Hardwick, MA—November 19, 2003—The Over The Walls Horse Trials, set to return to Great Meadowbrook Farm in Hardwick, Massachusetts, July 30—August 1, 2004, has been selected to host a United States Eventing Association (USEA) Gold Cup Series event.

The USEA Gold Cup Series includes seven of the nation’s premier eventing competition venues and promises spectators and enthusiasts everywhere an exciting format of competition to follow throughout the year. The Series offers increased prize money for competitors and the chance to vie for the grand prize purse and title of USEA Gold Cup Series Champion. The USEA Gold Cup Series is designed to be attractive and exiting to the public as well as inherently valuable to sponsors. Local residents will have the opportunity to watch one of the most exciting equestrian sports in the United States.

“We are excited to have Over the Walls be part of the USEA Gold Cup Series,” said Torrance Watkins, the 1984 Olympic team Gold Medalist who organizes the Over the Walls Horse Trials on her central Massachusetts property. “Over the Walls already features the nation’s top eventing riders and this will provide even more prestige for our event’s top finishers.”

Horses and riders from all over the country will compete for top honors in the equestrian sport known as eventing. An Olympic sport since 1912, eventing is best described as an equestrian triathlon. There are three phases: dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Dressage tests the horse and rider’s ability to perform a series of prescribed classical movements in an enclosed arena in a sort of equestrian ballet. During cross-country, horse and rider gallop over natural terrain, jumping a variety of fixed obstacles from sturdy fences to ditches and water complexes. In the show jumping phase, horse and rider jump a course of painted fences in an enclosed arena.

The Over the Walls Horse Trials also features the National Advanced Horse Trials Championship for the Jack Le Goff Trophy as well as seven other Advanced, Preliminary and Young Rider division classes.

The levels of competition at the Over the Walls Horse Trials are designed for horses and riders who see this competition as a stepping-stone on the path to someday representing their country, whether it be the United States or any of the other countries who have riders competing at Over the Walls, at the Olympic Games.

You don’t have to have Olympic dreams to enjoy a day of fun while experiencing the thrill of a sport that showcases the bravery and talent of the world’s most amazing equine athletes and celebrates the unique partnership between horse and rider. Everyone is invited to the Over The Walls Horse Trials to see firsthand why more and more spectators are showing up each year to experience the thrill of one of the world’s fastest growing equestrian sports.

Further information on the Over the Walls Horse Trials is available by visiting the official website at www.overthewalls.com or by calling Erik Fleming or Torrance Watkins at 413-477-0040.