"Darren Chiacchia and Andrina Calder celebrate victory in Virginia." Photo by: Anna Calder

Toronto, Ontario - Canadian eventing rider Andrina Calder of Toronto, ON, and her coach, Darren Chiacchia of Buffalo, NY, each celebrated victory at the Virginia Horse Trials held May 14-18 in Lexington, VA.

Calder was the winner of the CCIY* division, open to riders aged 21 and under, while Chiacchia claimed the CCI* division, open to all other competitors.

Calder has learned well from Chiacchia, her coach of four years. Riding HerzPrinz, her 12-year-old Trakehner gelding, Calder climbed up from eighth position following the opening phase of dressage into the lead on the final day of competition to claim victory. With an opening dressage score of 53 penalty points, Calder added 1.6 time penalties to her score following the difficult cross-country phase, held in the rain, where Calder elected to take the long route at two of the fences. Leading the field of 40 entries heading into the final phase of stadium jumping, Calder had just one rail to stay at the top and finish with a final three-day score of 58.6 penalty points.

"He was awesome, he was fabulous!" exclaimed Calder, full of praise for her horse. "I was really happy with my stadium jumping round. I did have one rail, but it was held in an indoor arena and my horse can be spooky with all of the spectators so close, but he kept his focus."

The victory was also a belated birthday celebration for Calder who turned 15 on Tuesday, May 13.

"We were leaving for the show the day of my birthday, and we had to get up at 4 in the morning!" recounts Calder, a grade nine student. "It wasn't the best way to spend the day, but winning sure makes up for it!"

"Andrina Calder and HerzPrinz on their way to victory at the CCIY* Virginia Horse Trials." Photo by: Brant Gamma

The victory marked the third for Calder so far in 2003. In April, she won the Young Rider Open Preliminary division at the Beaulieu North American Classic with an incredible score of 29.9 penalty points and, in March, she won the Young Rider Open Preliminary division at the Rocking Horse Spring Horse Trials in Altoona, FL. Calder is a member of the 2003 Eventing Talent Squad, a means of recognizing athletes with the potential to become future members of the Canadian Equestrian Team.

Chiacchia was equally pleased with his win in the CCI* division. The United States Equestrian Team member was aboard Regal Wood, a nine-year-old Irish thoroughbred gelding he only recently began riding. In fact, the horse was sent to Chiacchia by owner Gail Clark to be sold.

From a large starting field of 47 entries, Chiacchia was placed third following dressage with a score of 47 penalty points. Like Calder, minimal time penalties on cross-country moved him into second position. In the final phase of stadium jumping, Chiacchia posted one of only four clear rounds to overtake the lead, winning with a three-day score of 48.2 penalty points.

"Going into the stadium round, I was only 1.4 points ahead of the third placed rider, who jumped a clear round and put a little pressure on me," explained Chiacchia. "Over a very difficult track, my horse went in and jumped one of only a few clean rounds while the leader had a rail to drop down to third place."

Since Chiacchia began riding Regal Wood in March, their quickly forged partnership has seen them easily win the Open Preliminary division at the Poplar Place March Horse Trials as well as the Open Preliminary division 'A' at the Beaulieu North American Classic in Chatsworth, GA.

"Our weekend was fantastic, I couldn't have asked for more!" said Chiacchia, who owns Independence Farm, a large breeding, training and sales operation with bases in Buffalo, NY, and Ocala, FL. "It was great to have Andrina here and have a dual win, she rode like a superstar! Andrina's sponsor, Tide laundry detergent, also co-sponsored the event, so the weekend could not have been more perfect! It is truly one of those magical moments!"

One of America's top eventing riders, Chiacchia was the traveling alternate for the 2000 Olympic Games and successfully represented the United States at the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. His focus now is on the 2003 Pan American Championships to be held later this year and the 2004 Olympic Games, for which he already has four horses qualified.

For complete results from the Virginia Horse Trials, organized by Brian and Penny Ross, please visit www.vahorsetrials.com. Further information on Calder can be found at www.youngeventrider.com, and Chiacchia, www.eventrider.com