Woodside, Calif., Sept. 17, 2011 — The generous sponsors of The Event At Woodside, on Oct. 7-9, have each increased their commitment to the competition, allowing organizer Robert Kellerhouse to double the total prize money, from $9,000 to $18,000.
For the first time, The Event at Woodside will offer CIC (international horse trials) divisions at the three-star, two-star and one-star levels. “Our fabulous sponsors wanted to see the first Woodside international event make an even bigger splash on the eventing and the local calendar. They wanted to make sure it will be as great as it can be, and we’re extremely appreciative of their support,” said Kellerhouse. Equine Insurance of California, Point Two Air Jackets and Professional’s Choice are the presenting sponsors of The Event At Woodside. The additional sponsors are: Auburn Laboratories Inc., CWD Saddlery, Equine Comfort Products, Finish Line Products, JRD Saddles, Smartpak Equine, Voltaire Design and Western Saddlery.
The prize money for the CIC3* will be $9,000. The prize money for the CIC2* will be $6,000, and the prize money for the CIC1* will be $3,000.
The sponsors’ support has also funded a major redesign of Woodside’s spectator-friendly, and horse-friendly, cross-country course. Course designer Derek di Grazia, of Monterey, Calif., has made changes to the galloping track the horses follow at all levels, and he’s designed about 30 new jumps. The most noticeable alteration is to the lower water jump, on the south end of the course. Di Grazia and course builder Bert Wood have removed the island in the center of the pond in order to create all-new challenges in this complex.
“The water jump has certainly entailed the most work, but then there are lots of other jumps here and there that we’re adding to enhance all the courses,” said di Grazia. “I think there will be a little bit of a new flow to the course, at all the levels.”
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Di Grazia said that designing the courses at Woodside presents an unusual challenge. “The great thing about Woodside is that it’s one of the few courses in California that really has some terrain, and that definitely has a lot to do with what goes on in the course. The challenge to me is to find the best places to site the jumps so that the horses aren’t always going uphill or downhill,” said di Grazia. “And it’s the only place I know where you can stand or sit under that giant oak tree by the finish line and see the entire course.”
Dressage will initiate the competition on Friday at 8:00 a.m. in the Bay Arena, where the international competitors will show jump on Friday afternoon. The CIC3* horses will start jumping at about 5:00 p.m., after the rest of the day’s competition has ended. The international horses will face the challenges of di Grazia’s cross-country course on Saturday afternoon, in reverse order of their two-phase standing. The international awards presentation will follow on Saturday evening, in the ringside tent.
General admission to The Event At Woodside is $10 person, including parking and a program.
Patron’s tickets are also available for the Thursday night Welcome Party, the Friday night show jumping and for the Saturday night Awards Party, at $35 per night or $75 for all three nights. To order patron’s tickets, go online to ww.horsepark.org and click on the Horse Trials/Eventing tab on the left side. To learn more about the Horse Park at Woodside or The Event At Woodside, go to www.horsepark.org. To learn more about eventing, visit the U.S. Eventing Association’s website (www.useventing.com).
