Horsesdaily News: Australias Phillip Dutton Rides Connaught To Early Lead At Fair Hill International CCI*** Presented by Dansko

Australia’s Phillip Dutton Rides Connaught To Early Lead At Fair Hill International CCI*** Presented by Dansko

Fair Hill, Maryland—October 14, 2004—Two-time Olympic team Gold Medalist Phillip Dutton of Australia took the early lead in the Fair Hill International CCI*** Three-Day Event at the 16th annual Fair Hill International Festival in the Country, presented by Dansko.

Dutton, 41, was the first rider in the opening dressage phase of the Eventing competition and he received a score of 49.4 from the three-judge panel for his ride on Connaught. Dutton, who won the CCI championship at Fair Hill in 1996 and 2000, the same years he won Olympic team Gold Medals, then watched as the next 32 entries tried and failed to match his score.

Two entries finished less then one point behind Dutton. Michael Pollard, a 23-year-old rider from Tryon, NC, received a score of 50.0 on SS Jett, and defending champion Karen O’Connor of The Plains, VA, received a score of 50.2 on Grand Slam, her mount when she won her second Fair Hill CCI championship one year ago. O’Connor, 46, a three-time U.S. Olympic veteran, had won the first Fair Hill championship in 1989.

“I was quite pleased with his test this morning,” Dutton said of his 11-year-old mount. “He’s a very, very good jumper and I believe he is more than capable of winning here.”

This year’s CCI is being run under the sport’s new modified format that does not have a steeplechase prior to cross country. The competition continues with the second half of the dressage phase on Friday before moving to the exciting cross country phase on Saturday and then culminating with the show jumping phase on Sunday.

An internationally-sanctioned 100-mile endurance ride has been added to the traditional CCI championship on the featured schedule at this year’s Fair Hill International. The CEI*** 100-mile endurance ride, a prelude to next year’s anticipated North American Endurance Championship at Fair Hill, will be held on Saturday, the same day as the Eventing cross-country. This will give everyone at Fair Hill that day what is sure to be one of the most dynamic and exciting days on the year’s equestrian sports calendar.

While world-class equestrian competition makes the Fair Hill International a rare treat for spectators, the amenities at Fair Hill round out the event to provide an ideal family outing. The Country Shops boast a wide variety of shopping and dining, featuring vendors of tack, jewelry, artwork, pet needs, exceptional apparel and fine gifts for the approaching holiday seasons. The Fair Hill Club offers fine dining, while visitors seeking a more casual snack or meal will find pubs around the Fair Hill grounds serving classic Maryland crab-cakes and other treats. In fact, the Maryland Department of Agriculture named the Fair Hill International as a “Maryland Top Event!”

Fair Hill’s ever-popular dog agility trials have returned this year with over 400 canine competitors. Additional activities include Maryland State Police K-9 demonstrations and appearances by the Delmarva Miniature Horse Club, presented by the Canis Lupus Wolf Foundation and Whispering Horse Farm. Other activities include friends from the Winterthur booth, offering quick crafts for children and a family sign-up opportunity, and the Chesapeake Foundation Booth, where spectators can learn more about the Chesapeake Bay and related environmental concerns.

The 2004 Fair Hill International Festival in the Country, presented by Dansko, benefits Christiana Care Health System, one of the Chesapeake region’s largest not-for-profit health care providers. Christiana Care, which began in 1888, serves the people of Delaware, as well as neighboring areas of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It maintains a teaching hospital which specializes in cardiology, cancer and women’s health services, and has trauma and neonatal intensive care units that offer an exceptional degree of care.

This year’s Fair Hill International sponsors include American Home & Hardware; Bit of Britain; Cosequin/Nutramax Labs; County Banking & Trust Co; Dansko; The Equiery; Glenmede Trust Company; Goldman, Sachs & Co.; The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation; Jeff D’Ambrosio Chevrolet; Maryland Horse Industry Board; M. H. Eby, Inc.; Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit; Primedia Equine; Rice, Unruh & Reynolds; Stancill’s; The Stewart Foundation; Summit Aviation; Thoroughbred Charities of America, Ltd.; Wachovia; Walnut Green Bloodstock; and Wilmington Trust.

Tickets for the 2004 Fair Hill International are available at the gate. Further information is available by calling 410-398-2111 or by visiting www.fairhillinternational.com.