| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phelps Media Group, Inc. International MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Wood for Phelps Media Group, Inc. at (561) 753-3389 or at pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com WEB SITE: PMG Press Releases are available at http://www.phelpsmediagroup.com | JT Farm's Ellen Toon and Invincible Named Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions at 2009 Devon Horse Show National Show Hunter Hall of Fame Names Toon as Owner of the Year Devon, PA - June 1, 2009 - JT Farm ruled at the 2009 Devon Horse Show over the past week. Ellen Toon of South Salem, NY, rode her horse Invincible to the Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship after their dominating performance in the Amateur-Owner Over 35 Hunter division. Invincible and Toon were also honored at this year's National Show Hunter Hall of Fame dinner as Amateur-Owner Hunter of the Year and Owner of the Year. JT Farm is owned and led by trainer Jimmy Toon and based in South Salem, NY, and Wellington, FL. Toon and Invincible started out competition at Devon with a bang by winning their first two over fences classes. They were awarded the HC Baldwin Perpetual Trophy and the Beeches Brook Challenge Trophy for their wins. They also finished fourth in the under saddle. On the second day, they were third in the handy hunter class and won the stake class to finish as champions in the division. Their top ribbons gave them enough points to be named the Grand Champion as well, and Toon was named the Leading Amateur-Owner Hunter Rider of the show. Toon was thrilled to be champion at the Devon Horse Show. She accomplished this feat in 2006 with In Disguise, but this was her first time winning the Grand Championship. "Being champion at Devon, to me, is a big dream come true. You're lucky to be champion once there. To be champion twice with two super nice horses in great competition is amazing," she said. "My horse was really ready on Saturday. My trainers Rodney (Bross) and Jimmy (Toon) were a huge help. It was so easy for my horse, and he's so relaxed about it. He makes such an effort at every jump. I'm really proud of him." | 
| If the championships weren't enough, Toon and Invincible were honored at the annual National Show Hunter Hall of Fame dinner. Invincible was named the Amateur-Owner Hunter of the Year, while Toon was given the Owner of the Year award. Toon related, "The Hall of Fame dinner was really great. It was a real honor to have Invincible named Amateur Horse of Year, and to win the Owner of the Year award was an unbelievable honor. People voted for us, which makes it extremely special to me. I'm really lucky to have had a nice enough horse to ever pull that off. I was very surprised to win and thrilled." Another top JT Farm rider at Devon was 10-year-old Brianne Link (below left) of East Islip, NY. Link rode her pony jumper Tallyman to a reserve championship. They were second in the both $1,000 Time First Jump-Off classes at the show. | 
| Taylor Kain of Lake Worth, FL, rode Spock to third place in the WIHS Equitation Classic, and Carolyn Lichtenberg of Pelham Manor, NY, was seventh on JT Farm's I-Toon. This past weekend, JT Farm assistant trainer Holly Brewster brought a group of JT Farm students to the HITS Saugerties Spring II Horse Show. Taylor Kain and Spock were very successful; they won the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search class and both phases of the WIHS Equitation Classic for that overall win. | Brianne Link continued her winning ways as well, taking home the Pony Jumper championship. They were first and fourth in the division classes and also won the Marshall & Sterling Pony Jumper Classic. Dudley MacFarlane of Darien, CT, rode All the Stars, owned by Mount Fair LLC and MacFarlane, to top ribbons of third, fourth, fifth, and fifth in the Amateur-Owner Over 35 Hunters. They won the under saddle in that division and took home the blue ribbon in the Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter under saddle. They placed second in both over fences classes in the Modified division and were awarded the championship ribbon. MacFarlane and All the Stars capped off the weekend with sixth place in the $1,000 Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic JT Farm will compete next at the Ox Ridge Horse Show, Fairfield Horse Show, Lake Placid, and Vermont Summer Festival. | 
| Photo Credit: JT Farm's Ellen Toon and Invincible won the Grand Amateur-Owner Championship at the Devon Horse Show and won two awards at the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame dinner. Brianne Link and Tallyman were reserve champions in the Pony Jumpers at Devon and won the championship at HITS Saugerties. Photos © 2009 Lauren Fisher/PMG and Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com. This photo may be used free of charge only in relation to this press release. Phelps Media Group, Inc. (PMG), based in Wellington, Florida, is a public relations firm primarily focused on promoting events and people in the equestrian world. The objective of Phelps Media Group, Inc.'s customized promotional plan for each client is to gain coverage in print, broadcast and televised media outlets. By delivering consistent international media attention to the people and events it represents, PMG creates public awareness of the client's message as well as a positive and recognizable image for the client. PMG's ultimate mission is to assure success for its clients' endeavors with the public. |
| |
