New York, NY – November 4, 2004 – The evening session of The Metropolitan National Horse Show in New York City kicked off on November 4 with the first phase of the $50,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Liberty Cup. Danielle Torano, 30, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, riding LaBelle owned by Sir Ruly, Inc. won the $12,500 Liberty Cup Speed Class, besting a field of 27 horses. Georgina Bloomberg of New York City aboard Action owned by Gotham Enterprizes placed second. Ashley Partow of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, riding Cool Flood placed third.

Only five riders posted clear trips over course designer Linda Allen’s 11-jump track that included two double combinations with Time Allowed set at 64 seconds. Going 10th in the order, Whitney Lindners of Manhattan, Kansas, riding Hemmingway was the first to go clean, clocking in at 55.86 seconds, which eventually placed her fifth. Amanda Forte of Glenmore, Pennsylvania, aboard Minuet ousted Lindners from the top spot with a clean trip in 54.71, but she ended up fourth. Forte’s lead was also short-lived, as Bloomberg and Action, going 13th in the order, took over the top spot with a time of 51.86. Partow was the 22nd rider and tried to catch Bloomberg with her clean trip aboard Cool Flood in 53.05 seconds, but she ended up third. Last to go, the 27th rider, Torano had the edge and put on the gas to edge Bloomberg into second place and take the win with her time of 51.03 seconds.

Torano said she watched most of the class and noticed that riders were leaving out and adding strides, so she found it difficult to decide how to ride the course. “I had a plan but I didn’t follow it,” Torano admitted. She noted that LaBelle, a nine-year-old warmblood mare, felt like she was slipping in the turns, so she changed her plan and began adding strides. “I never quite got out of the adding up but her normal canter is so fast that’s what made up for it,” Torano explained. She noted with a grin that the only place she left out strides wasn’t planned. “I meant to stay out a little bit at Number 5 and I turned and the jump was right there!”

Torano and LaBelle are newly partnered and The Metropolitan National Horse Show is only their fourth show together. “I did Culpeper, Capital Challenge, and Washington. She won the Ambassador’s Cup at Washington last week,” Torano said.

Torano does have a game plan set for the rest of the $50,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Liberty Cup. “Tomorrow I’m going to go with my other horse, Lojana, then back with LaBelle on Saturday.”

The Liberty Cup is a three-phase competition with two more classes to be contested. The $12,500 Jump-Off Class will be held tomorrow night, November 5, and the $12,500 Two Round Final will be held on Saturday night, November 6. In this Modified World Cup Format, the winner of the Liberty Cup will be determined when the overall results are tallied. An additional $12,500 will be divided among the top 12 competitors based on overall ranking. Tonight’s winner, Torano, earned $3,900