Wellington, FL – April 4, 2010 – The International Arena hosted the Palm Beach Adult Medal Final, presented by Beval Saddlery Ltd. this morning, and it was Asta Torokvei of Toronto, Ontario, Canada who took home the win. Torokvei rode through three phases for victory over Leah Aronow and Sandra Epstein.

The twelfth week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by Lifestyle Lift® and concludes with today’s competition, which is also the end of the 2010 season at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival had 12 weeks of competition, and they awarded almost $6 million in prize money through the circuit.

Anthony D’Ambrosio designed today’s course for the Palm Beach Adult Medal Final. The course featured jumper fences, a change from the normal hunter-type fences used in the equitation classes during the circuit.

I was happy with it,” Torokvei said of the course. “I was a little worried going in because we’d never done a jumper course before, but I thought the lines rode really nicely. The course was hard enough, but there weren’t any real tricks to it. It gave us all a fair chance.”

Torokvei went second to last in the class. They had a solid trip and returned for the flat phase. From there, she was called back on top along with Leah Aronow to compete in a work-off.

The work-off consisted of cantering straight to an oxer, a rollback to another oxer, a left hand turn back to the two-stride combination straight to a trot jump, then hand galloping a jump, halting, and exiting the ring.

Aronow was first into the ring and had trouble with a refusal at the first jump and at the trot jump, but she finished well. Torokvei then went in and put in a smooth trip for the win.

Torokvei remembered, “When they told us there was additional testing, I was freaking out because I was pretty happy with him to then. Unfortunately the girl who went before me had some problems in her test. I felt bad for her, but it takes some of the pressure off. I knew I didn’t have to do anything super fancy, just get the job done. I was considering going inside after fence 5 to 10 a-b, but I could just go around and make it smooth and not worry too much.”

Torokvei rode Riverdale, an eight-year-old Dutch gelding that she has owned over two years, in the class. “He’s actually for my mom to ride,” she smiled. “When my mom is down here, she rides and has lessons on him. I started him in the Pre-Green Hunters. I’m so proud of him. He’s never jumped around a jumper course; he’s always been in the hunter ring. For him to step out there like that was pretty unbelievable.”

She said of her win, “I’ve barely had time to process this. I barely slept last night because I was so excited and nervous.” Torokvei also felt that the opportunity for adults to show in the International Arena was a great chance for the riders. She noted, “I think it’s nice because we don’t get something like this very often. Every now and then we get a hunter classic. There is the Hunter Spectacular and the derby, but that’s 3’6″ and higher, so this is a big deal (for adult riders).”

For winning the class, Torokvei was given a new Butet saddle from Beval Saddlery Ltd.

Winning the saddle is amazing,” Torokvei beamed. “At the beginning of the week, my coach Beth Underhill had ridden in my saddle and she hated it. She thought I needed a new one, so it actually ended up being like fate!”

Second Place won a Fancy Stitch Beval Bridle with Reins, while third place received a Barbour Featherweight Durham Coastal Jacket and fourth place won a 66° Jacket. Fifth to Eighth Place were given Gift Certificates to Beval Saddlery Ltd. For more information, please visit www.Beval.com.

Competition for the final day of the 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival will wrap up with the $20,000 WEF Young Jumper Finals for Five Year Olds, Six Year Olds, and Seven/Eight Year Olds in the International Arena.

For full results and more information, please visit www.shownet.biz or www.equestriansport.com.

Final Results: Palm Beach Adult Medal Final
1. ASTA TOROKVEI, RIVERDALE
2. LEAH ARONOW, BELIZE
3. SANDRA EPSTEIN, CATAMOUNT
4. JENNIFER SPEISMAN, AMALFI
5. BRITTANY BLAIS, FLEET STREET
6. SARAH KIRSON, MICENAS
7. ALEXANDRA BEAUMONT, SHAKER
8. MISSY YODER, RALEIGH
9. ELISSA TRINDLE, EMILIO

The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 13 through April 4. WEF is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC, and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. All 12 shows are “AA” rated and Jumper Rated 6, and more than $5.5 million in prize money will be awarded.

WEF is proud to be supported by their title sponsor, FTI Consulting, Inc. FTI Consulting, Inc. exists to help companies and their stakeholders protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex economic, legal and regulatory environment.  FTI is the trusted advisor entrenched in many of the game-changing events that make headlines, move markets and create business history. For more information, please visit www.fticonsulting.com.

During the 12 weeks of WEF, “Saturday Night Lights” headlines the entertainment each Saturday night where spectators not only enjoy the Grand Prix class, but a street carnival, live music, and numerous dining options with box seats, sports bars, and the famed Tiki Hut for front row fun.

Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.