On April 2-4, Miami Beach will host the first leg of the 2015 Longines Global Champions Tour.
“The spectacular venue for our launch event of 2015 will be in Miami Beach directly on the 21st beachfront,” stated Jan Tops, founder and president of the Longines GCT.
The new launch destination for the GCT series, held otherwise throughout Europe and Asia, is the first of 15 international venues set to host grand prix competition throughout the year, concluding Nov. 12-14 in Doha, Qatar.
“It is important to be in America, a great horse-loving nation with a strong equestrian heritage,” said Tops of the decision to add a U.S. stop to the tour this year. “Miami Beach will be one of the jewels in the crown of our 2015 international circuit, and this is an important part of our strategic expansion globally.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The American Invitational, produced by Stadium Jumping Inc., had been held for 40 years in Tampa, Fla., and last year it moved to Sun Life Stadium in Miami, home of the Miami Dolphins. This year the class will be held Friday, April 3, as part of the Miami Beach GCT.
“Jan Tops reached out to my dad [Stadium Jumping President Michael Morrissey] to do something in Miami,” said Matt Morrissey, vice president of operations for Stadium Jumping. “That worked out perfectly because the Dolphins’ stadium announced that they were making 400 million dollars’ worth of improvements during the off season. They discontinued the contracts with monster truck rallies, soccer, everything from January to August so they could do Phases 1 and 2 of construction.”
Matt pointed out that the original GCT included a stop in Wellington, Fla., and a decade later it will be coming back to the state.
“We are happy to feature a special American Invitational class during the event,” Tops stated.
