May 27, 2003 – With a horrendous forecast the Kelso Ontario Cup was looking a little scary!  Somehow the rain stayed away and most of the weekend was pleasant with the race courses a little moist, but very manageable.

In the pro men's short track Greg Reain (Gears Racing) once again proved he has the speed by besting Mike Garrigan (Bianchi Canada) and Tim Oliver of Gears Racing.  The win brought $375 into Greg's pocket courtesy of our title sponsor Mark Bonham.  In the women's short track little sensation Emily Batty, Bay Cycle attacked when Danelle Kabush of Gears Racing's crashed!  Batty won the women's pro short track at the age of 14. As Sean Ruppel of Chico Racing put it, “$175 will buy Emily a lot of Lego.”  Heather King (Gears Racing) was second with Kabush straightening out her bike and still finishing a respectable third.

Downhill action was fierce, but the two-run format was a long day for everyone with such a large field present.  Doug Beattie once again proved his King Kong status in Ontario with Drew Pautler in second and Ryan Walters in third. Cookstown's own Sheila Morris was first in the Pro Women's with Michelle Waechter in second and Antonia Gawel in third!  Great to see a good sized field of women present for downhill!

While it was raining all over Ontario, Milton was one of a few areas blessed with sun for Sunday's x-country race. Mike Garrigan was on fire winning the pro men's race with Team Hardwood's Jesse Jakomait in second and fresh off a Canada Cup win. Our money is on Garrigan at the Gears Racing Canada Cup next weekend or is Jakomait saving himself for this coming weekend? Greg Reain proved he is also a contender with his third place finish. In the women's race BC's Sandra Walter of Marin/Shimano Canada used our event as a warm up for the Canada Cup this weekend. She enjoyed what Kelso had to offer and found the course challenging albeit a different kind of challenging vs BC!  A great ride for Gears Racing's Sue Trimble who finished second while Danelle Kabush retained her Ontario Cup Leader status with a third place finish.

Thanks again to Bonham & Co. and Mark Bonham, all of our retail partners, the Kelso Ski Patrol, Kelso Conservation Area, Pete Appleton and Igor, our Chico staff, timers, and the Ecclestone crew for manning the feed zone!

Results posted at <http://www.chicoracing.com/>www.chicoracing.com .  For Canada Cup information please contact Hardwood Hills.