Olympic and World Championship Veterans to Compete at 2005 Fair Hill International

Fair Hill, MD—September 30, 2005—Olympic and World Championship veterans head the list of competitors at this year’s Fair Hill International Festival in the Country at the Fair Hill Natural Resources Area in Fair Hill, MD, October 13-16. The event features exciting world-class competition in the international equestrian disciplines of eventing, endurance, and driving.

Highlighting the schedule at the 2005 Fair Hill are the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) CCI*** Championship, one of the most prestigious three-day events in the United States; the North American Endurance Championship, a 100-mile FEI (International Equestrian Federation) CEI**** Endurance Ride; and Advanced Level Combined Driving events.

Numerous Olympians are entered to compete in the CCI***, including two-time Olympic team Gold Medalist Phillip Dutton of Australia, who is the defending champion at Fair Hill. Competing along with Dutton are five-time Olympian Bruce Davidson, Sr., and three-time Olympic veteran Karen O’Connor. Also joining the battle for victory in the CCI*** are Robert Costello, a 2000 Sydney Olympian, and Stuart Black, who rode on the Canadian Olympic team before becoming an American citizen.

Riders from the United States are also eligible to compete for the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation Challenge Trophy, awarded to the highest-placing American in the Fair Hill CCI***.

In the North American Endurance Championship, many of the country’s best are expected to be on hand, including former World Champions Valerie Kanavy, Danielle Kanavy McGunigal, and Cassandra Schuler. Kanavy is a two-time World Champion, having won the Endurance World Championship in both 1994 and 1998. Her daughter, Danielle, finished one second ahead of her to win the 1996 World Championship title. In 1986, Schuler emerged victorious in the first Endurance World Championship ever held.

After a yearlong absence, Advanced and Intermediate Level Combined Driving competition is back on the schedule at this year’s Fair Hill International. Several leading drivers head the list of competitors who will be vying for top honors, including Lisa Singer, Boots Wright, and Jamie O’Rourke. Singer, who has won the USEF National Pairs Driving Championship a record seven times, was the highest-placing American driver at the 2005 FEI World Pairs Driving Championship in Austria over the summer with her 11th place finish.

Wright is fresh off her recent win in the Advanced Four-In-Hand Pony class at The Laurels at Landhope in early September, which earned her the 2005 USEF National Combined Driving Four-In-Hand Pony Championship. O’Rourke is a two-time World Championship veteran who was a member of the first squad to represent the U.S. in an international driving competition in 1980. He also served as the Chef d’Equipe for the U.S. team at the 2002 World Singles Championship.

Complementing the first-rate equestrian competition at this year’s Fair Hill, the increasingly popular Dog Agility Trials will return with over 400 canine competitors, the largest number in its history. Plus, many additional exciting activities are planned, including appearances by the Delmarva Miniature Horse Club, featuring driving and hunter/jumper demonstrations; canine Fly Ball competitions; U.S. Pony Club Games; sheep herding and Maryland State Police K-9 demonstrations; and the Kids’ Korner, offering activities for the younger set.

Also returning are the Country Shops boasting 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!”

The 2005 Fair Hill International Festival in the Country will benefit 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 sponsors include AERC International; Ag-Industrial; Atlantic Tractor; Aventine Wealth Management; Bit of Britain; John K. Burkley Company; County Banking & Trust Company; Coventry Health Care; Cranberry Endurance Ride; Dansko; M.H. Eby Trailers; Equestrian Entertainment Partners; EquiPedic; First National Bank of North East; Freeform USA Saddles; Glenmede Trust Company; Goldman Sachs & Company; W.L. Gore & Associates; Gulf Coast 4-Star Trailers; Gunnip and Company; Herr Foods; Kanavy Saddles; Morgan Stanley; Northview Stallion Station; Nutramax Labs; Steve and Dinah Rojek; Southern States; Summit Aviation; Thoroughbred Charities of America, Ltd.; United States Equestrian Federation; and Wachovia Wealth Management.

For more information on the 2005 Fair Hill International, please call (410) 398-2111 or visit www.fairhillinternational.com.