Saugerties, NY (June 9, 2005)—Michael Walton of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, riding Elu De La Hardiere, a 13-year-old French stallion, raced to a top place finish in the Rolex/USEF $20,000 Opening Match—giving him the initial lead in the three-leg $150,000 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship.

The Championship takes place over three days and the $20,000 Opening Match was an exciting speed class run under Table C specifications with faults converted into penalty seconds. The competition delivered some heart-stopping moments with riders going all out to earn valuable points and a chance at a top placing in the final standings.

Out of a field of 21, Michael Walton emerged the clear victor with 58.46 seconds on the clock, the fastest time by over a second. He was one of seven riders to master the course with no knockdowns. Ten riders had four time faults. Three accumulated 8 time faults, and one had 12 time faults.

Steve Stephens was the course designer for the competition. "I was pleased with today's results—we had just the right number with no rails down, and we will have a fairly tight group going into the second leg on Friday."

This was another in a string of victories for Michael Walton and Elu De La Hardiere. The pair has been showing stellar form with three Grand Prix wins and a second place finish in the past five weeks. Delighted with his win today, Walton praised his horse for his speed and grace under pressure. "He is a naturally fast horse, so I just tried to give him the ride to keep the jumps up. Being aggressive in nature and very fast across the ground, the speed class suited us well and gave us an edge. He also likes the ring here and has done well here so far this circuit, and also last year."

For his win, Michael Walton has earned 22 points. His nearest rival, Jimmy Torano, riding Marcel, finished in 59.74 seconds and accumulated 20 points. Each successive rider based on time earned one point less. The full point standings are listed below.

The next leg of the Championship will be the $30,000 Rolex/USEF Intermediate Match taking place on Friday, June 10 at 3pm. The Grand Finale $100,000 class will take place on Sunday, June 12th at 1pm.