This year’s FEI Rolex World Cup Finals show jumping courses will feature foliage and décor that would make any florist green with envy.

There’s an often-overlooked task that is a crucial element of the FEI Rolex World Cup Finals in Las Vegas. For this deed, it doesn’t matter who snagged the last crucial qualifying points at the Tournament Of Champions in Tampa (Fla.) or the Oaks Blenheim Spring Classic (Calif.). Because no matter which horse and rider combination soars to victory in the Thomas & Mack Center this year, there are courses to design and jumps to decorate so that the competitor who does earn that 2007 World Cup will have mastered not only a challenging test, but also a beautiful one.

So the show must go on for course decorator Richard Jeffery and returning designer, Guilherme Jorge, the men who transform this small arena into a colorful and striking show jumping feast for the senses. Jeffery’s the man behind the sensational floral arrangements adorning the edges of the ring, accenting the base of every jump, topping off each standard and welcoming competitors into the arena.

But this year’s Finals in Vegas will feature a fresh splash of color and designs with Rolex in mind, as the Swiss watch company is the new title sponsor. Their sponsorship was announced in November 2006, allowing Jeffery just a few months to make adjustments.

“I’ll need to get more gold colors into the ring of course,” Jeffery said in reference to one  of Rolex’s signature colors. “Last time [in 2005], the dressage arena was decorated outside in shades of mauve, lilac and pink, but you can certainly expect to see more yellow arrangements this time.”

Blooming Inspiration
Jeffery is no rookie to prepping for sold-out arenas and internationally televised competitions. This year’s World Cup Finals marks Jeffery’s seventh. He was also responsible for spicing up arenas at three Olympic Games.

But there’s much more to Jeffery, Bournemouth, U.K., than fabulous flower and foliage arrangements. He knows show jumping arenas inside and out—the U.S. Equestrian Federation named him course designer of the year seven times. He’s built tests at the Rolex Kentucky CCI, five World Cup Finals, a Pan American Games and assisted Linda Allen at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Naturally, Jorge deemed him an invaluable team player not only for his impeccable color coordination, but also for his autonomous expertise.

“I think that’s why so many top course designers have asked me to decorate at so many major events. The fact that they know I can read a course plan, understand what a jump will look like before it’s built and know basically where to and, more importantly, where not to put decorations,” Jeffery explained.

Each venue yields distinctive inspiration, Jeffery said. He considers everything from house colors and sponsors to making sure not to upstage the horses or jump designs. Of course, “the first and most important element is safety,” Jeffery stressed. “But in the end, it all should complement the whole competition.”

Planning starts for Jeffery long before any horses, riders, spectators or vendors set foot in Vegas. “It’s always ongoing,” Jeffery said. “Having been there for three previous occasions makes it easier, but [my decorating assistant] Scott Lau, Guilherme, organizers of the event and myself have been exchanging e-mails and phone calls for the last few months.”

Between the calls and e-mails, Jeffery acquired enough foliage, ornaments and embellishments to make a Macy’s Christmas tree jealous. “I ordered 450 huge Boston ferns, each 30 inches across. Half of these will
permanently line the arena, which is a concept I first introduced [in 2005] and has since been copied elsewhere,” Jeffery noted.

“I also rent another 150 plants, from 3 feet to 10 feet high, for the jumps or arena walls and entrance,” Jeffery continued. “I lost count of how many stems of silk flowers we have now. This year we’ll be adding at least another $3,000 worth to our stock.”

But no ferns, flowers or frills emerge from boxes until the Sunday prior to the Finals, when the arena is available for set-up.

From then until Wednesday, when the first warm-up classes fire up, it’s long days of unpacking, organizing, arranging, coordinating with Jorge to make final design and color decisions, creating a blueprint to correspond with the course design, and finally installing the whole lot.

“Of course, actually being there with all the jumps always gives us a better idea of colors. We can usually put together a lot of general arrangements that can be used in a number of ways,” Jeffery said.

But since the Thomas & Mack Center is a smaller venue, the three-day prep is less involved than other larger venues Jeffery has trimmed.

Over The Top
Jorge said he’ll dust off some crowd favorites from 2005, including the blue, orange and white Las Vegas fence, the FEI jump and the big triple combination used on the final day—a personal Jorge favorite. Still, a fresh splash of colors will create a timeless luxury.

“The Rolex jumps will look like the ones you’d see at [the] Kentucky [CCI]. They’ll be in some of the best spots, of course, but we have some surprises also,” Jorge hinted. “But the riders don’t need to worry if they know me and my style.

“It’s a very special arena with the keyhole shape, but I think I came up with some nice flowing courses,” Jorge added. “But I hope we can come up with the same visual we had in the 2005 Final.”

Jorge also promised the design, like the decorations, will keep horse and rider in the limelight while still drawing enough attention to keep sponsors satisfied and the Vegas Finals unique.

“And, hopefully, we’ll have the great crowd we had last time to create the fantastic atmosphere and produce another great moment for our sport,” he added.

After the final horse clears the final fence, the lightshows and pyrotechnics conclude, Jeffery, Jorge and crew will still be on the job while victors enjoy drinks at the finest casinos and the defeated trek home. “The worst part is packing everything away on the final Sunday when everyone else is partying or heading home,” Jeffery said.

The jump components are returned to their homes beneath the entrance tunnel opposite the in-gate. Jeffery’s arrangements, silk flowers, trees and ferns (that are still salvageable) are deconstructed and packed away in 30 to 40 boxes and stored for next time.

“The ferns are pretty much trashed by the end of the week with all the times that they’re taken into and out of the arena,” Jeffery said. “But some people always seem to find a few fresh flowers or good ferns to take home.”

With plenty of venues under his belt, Jeffery’s favorites are still “those that come to life once you decorate them, like Vegas.

That’s always pleasing. I also like those that are fairly neutral and can take decorations—some are too elaborate and need no decorations,” Jeffery explained.

“Each has its own personality, but some are better than others,” he continued. “But these days Las Vegas is right up on the top. The lovely thing is that we can use more colors in there than anywhere else. Certainly in Vegas, everything is meant to be over the top so we can decorate accordingly to match that atmosphere.”

Joshua A. Walker