The Vermont Summer Festival is New England's largest 'AA' rated hunter-jumper horse show, and is now sanctioned by Equine Canada, the national body for equestrian sport in Canada. As per tradition, the Vermont Summer Festival will feature a $10,000 Mini Prix every Friday, as well as a $30,000 Grand Prix held each Sunday for the first four weeks. New for 2005, the Vermont Summer Festival will conclude with a grand finale, the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix.

Each of the five weeks will also feature a $10,000 Show Jumping Hall Of Fame High Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper class, part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. The Vermont Summer Festival schedule is as follows:

July 13-17 – Manchester Summer Festival
July 20-24 – Manchester Classic Horse Show
July 27-31 – Valley Classic Horse Show
August 3-7 – Manchester & the Mountains Horse Show
August 10-14 – Vermont Summer Celebration

USEF Qualifying Classes
Pony riders at the Manchester Summer Festival showed their mettle on July 16, contending for three USEF Pony Medals classes. Kate Mahoney, 12, of Rye, NY, riding Rambur Blue Denim won the USEF Small Pony Medal class. Olivia Jack, 12, of Fairfield, CT, aboard Baubles and Bows won the USEF Medium Pony Medal class. Anna Kluger, 12, of Redding, CT, mounted on Remember Me Always, won the USEF Large Pony Medal class. Jeff Ayers judged all three classes.

USEF Small Pony Medal Class
Mahoney aboard the eight-year-old gray Welsh pony Rambur Blue Denim mastered the USEF Medal test, which included eight jumps with a halt and a trot segment. Mahoney has been riding since age six and competed at last year's Pony Finals. Mahoney has leased the pony for the past two years, and she trains with Karen Lutz and Stephanie Demmon at Stratford Stables in Purchase, NY. Already qualified to compete in the upcoming USEF Pony Finals to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY, August 10-13, Mahoney gained additional national points for her win.

USEF Medium Pony Medal Class
Jack, riding Baubles and Bows, her 13-year-old Welsh pony mare, claimed the USEF Medium Pony Medal class. Jack competed at the USEF Pony Finals last year in Virginia and is qualified to compete at the 2005 finals in Kentucky in August. Jack started riding four years ago and has owned the mare, whose barn name is Bubbles, for three-and-a-half years. She has been in training with Jenny Martin Rudez at Fairfield County Hunt Club for the past three years, but as Rudez was unable to attend Jack's class, trainer Michael Kirby coached Jack for the first time.

USEF Large Pony Medal Class
Kluger, riding Remember Me Always, won the USEF Large Pony Medal class, topping a class of eight entries. The pony is a 12-year-old, bay Welsh/Thoroughbred cross gelding owned by Cloud Hill Farm and has been Kluger's mount for four years. Kluger has been riding since age four. She trains at Stepping Stone Farm in Richfield, CT, with Jeanie Weber and Juliana Starbuck. Though Kluger qualified for the finals last year in the hunters, and is qualified this year, her plan is to compete in the 2006 USEF Pony Medal Finals.

USEF Talent Search Class
Blythe Marano, 17, of Bedminster, NJ, riding Little Foot for owner Missy Clark and North Run Stables, topped a class of 22 entries today to win the two-phase USEF Talent Search class at the Manchester Summer Festival. With 800 horses on the grounds and five rings in action, stand-out performances also included Whitney Goulart's win in the USEF Hunter Seat Medal class, and Andrew Philbrick's victory in the Open NAL Speed III.

With Judge Mike Rosser officiating, Marano solidly showcased her expertise in the USEF Talent Search, which included an equally weighted jumper phase and