BROMONT, QUEBEC (June 7, 2002) -- "It's a Trakehner weekend," said a pleased Darren Chiacchia at the close of the dressage phase of the Bromont International Three-Day Event today. The Springville, NY rider not only topped the standings in the CCI** division with the black Trakehner stallion Windfall, he also landed squarely in the top ten with two other mounts, both bred by Ontario's Charlotte Schickedanz: the six-year-old stallion Ahlerich, who is by the Thoroughbred Always Run Lucky and out of the Trakehner mare Aida (a half-sister to Abdullah and a successful showjumper in her own right under Canada's Jim Elder), and the equally young Felicia, by Abdullah.

And to complete the Trakehner dominance of the event, Chiacchia's student Andrina Calder, just 14 years old, is in first place in the CCIY* division with her Herz Prinz, on a score of 57.0 penalties.

Chiacchia brought Windfall, whom he imported from Germany two years ago, to Bromont with the hopes of strengthening their partnership. "I've had three unsuccessful three-star attempts with him -- some of which was just bad luck, and some of which was due to his quirks. And he has his quirks, there's no denying that!

"He's a stallion, and the things he reacts to are not necessarily the things other horses would react to. Our partnership is really coming together, but it's difficult when you inherit a horse who's been produced by someone else. When you bring a horse up through the ranks from scratch, you know everything about him, but with him I haven't had that advantage.

"Now when I walk a course, I can finally start to see it with his eyes."

Having failed to complete at the recent Foxhall CCI*** -- "the heat got to him, I think; he just wasn't in his usual aggressive mode" -- Chiacchia felt he had two choices. "I could spend $20,000 and put him on a plane to Europe, or I could drop him down a notch and try to get this under his belt and then go on from there. I still have tremendous faith in this horse."

Though Windfall has already proven his prowess in the dressage ring by placing in the top five in this phase at virtually every event Chiacchia has taken him to, he says it's wrong to assume riding today's two-star test was a piece of cake! "He kept anticipating and wanting to do movements from the higher-level tests; I was afraid he was going to throw in the flying changes through the whole thing. So I really had to take a little care to get it done!"

As for Chiacchia's two young prospects, he's thrilled to have them here in the green mountains of the Laurentians, east of Montreal. "I'm really excited to have Ahlerich here; he's only six and this will be a big job for him, but I broke him at three and he's been my baby from the start. And it's so neat to have two descendants of 1984 Olympic horses in my barn.

Chiacchia has a unique history with the Galten Farm Trakehners, which he has been producing for Charlotte Schickedanz for nearly a decade. "Grooming for Abdullah was one of my first jobs in the horse world, so it's really special for me," he says.

Currently sitting second after the dressage phase in the CCI** division is Far Hills, New Jersey native Clarissa Wilmerding, and her handsome bay, Mystry Man II, with 48.0 penalties to Chiacchia's 47.51. Last year's CCI** champion, Phillip Dutton, is third and fourth with Nova Top and Dusky Moon (52.01 and 53.0 pp, respectively). And Canada's Stuart Black has moved into fifth with the young stallion, Sailing (54.0 penalties).

WEISSBECKER SCORES A DOUBLE

Mark Weissbecker, of Richmond, MA, has rebounded from the tragic loss of Titleist at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April, to dominate here at Bromont in both the CIC** and CCI* divisions. Aboard Warsprite, a bay Thoroughbred-cross gelding, he easily topped the CIC** with a score of 39.75 penalties (next closest was Sharon White and Gaelic Holiday, with 56.25). And in the one-star, the eye-catching pinto, Decordova, turned in a 47.51 pp performance to lead the field of 33 entries. A third Weissbecker entry, Swayne, is in 4th spot in the CCI*.

Great Falls, Virginia's Denise Rath, is sitting second in the one-star division with Just a Diplomat (54.0 pp) and has two other rides in the top ten: Crusader and Just Talk (5th and 6th). Rounding out the top three CCI* competitors is Canadian Lisa Courtney, with Trusca (55.5 pp).

Bromont is also offering a Preliminary Horse Trials division this year. Sitting first after dressage is Ashley Dalton with Kowhai, a black Thoroughbred mare (42.6 penalties), followed by a three-way tie for second, between Canadians Alison Cornellier and Tybalt, and Lindsey Pearce with Sexy Date, and American Alexandra Small, with Azlan.

With 43 entries in the CCI** division, including many of North America's biggest names in eventing ... and a serious two-star challenge in Mike Tucker's cross-country course (not to mention the legendary Bromont terrain), tomorrow's endurance phase promises high drama. Stay tuned ...