Cartouche Z wins Grand Prix

Riders smiled and horses looked proud as top finishers of Saturday evening's Grand Prix accepted their awards and draped cooling coats on their horses in front of a large crowd at Jensen Mills Meadow. West-side thunder storms cleared from around Mount Hood that afternoon, giving photographers the dramatic shots that help define the Hood River Classic as one of the most popular and scenic shows of its kind.

"It was a lot of fun," executive director Lynn Everroad commented. "We had an outstanding level of competition, and we welcomed a number of new barns to the classic this year."

"The whole show went really well," organizer Davinne McKeown-Ellis said. "Everybody had a great time and we had some of the top riders in attendance. We're especially happy about how the local community and local sponsors helped make the event so great. We couldn't have done it without them."

The show's finale, the Hood River Inn Grand Prix, boasted a purse of $10,000. The total purse for the event was $25,000, as well as product prizes.

In addition to the Hood River Inn, other major sponsors of the 2005 Hood River Classic include Kerrits Actionwear, Hood River Distillers, the Hood River News, The Fruit Company, and Hoses Inc., Columbia River Bank, Stadelman Fruit, Duckwall-Pooley Fruit Company, Diamond Fruit Growers Inc., Hood River Alpine Veterinary Hospital, Sprint, and the Hood river County visitors Council.

"We had spectacular local support," McKeown-Ellis said. "We really appreciate the help and involvement of the Hood River community."