Saugerties, NY - June 8, 2005 - Olympic medalists will take center stage in today's start to the $150,000 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship. The Championship is a three-phase competition that crowns the rider with the highest cumulative points as the 2005 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Champion. The first leg of the Championship begins at 1pm today. The second leg will take place on Friday, June 10 at 3pm. The $100,000 Grand Finale is scheduled for Sunday, June 12 with the opening ceremonies beginning at 1pm.

2004 Olympic Individual Bronze Medalist and Team Silver Medalist, Chris Kappler, heads the impressive line-up of show jumping stars preparing to battle it out over three days for the Championship title and a slice of the $150,000 purse. Kappler thrilled the crowd last year at HITS-on-the-Hudson by winning the $75,000 Grand Prix during the Grand Opening week. No doubt he is hoping to repeat that performance, but he will have to fend off some stiff competition.

Three-time Olympian and member of 2005 Samsung Super League Team, Anne Kursinski, will also be competing in the Championship. Just back from Europe, Kursinski has helped to bring the U.S. Samsung Super League Team to the top of the leader board, out-jumping international teams from Great Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Ireland.

U.S. Equestrian Team veteran, Candice King, will also bring her prowess to bear on the competition. King competed at the 2005 World Cup Finals in Las Vegas. She also competed at the World Cup Finals in Sweden in 2001, when she was named the top placing U.S. rider.

Another top international rider, 2000 Sydney Olympic veteran Nona Garson, will also take her shot at the Championship title.

In the same ring as the Olympic veterans will be rising star Kent Farrington. Currently number three in the race for the American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider and Horse of the Year, Farrington is on a roll, and is definitely one to watch during the Championship.

In addition to the thrilling sporting action in the Grand Prix arena, spectators can enjoy the HITS-on-the-Hudson Equine Art Exhibit, June 11 & 12. The exhibit will include equestrian paintings, equine photography, and sculptures by celebrated artists who are experts in their chosen fields. Shop for an equine masterpiece to add to your collection while surrounded by the beautiful creatures that inspire these wonderful artists. The participating artists are generously donating 10% of their sales to the local charitable organization, Family of Woodstock.

Ladies Hat Day on Sunday, June 12 will add an elegant touch to the horse show. A special invitation has gone out to the Red Hat Society—a women’s “disorganization” based on the concept that growing old can be fun and frivolous. Begun in 1998, the Red Hat Society was inspired by the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph that begins “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat…” With invitations extended to over 58 chapters between Albany and Poughkeepsie, a sea of red hats and purple outfits will dot the spectator landscape for the National Championship.

But you don't have to be a Red Hatter to join in the fun, we hope that lots of ladies will visit the horse show sporting their most spectacular hats for the multitude of fabulous prizes offered by Barnes & Noble Book Store, Chow Hound Cafe, Emerson Place, Krause's Candy, Main Street Bar & Grill, Marion's Country Kitchen, River Rock Health Spa, The Blue Stone Country Inn, and The Clark House B&B. Three noted milliners, Kathleen O’Halloran, O’Halloran and Company, Diana Niles King, The Madder Hatters, and Beth Alden, Beth Alden Couture Millinery will perform the judging.