Lexington, Kentucky - May 27, 2003 - Continuing her domination in the equestrian sport of dressage, Yvonne Losos de Muñiz of the Dominican Republic was once again crowned the winner, this time at the Kentucky Dressage Association Spring Dressage Show held May 22-25 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.

Riding Inatana Las Marismas, her 13-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood mare by Latano, Losos de Muñiz won all three of her classes – Prix St. Georges, Intermediare I and the Intermediare Freestyle. In the Prix St. Georges, Losos de Muñiz bested a field of 12 entries, earning a score of 71%. Losos de Muñiz again came out on top in the following day’s Intermediare I competition, this time with a score of 72.25%.

In the Intermediare Freestyle where riders choreograph required movements to the music of their choice, Losos de Muñiz dominated, earning an incredibly high score of 76.63% to easily claim victory over her closest competition, Shawna Harding riding Kestrel, who scored 71.50%. Losos de Muñiz’s world-class score is even more incredible considering that it was the first time she had performed her recently designed Freestyle in competition.

“I wanted to increase the level of difficulty in my freestyle in order to be more competitive for the Pan American Games and I only received my new freestyle music, compiled by Terry Ciotti-Gallo of Klassic Kur, on Tuesday!” said Losos de Muñiz, who operates Las Marismas with her husband, Eduardo Muñiz. “Considering that it was the first time I had ever ridden my new freestyle in competition, I was overjoyed with my score. Heading into the Pan American Games, I am confident that my score can be even higher once I have had actually had a chance to practice my freestyle!”

Officiating over the competition were three well-known international judges – Janet Brown, Hilda Gurney and Jessica Ransehousen, who also acts as the chef d’equipe of the United States Dressage Team.

The Kentucky Dressage Association Spring Dressage Show was the final competition on the calendar for Losos de Muñiz prior to the Pam American Games, which will be held in her hometown of Santo Domingo from August 1-17.

In conjunction with the dressage competition, the Kentucky Dressage Association also held the Inaugural Breeders Classic with all 70 entries being judged by Hilda Gurney. Losos de Muñiz again celebrated success as the Las Marismas entry of R. Adermie 4, a five-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare by Coriander, was named Champion Mare, Mature Horse Reserve Champion, and the overall Reserve Grand Champion.

A second entry from Las Marismas, Amante M, a three-year-old Hannoverian stallion by Adlantus As FRH, claimed the title of Young Horse Champion for colts aged three and under, and placed third in the Grand Champion division behind R. Adermie 4.

Prior to the Kentucky Dressage Association Spring Dressage Show, Losos de Muñiz made a clean sweep of CDI*** Zada WEF Dressage Classic held March 13-16 in Wellington, Florida. Before that, she won classes at the Florida Dressage Classic, held February 13-16, and at the Wellington Dressage competition, held January 30-February 2. Much of her success has come competing against the same horse-rider combinations that she will face at the 2003 Pan American Games. Although the Dominican Republic has never before won a medal in Pan American Games equestrian competition, Losos de Muñiz won two individual gold medals and led the Dominican Republic to the team bronze at the 2002 Central American Games in El Salvador.

“I am now going home to rest and prepare for the Pan American Games,” said Losos de Muñiz, whose competitive schedule has kept her away from home since January. “Both myself and my coach, Dutch trainer Diederik Wigmans, think the mare can still become more fluid and that is an area we will work on improving. I am also going to work on my freestyle in order to produce the best performance I can at the Games.”

A dual citizen of the Dominican Republic and Canada, Losos de Muñiz also runs the Canadian arm of Las Marismas from Vankleek Hill, ON, a small town located midway between Ottawa and Montreal. The Canadian operation specializes in Dutch-bred sport horses for all disciplines with guidance and support from renowned Dutch horsemen, Paul and Emile Hendrix. In addition, Las Marismas is a well-known producer of Andalusian horses, a historic Spanish breed, which are bred and trained at both the Canadian and Dominican Republic facilities. For more information, please visit www.lasmarismas.com.