proved he hasn't lost his touch when he captured the showcase Grand Prix event in spectacular fashion at Equefest at the Botanical Gardens yesterday.

Fargis, riding Artist, finished ahead of Eric Lamaze of Canada on Quelus des Pres and Herve Godignon of France on Corado, with 59 seconds separating the top three finishers in a jump-off to decide the winner.

Spectators were sitting on the edge of their seats during the final moments of the Grand Prix as five riders were still in contention after two clear rounds with the exciting third round jump-off settling the outcome.

Bermuda rider Dale Rochester, riding Malajka, took fourth place while Malcolm Pyrah of England took fifth, riding Silver Shadow.

Fargis, from Southampton, Long Island, is well known in equestrian circles, having represented the US in competitions in South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and New Zealand.

Besides winning gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 he was a silver medallist at the 1988 Games at Seoul, South Korea.

No stranger to Bermuda, Fargis participated in the Classic Show Jumping Competition here last year.

Junior rider Gemma Morrison, who won first place in the Pony Jumping class on Saturday, also won the Pony Modified Grand Prix yesterday.

The Top Score class was won by Godignon with an impressive 1,460 points followed by Fargis and Pyrah.

Also winning ribbons were local riders Tiffany Heslop and Dale Rochester.

Rayman Butterfield, riding Badger Bay, won the Hit and Hurry event, which put pressure on riders in other events.

The show jumping competition got everything rolling on Saturday with a demonstration by Dutch Paralympian Joop Stokkel.

Fargis led the "yellow'' team to victory in the team event.

RIDING HIGH -- Joe Fargis, the United States rider, shown here at Equefest yesterday, won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics and silver at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.