Five-Time Olympian Bruce Davidson Leads After Dressage Phase At MBNA Foxhall Cup

Atlanta (April 19, 2002) -Five-time U.S. Olympic veteran Bruce Davidson of Unionville, PA and his mount Welton Tangle held their lead after the completion of the dressage phase of the 2002 MBNA Foxhall Cup, the National Championship of Eventing, at Foxhall Farm just outside Atlanta, GA.

Established in 2000 by Jim Richards, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is a three-star level eventing competition designated by USA Equestrian as the National Championship of Eventing and by the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) as its three-star Spring Championship. The title sponsor of this event is the MBNA America Bank. The MBNA Foxhall Cup donates proceeds to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta based catastrophic care hospital that treats individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord injuries.

Davidson competed his 11-year-old British Thoroughbred owned by Amy Ruth DeWind of Unionville, PA, on Thursday’s opening day and he received a score of 47.21 penalties from the panel of three judges. Despite a record field of 99 horses, Davidson’s lead held up through Friday’s second half of the dressage phase.

Moving into second place on Friday was Darren Chiacchia of Ocala, FL and Windfall, a 10-year-old Trakaner stallion owned by Dr. Timothy Holekamp of Ocala. They received a score of 47.60 to earn the same position in the standings they held after dressage in 2001.

Davidson, a two-time World Three Day Event Champion and the 14-time U.S. Combined Training Association (USCTA) Rider of the Year, also holds third place after scoring 47.81 on Friday on his other mount, Squire’s Cap, a 9-year-old, American Thoroughbred owned by Mr. And Mrs. Phelps Witter of Unionville. Davidson, a member of two Gold Medal-winning USET Olympic squads, at Montreal in 1976 and Los Angeles in 1984, as well as Silver Medal-winning teams at Munich in 1972 and Atlanta in 1996, placed fourth place at the inaugural Foxhall Cup CCI*** in 2000.

The Eventing Championship continues with the exciting cross country phase on Saturday before culminating with the stadium jumping phase on Sunday.

In its third year, the MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI*** is the first of five 2002 selection trials for USET riders hoping to qualify to represent the United States at the Eventing World Championships to be contested at the World Equestrian Games in Spain in September. The World Equestrian Games are held every four years and, other than the Olympics, is the world’s most important equestrian competition.