009 season in fifth position in the Third Level standings with an average score of 60.359%. Both Pamela and O-Topia competed at the intermediate level of eventing with Shinton before she turned her focus strictly to dressage in 2008.

"Many thanks to The Paddock Saddlery for presenting these awards,” said Shinton. “As an amateur competitor, it is fantastic to be recognized on the tough competitive circuit that we have in Florida.”

While traveling back home to Ontario from her winter base in Florida, Shinton competed at the Georgia Horse Park in Conyers, GA, from May 29-31. Riding GB Classic, Shinton won the overall FEI Championship title after winning the Prix St. Georges with a score of 69.70%.

“In addition to winning the Prix St. Georges and FEI Championship, I was given an ‘8’ for my riding which earned me a beautiful cooler,” noted Shinton of her Georgia experience. “It was a really great show with first-class facilities, and the show organizer could not have been more helpful.”

Dressage has become a passion for Shinton since she switched exclusively to the discipline last year. As an eventing athlete, Shinton was named the 2004 Adult Amateur Intermediate Rider of the Year by the United States Eventing Association, a remarkable feat for a Canadian rider in such a highly competitive division. Shinton was also named to the 2005 Canadian Eventing Team Long List with two horses, Pamela and The Grey Pony, before a rotational fall in 2007 forced Shinton to change her focus from eventing to dressage.

Shinton and her husband, Alan, own Greenbrier Farms, a 160 acre eventing facility in Uxbridge, ON.