Equestrian Sport Productions, management company of the world-renowned Winter Equestrian Festival and Adequan® Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla., is excited to announce a brand new eventing showcase that will take place at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Jan. 30-31, 2015. The $50,000 Wellington Eventing Showcase, presented by Asheville Regional Airport, will feature some of eventing’s top horses and riders.
“In the same way that we met up with Allyn Mann of Adequan® and talked about taking dressage to the next level four years ago, we think there is a great opportunity to bring the sport of eventing to new heights in Wellington,” stated ESP CEO Mark Bellissimo. “We are excited to have a third Olympic discipline at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center during the winter, and we look forward to welcoming eventing riders and fans.”
Bellissimo added, “We are very excited that Asheville Regional Airport has stepped up to sponsor this inaugural event. On a segment on Good Morning America, Frommer Travel Guide just announced Asheville as the No. 1 destination in the country to visit in 2015, and it is conveniently located just 30 minutes from the new Tryon International Equestrian Center.”
The Wellington Eventing Showcase will be a special invitational for top U.S. and Canadian High Performance Riders. U.S. Olympic and World Equestrian Games eventer Boyd Martin plans to compete in the Wellington Eventing Showcase. “I’m excited to have eventing included as part of Winter Equestrian Festival schedule at PBIEC, and I look forward to competing in this event to showcase our sport in front of a new audience,” Martin said.
The competition begins with dressage on Friday, Jan. 30, in the International Ring of the The Stadium at PBIEC. Competitors will be riding USEF/USEA Advanced Test ‘B’ in morning and afternoon sessions. There will be a test ride at 9:00 a.m., and the first horse at 9:30 a.m. The last ride will take place at approximately 3:15 p.m.
Show jumping will take place on Saturday morning, Jan. 31, also in the International Ring at The Stadium at PBIEC. The course, designed by Richard Jeffrey of Great Britain, will be open for walking at 9:30 a.m., and jumping starts at 10:30 a.m.
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Cross-country will take place Saturday afternoon, with a 2,000-meter advanced-level course spanning the grass derby field at The Stadium at PBIEC and adjacent polo field. This course will consist of 16 obstacles containing 20 jumping efforts. Cross-country will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. The cross-country will run in reverse order of standings.
ESP is excited to welcome Capt. Mark Phillips as the course designer for this first-ever cross-country event at PBIEC with jumps built by Eric Bull. Jumps will be built as per USEF Eventing Rules for advanced horse trials. Video and live scoring will also be available.
The Global Pavillion at The Stadium offers VIP seating with tables of six for $1,500. Buffet lunch and full bar is included with outstanding views of the dressage on Friday and the show jumping and cross-country on Saturday. VIP Parking is also included. For bookings, please email Kathleen Lamour at kathleen@equestriansport.com or call 561-784-1106.
For more information, please visit www.PBIEC.com.
The Bellissimo family owns The Chronicle of the Horse, and Mark serves as its publisher.
