Darren Chiacchia Takes Eventing Lead After Dressage at Fair Hill International

FAIR HILL, MD—October 25, 2002—Darren Chiacchia of Springville, NY moved into the lead of the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Fall Eventing Championship following the completion of the dressage phase at the Fair Hill International.

In the USA National Single Horse Driving Championship, Fred Merriam of Newfane, VT, individual Bronze Medalist at the 2002 World Singles Driving Championship, completed the dressage phase in first place.

Chiacchia moved ahead of Sydney Olympic Gold Medalist David O’Connor of The Plains, VA when he received a dressage score of 36.80 penalties on Windfall, a 10-year-old, black stallion owned by Dr. Timothy Holekamp. O’Connor, who led after Thursday’s opening round, now stands second with his score of 37.01 penalties on his Olympic Gold Medal mount, Custom Made, a 17-year-old Thoroughbred owned by Xandarius LLC. O’Connor also stands third on Texas Pride, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred owned by Claud Schoch of Bethesda, MD, with a score of 40.20.

“This is my second year together with Windfall and things are going very well,” said Chiacchia. “The first year with a horse is often a case of getting to know each other and we’ve gotten to the point where we have a real cooperation out on the course. This, of course, is doubly important when you’re dealing with a stallion.”