Challenge.jpgWellington, FL – After an exciting evening of competition at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Saturday evening, Team International The Seley Parker Group of Merrill Lynch performed a beautiful quadrille for a score of 95.3 to take home top honors in the 2010 Challenge of the Americas. The Challenge, in its ninth consecutive year as an annual fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, was held under the lights on Piaget Field and was presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach (IPC).

The Challenge got underway at 5:30 p.m. with a special High Goal Polo Challenge where spectators had the opportunity to wager on four top polo players and win cash and prizes.  The polo challenge was followed by a special four-bar show jumping competition, sponsored by MatchnRide.com, which featured top horses and junior riders competing over a series of jumps that increased in height to over five feet. The four-bar competition was managed by course designer Bobby Murphy with horses and riders trained by Ashland Farm’s Ken and Emily Smith. The competitors included Spencer Smith, Jennifer Waxman, Alyssa Mansfield, and Christina Kelly, who was the final rider to complete the jump-off and won top honors.

The brand new figure skating dressage performance was up next, sponsored by Platinum Seamless, and held in memory of Ingred Lin, who passed away from breast cancer this year. The performance was an exciting addition to the challenge this year and featured a combination of dressage and figure skating unlike anything seen before. Four figure skaters performed their graceful moves on ice set on the Polo Club’s main field, with horses and riders performing around them. Featured riders included Mary Ann Grant and Dr. Michael Kohl on their horses, along with figure skaters Julie Mulvey, Curtis Chornopyski, Jenna Dzierzanowski, and Vinny Dispenza from ‘Incredible ICE’ in Coral Springs, FL.

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