Wednesday August 3, 1983 - 1 v, *Crai g Clermont, of Pri n9ie Drive InfWhitby, dispiays just somo of the numerous ribbons and awards he has won on t 'he large horse riding -' A" c i rout. Craig, l2ai trying to accumulate enough points on the circuit, to c'ompete ln this year's Royal Winter Fair ln Toronto. Free Press Staff Photo Whitby youth ke'eps winning with horse BY TIM BAINES Communlty Editor A local youth is set- tmng the Ontario large horse riding circuit on fire. Craîg Clermont, of Pringle Drive, in bis fourth year on the cir- cuit, recorded two first place finishes two weekends ago at a Bethany Hills Hunt coipetition despite haigneyer competed in similar jumper lassâes, In the jumper clam, 25 started out but only five completed the course. Craig also recorded two fifths and a sixtb in tbe hunt classes, which rely totally on the opinion of one judge as to the form and style of a pony and how he jum- Ps. Two days earlier at tbe Kingston Exhibition, Craig bad pulled off an unprecedented accom- plisbment. He competed in six classes, winning them ail. Some of Craig's suc- cess is credited to bis 10- year-old pony,. Go Little King, wbzcb he bas grown up witb for'the past four years. According to Craig, the two bave "trained each otber" . It is indeed ironie tbat Craig sbould become an accomplisbed eque- strian as he is allergie to borses. His mother Emily must do the grooining. Craig finds it a problem wben be must compete indoors and tbere is little breeze. Because tbe Cler- mont's live witbin the town, tbe borse must be lef t at the Colonial Equestrian Centre.'1 Craig fixids tbe com- petitive atmospbere of the 'A' circuite pusbes him to better sbowings. "You bave to be per- fect in every way in the 'A' class because tbere are s0 many' com- petitors,"'lbe said. Craig bas been riding at this level since be was a 9-year-old, boy. Tbe age limit is 17. He got bis start witb horses .througb bis mother wben they. lived at Camp Borden. "II loved to go ail over tbe place exploring tbrougb the fields witb the borse, " be recalled. "He got to be a very good rider by just en- joying bimself tbe first couple of years," said bis motber. Immediate plans in- clude competing in tbe Cbeltenbam Gold 'Cup International Show August 9 to 14 and tbe Canadian '.National Exhibition September 1 to 3. He is trying to ac- cumulate enougb points over the riding season to be eligible to compete in the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Competing in tbis event last year, be finisbed sixtb.. Craig is also a ý.ver- satile athiete. He bas won numerous awards in hockey, baseball and track and field as well. He even cites winning a showdown com- petition in Tyke hockey, la tbe Ottawa area, as being bis biggest thrili. 'I'm going to keep on gomng witb sports and wbatever I find out I do best, V'Il keep it up," be Local swimmer wins gold medals Altbough be would someday like to make the Canadian Equestrian Team, be is growing fast and is fin- ding it increasingly more difficult to com- pete against the smaller riders. He says tbat perbaps someday he'll make it to the National Hockey League. "I liWe challenges," he conceded. His parents, Ernily and Lieutenant Colonel Maru Maurice Cler- mont, recently Pur- cbased a VCR unit to film Craig la action and ,-belp bim ride better by viewing bis mistakes. This is bad news for competitors because Craig bas already proven himself as a formidable opponent for Whitby's Anne Otten- brite smasbed a pair of Canadian and Com- monwealth records at the Canadian swimming cbampionsbips in Mon- treal last week. Ottenbrite, 17, first took to the pool Thur- sday night in the 100- metre breaststroke and recorded a time of 1:10.96 tla capture -the gold modal. ThI" record- setting performance was 3-lOths of a second faster than tbe standard wben set a year ago in Edmonton. Ottenbrite, in only ber second year on the national squad, also brougbt home the gold medal in tbe 200-metre breaststroke Saturday in a record tixne of 2:30.55. Despite wlnning both events in record time, Ottenbrite was sligbted in the awarding of the Esso Cep, given to the bighligbt swim of -the competition. Dan Thompson was tbe recipient of tbis tropby for bis Canadian and Commonwealth record in the men's 100-metre butterfly. "tI'm sort of disap- pointed about not get- ting the Esso Cup (sbe was runner-up to Thom- pson), bec-ause I blew two of my turus, and that'migbt bave been the difference," said Ot- tenbrite. "But, I can't be disappointed with the time; being third-in tbe world going into the Olyinpics."9 Her coach Paul Meronen, froni the AJax Aquatie Club, was a lit- tie more reserved. "She was on (worlci record) pace for the fir- st 100, but didn't bold it together well enougb coming borne," be said. Ottenbrite, because of ber victories, will join the Canadian team for the Pan Amn Games next month at Caracas, Venezuela. ........ ....