UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 5, Page 1
September 29, 1994
Champion riders to star in 2nd Jumper Classic Sunday

     Don't miss the excitement when some of the country's leading
equestrians demonstrate their championship form at the University of
Delaware's second Jumper Classic, Sunday, Oct. 2, on the grounds of
Laurel Hall.
     Activities begin at 10 a.m., with the $5,000 Junior Amateur
Jumper Classic, a National Grand Prix League (NGL) Spring Junior-
Amateur event. At 1 p.m., a special exhibition will take place, and at
1:30 p.m., the $25,000 University of Delaware Grand Prix/Rolex/NGL
event will get under way.
     Tickets are $8 for general admission and $5 for students and
senior citizens. Reserved ringside seating, which must be purchased in
advance, is available for $100 a seat, and reserved tables for eight
are available for $600. Reserved seats and tables include lunch.
     Show jumping is the leading equestrian activity in the United
States. At last year's event, 42 horses and riders from 12 states and
Canada participated.
     This year's Jumper Classic is attracting some of the country's
top riders and their mounts.
     Margie Goldstein was named American Grand Prix Association (AGA)
rider of the year in 1989 and again in 1991, in spite of a severe
riding accident in 1990. In 1994, she won the $50,000 AGA Grand Prix
of Tampa in 1994. Her show schedule and placings have earned her a
place in Grand Prix Show Jumping Millionaire's Club.
     Debbie Stephens tied for the outdoor high-jump record in 1982 at
7 feet 8 inches. A successful trainer of top jumpers in the world at
her Centennial Farm in Florida, she won the AGA Championship in 1988
and was named as the second alternate for the 1992 Olympic show
jumping squad. In 1994, she won the $100,000 Budweiser American
Invitational.
     McLain Ward was the youngest rider to win the ROLEX/USET (United
States Equestrian Team) Talent Derby in 1990 and later won the
ROLEX/USET Medal Finals, becoming the first rider to win both in the
same year. He was part of the Gold Medal Team at the M&M Chocolate
Candies North American Young Rider's Championships in 1991 and was
named 1991 AGA rookie of the year. He has placed at almost every AGA
event in 1993 and earned his first starting position in the 1993
Budweiser/AGA championship, finishing 14th.
     Honorary chairpersons of the Jumper Classic are Michael Matz and
D.D. Alexander Matz. The latter has been a successful rider in the
amateur-owner division, winning the 1989 Hampton Classic in the Warner
Communications Jumper Classic. Her first Grand Prix win was at the
$25,000 W.E.R. Open Challenge Series in 1991. She also was a member of
the bronze medal winning team at the Pan American Games in Havana. She
and her husband are both on the USET show jumping squad, competing in
Europe and winning at the Grand Prix of Dublin.
     Michael is a member of the Show Jumping Millionaire's Club and
was awarded the USET Show Jumping Championship Trophy five times. He
was selected for the Olympic team in 1976 and in 1992. He also is a
two-time winner of the $100,000 Budweiser/AGA Championship. In 1993,
he won the $50,000 Bennett Funding/JW Charles Grand Prix and the
$50,000 Crown Royal Grand Prix, followed by the $50,000 Florida Open
in 1994.
     A raffle of unusual gift items also will be held at the Jumper
Classic with all items on display during the event. They include a
hand-painted, equestrian-theme toy box by artist Susan Reed, sweaters
from Farnam Industries, a donation from the Gift Horse shop and a
story-telling session from local storyteller Ed Okonowicz. A winner
also will be selected for a drover coat.
     Committee members for the event are co-chairpersons Sydney
Lindley and Laurie Jakubauskas, Allan Griffiths, Louise Roselle and
Missy Veghte. Proceeds will benefit the University's Intercollegiate
Athletic Program.
     For more information, call UD1-HENS.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure