By: Kenneth Kraus

Wellington, FL – February 27, 2010 – - On another bitterly cold Saturday night in South Florida, Rodrigo Pessoa and Champ 163 won their first grand prix together as a team, topping a starting field of forty-nine in the $75,000 Fidelity Investments CSI 2* Grand Prix at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida.

While Pessoa was galloping away with tonight’s top prize of $22,500, two veteran riders for the United States stayed spotless through two trials and moved to the top of the charts in the USEF WEG Selection Trials. Lauren Hough and her seasoned campaigner Quick Study, and Laura Kraut with her Olympic Gold Medal partner Cedric now sit all alone atop the leader board going into trial #3 next Wednesday. The pair is followed closely by Hillary Dobbs who separated herself from the pack by adding only a single time fault to her otherwise perfect record through two tough tests.