[Joanne]

Reported by Eurodressage.


http://www.eurodressage.com/equestri...rld-cup-finals

[atlatl]

Keeping my fingers crossed

[Beentheredonethat]

That would be great! I was at the last one and involved in a lot of the press there, and the word was that they were losing so much money on it, they didn't want to do it again. Even though it's not ideal as an arena and a horse venue, it's SUCH a great, central place generally cheap for most people to come to, and the Europeans like to actually go there.

Hopefully we can get some great sponsors to step up and make it happen again. Karen Offield was SO great last time!

[ThreeFigs]

Oh, good. Maybe by then I will be able to go.

[IdahoRider]

This is such great news! I went in 2007 and had such a great time. I will absolutely be there if they host again. I hate Las Vegas in general, since I don't gamble and watching drunk folks vomit into potted plants is not much fun. But World Cup makes it a magical place.
Sheilah

[ThreeFigs]

IR, I only drove through LV on the way to San Diego with my Para student. That was all I needed to hate it.

I wanted a Starbucks SOOO BAD, but EVERYTHING in LV is somewhere in a casino. I did without coffee till we found a Denny's -- in a casino outside of LV.

But I WOULD go there for the World Cup.

[ctanner]

Please, please, please.........

[Bristol Bay]

I have been to all three, and the last one was so poorly attended by dressage competitors, it felt like a rip off. I know it had been planned long before the Great Recession hit, but I was disappointed. There were only maybe 11 riders in the freestyle, and lots of filler. The jumping contests were amazing, but dressage, not so much.

[propspony]

IR, I only drove through LV on the way to San Diego with my Para student. That was all I needed to hate it.

I wanted a Starbucks SOOO BAD, but EVERYTHING in LV is somewhere in a casino. I did without coffee till we found a Denny's -- in a casino outside of LV.

But I WOULD go there for the World Cup.

Really? Hate it? That's harsh if you've never even stopped....

There is a Starbucks that you can see from the 15 off of the Blue Diamond exit. Get off, turn left, and it's lookin' right at you. ;-p Just info for your next trip through...

(and not everything is inside of a casino... go a block off of the strip and it looks pretty much exactly like Phoenix.... ;-p )

[BetterOffRed]

I have been to all three, and the last one was so poorly attended by dressage competitors, it felt like a rip off. I know it had been planned long before the Great Recession hit, but I was disappointed. There were only maybe 11 riders in the freestyle, and lots of filler. The jumping contests were amazing, but dressage, not so much.

I do remember this too, but that was the year that a lot of horses pulled out after arriving due to injury including Blu Hors Matine (didn't even warm up and she never recovered ), Don Charly, Parzival and Kingston (injured in the GP).

But the FEI and the organizers have made money off of all of the Las Vegas World Cups.

I hope they remember me and send me all of my original tickets! <kneeling and praying> !!!!

[tm]

I have been to all three, and the last one was so poorly attended by dressage competitors, it felt like a rip off. I know it had been planned long before the Great Recession hit, but I was disappointed. There were only maybe 11 riders in the freestyle, and lots of filler. The jumping contests were amazing, but dressage, not so much.

Dressage World Cup has specific rules about how many horses will compete. 18 start in the Grand Prix, and IIRC, at the time of the last WC in Las Vegas, the top 12 went on to the Freestyle, the remainder showed in the Special. I also believe that the format has been changed so that all horses now move on to the Freestyle.

That year we DID have a number of horses who had to pull out prior to the Freestyle for one reason or another - but it was NOT because the competitors didn't want to be there!

[Bristol Bay]

It wasn't just that. The first two years there was a much larger group of competitors. There was a Grand Prix on Thursday, then a freestyle competition on Friday for the group that did not make the cut for the World Cup on Saturday night.

The 2009 World Cup felt like a lot of filler because they didn't have the riders they had been expecting. If you bought the ticket package as I did, you were paying $80 to watch some cobbled-together exhibitions. I paid for way more dressage than I saw. I would not buy the package again, that's for sure.

What happened to Matine was a tragedy.