INDIANAPOLIS, IN – AUGUST 14, 2011 – Margie Engle is no stranger to competition, and is more often than not considered the front runner anytime she gets into saddle looking to add to her record of over 175 Grand Prix victories. On Sunday, Engle returned to Trader’s Point in Indianapolis to defend her 2010 Grand Prix title aboard Lord Spezi, a horse she has found great success with over the past two years.
Lord Spezi, owned by Ashland Farms in Wellington, Florida, is a fiesty competitor that matches extremely well with Engle’s aggressive riding style. Always a crowd favorite, Engle did not disappoint on Sunday, on her return to Trader’s Point where she went on to claim victory in the $60,000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, for the second year in a row.
Engle and Lord Spezi have been on a spree of victories this summer, with three major Grand Prix wins coming in a matter of weeks. The duo have been victorious in the $25,000 Smartpak Grand Prix in Saugerties, as well as the Hagyard Lexington Classic.
About Margie Engle:“Gutsy,” “determined” and “relentless” are but a few of the adjectives regularly used to describe one of the United States” most successful show jumping riders of all time–Margie Engle. Engle has over 175 grand prix wins under her belt, has been named American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year nine times, and has been on more than 20 winning Nations Cup teams. In 1991, she was named AHSA Equestrian of the Year.
In 1992, Engle was named the Rolex/ National Grand Prix League Rider of the Year, a feat she repeated in 1993. In 1999, Engle rode Hidden Creek’s Alvaretto to the Team Silver medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Engle was the highest placed woman and the highest placed U.S. rider in the individual competition riding Hidden Creek’s Perin to a 10th place tie in the Individual Show Jumping competition and a sixth place Team finish. Engle has so many “firsts” and records in her career; they are too numerous to mention.
Engle has persevered through serious injuries including a crushed leg in 1990, which she followed with five major AGA wins in 1991. She suffered a broken hip when a horse fell on her in 2004. Just three months later, riding her Olympic mount, Hidden Creek’s Perin, Engle beat a field of 26 entries that included eight Olympians, to win the $100,000 Cosequin Invitational Grand Prix in Culpeper, Virginia. She came back with a vengeance to successfully compete in 2005, and in 2006 she has led the World Cup standings all year. Her performances on the U.S. Team as part of the 2006 Samsung Super League tour have led to an Individual win in Aachen as well as a team second in the Nations Cup there.
Engle lives in Wellington, Florida, with her husband, Dr. Steve Engle, and is well-known for her incredible sense of humor.
About Margie Engle excerpt from Media Release by Trader’s Point
