Robin Swinderman and INXS received the inaugural Adirondack-Green Mountain Challenge Perpetual Trophy at the conclusion of week two of the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Photo by David Mullinix Photography

July 20, 2010 – East Dorset, Vermont – Robin Swinderman of Morriston, FL, claimed the inaugural Adirondack-Green Mountain Challenge at the conclusion of week two of the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Running July 7 to August 15, the six-week Vermont Summer Festival horse show is the largest ‘AA’ horse show in New England, as well as the richest sporting event in the state of Vermont, offering more than $750,000 in prize money.

The Adirondack-Green Mountain Challenge counts points for horse-rider combinations competing during the two-week Skidmore College Saratoga Classic Horse Shows and the first two weeks of the Vermont Summer Festival. The overall high point winner is awarded the Adirondack-Green Mountain Challenge Perpetual Trophy as well as a shirt from Essex Classics. In the end, Swinderman and INXS topped the standings over Small Junior 15 and Under competitors, Emery Hanson and Fair Wind.

A long-time Vermont Summer Festival competitor, Swinderman and INXS, a seven-year-old American-bred Trakehner gelding sired by Stiletto, gained their points competing in the Amateur Owner Hunter 36+ division. The pair had been Reserve Champion in the Combined Amateur-Owner Hunter division during the second week of the Saratoga Classic Horse Show before being crowned the Amateur-Owner Hunter 36+ Champions during weeks one and two of the Vermont Summer Festival.

Swinderman has been competing at the Vermont Summer Festival since it first came to Manchester in 1992, and has been showing at the Skidmore College Saratoga Classic Horse Shows for the past six years.

“Saratoga and Vermont are my two favorite horse shows,” said Swinderman, who trains with Quiet Hill Farm and works on-site at the Vermont Summer Festival horse show for veterinarian, Dr. Barber. “It is great that they are offering this prize for the northeast region because they are both great horse shows that run back to back. I have been showing here ever since the show came to Manchester - I have not missed one yet! I am very happy to win the inaugural trophy.”

Ruth Lacey, Marketing Director of the Vermont Summer Festival, said, “We recognize that there are a lot of shared customers between our two shows, and we developed the Adirondack-Green Mountain Challenge Award to recognize excellent and consistency at both competitions.”

The third of six weeks of competition at the Vermont Summer Festival gets underway Wednesday, July 21, beginning at 8 a.m. Located at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children Wednesday through Saturday. On Grand Prix Sunday, admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children. All gate proceeds benefit Manchester Elementary-Middle School (MEMS).

The six-week Vermont Summer Festival culminates with the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on Sunday, August 15. The Vermont Summer Festival is 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 Vermont Summer Festival, please e-mail: info@vt-summerfestival.com or visit www.vt-summerfestival.com.