Nicole Shinton of Uxbridge, ON, and GB Classic won the Adult Amateur Prix St. Georges at the Gold Coast Dressage Association Grand Finale I held April 17 in Wellington, FL. Photo by Cealy Tetley, www.tetleyphoto.com

April 23, 2010 – Wellington, Florida – Canada’s Nicole Shinton of Uxbridge, ON, won the Adult Amateur Prix St. Georges at the Gold Coast Dressage Association Grand Finale dressage competition held Saturday, April 17, at the Jim Brandon Center in Wellington, FL.

Riding GB Classic, Shinton earned a score of 64.211% from judge Gary Rockwell to take victory over a 15-horse starting field. On Sunday, April 18, the pair finished second in the Adult Amateur Intermediaire I competition with a score of 62.895%. GB Classic is a 16-year-old Rhinelander gelding that Shinton purchased ‘sight unseen’ from Germany two years ago.

“While GB Classic was the only horse I competed with, I also took my new horse, Donnatelli, along for the ride,” said Shinton, 37, of her newly acquired eight-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding by Don Schufro. “He is a superstar at home, and I wanted to get him out and see how he would react to being at a horse show. He was perfect, and I am looking forward to debuting him at the Prix St. Georges level later this year.”

Shinton, who is based half the year in Anthony, FL, has now concluded her winter show season. She will next compete at the CDI Lexington, KY, from May 27-30 on her way home to Uxbridge, ON.

A former three day eventing competitor, Shinton was named the 2004 Adult Amateur Intermediate Rider of the Year by the United States Eventing Association, a remarkable feat for a Canadian 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 her to change her focus from eventing to dressage.

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