Engle repeats in $50,000 I Love New York Grand Prix

First to return was Danielle Torano of Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Lancier 4, the 11-year-old German-bred Holsteiner she rode to third place in last week's $50,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Lake Placid. Torano scored four faults for one rail down at the sixth fence and finished with a time of 41.148 seconds.

Engle then returned on Hidden Creek's Laurel, a 14-year-old Dutch-bred mare. Engle, who previously won the Grand Prix in 1999 and 2001 on Reggae, turned in a fault-free ride in 40.873 seconds to move into the lead. The day's final entry, Christine Tribble of Suffield, CT, then scored four faults in 41.001 seconds on After Eight, a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood, to move in to second place behind Engle and drop Torano to third.

McLain Ward of Brewster, NY continued his domination of the speed classes by sweeping the top two places in the Phelps School Power and Speed Stake Wednesday to open the week-long show.

Ward rode two of the eight penalty-free rides turned in by the 18 entries over the nine-jump power portion of the course. He then completed the seven-jump speed section fault-free in 33.428 seconds to claim the win on Farrah. Ward also clinched second place with two fault-free rides and a time of 39.208 seconds on Galant.

USET veteran Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ finished third with four faults and a time of 35.754 seconds over the speed section on New Flame.

Ward continued his red-hot riding with a win Friday in the Lake Placid Lodge Open Speed Stake. Ward was the 18th of 23 entries to try the 12-jump, one-round course at the North Elba Showgrounds. He took the class lead when he rode his mount, Éclair, to a penalty-free ride in 54.582 seconds.

None of the remaining entries could catch his score with only Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ coming close. She rode Sprite to a clean ride in 55.406 seconds to take second place. Jeff Welles of Newtown, CT finished third with a time of 56.905 seconds on Muzcot.

Sydney Olympic veteran Nona Garson of Lebanon, NJ rode Capital S to victory in the $10,000 Golden Arrow Jump-Off. Garson was one of four entries among the 20 starters to qualify for the jump-off round by riding penalty-free over the 14-jump first-round course. Federico Sztyrle of Argentina was first to try the eight-jump tie-breaker jump-off course and he set the mark to beat when he finished fault-free in 37.197 seconds on Caya.

After Tribble scored 12 jump-off faults on After Eight, Garson moved into the lead with a fault-free finish in 36.986 seconds on Capital S. The day's final entry, two-time Olympic veteran Lisa Jacquin of Collegeville, PA, scored eight faults on Fabrege for a third-place finish behind Garson and Sztyrle. Tribble finished fourth and Alberto Carmona of Venezuela was fifth with four first-round faults on Justice.

Prior to the Grand Prix, Grushenka Sanchez of Puerto Rico rode Candy's Best to the win in the $10,000 Pin Oak Farm Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic and Maggie Jayne rode Jubulent to victory in the $10,000 Salamander Farm High Junior Jumper Classic. Both events are part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series that determines which junior jumper and amateur-owner jumper riders will qualify to ride in the 2002 National Horse Show. Sanchez tied with Lauren Bass, winner of the Lake Placid Horse Show's $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, for the Jimmy Quinn Memorial Award given for the best combined performance in Lake Placid's two Amateur-Owner Classics.

Mike Kennedy of Newtown, PA rode Marco to victory in the Sidelines North American League (NAL) Adult Jumper Classic to highlight the closing day of the 25th annual I Love New York Horse Show. Nine of 54 entries qualified for a tie-breaking jump-off by riding without penalty over the 17-jump first-round course. Kennedy was the third of the nine to return for the seven-jump tiebreaker course and he moved into the lead with a fault-free ride in 34.321 seconds.

None of the remaining entries could match Kennedy's score with the best effort coming from second-place finisher Ahmed Alali of New York, NY who rode Lagos to a fault-free ride in 35.512 seconds. Third place went to Mindy Blackford Mayfield Heights, OH who finished fault-free in 36.247 seconds on Gypsy Rose.