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Articles: Press Release
MBNA Foxhall Cup to Start Final Round of
World Equestrian Games Eventing Selection Trials
Contact:
Leah Leidner
Hope-Beckham Inc.
404.636.8200 ext.233
lleidner@hopebeckham.com
Marty Bauman
Classic Communications
508.698.6810
uset.pr@verizon.net
Atlanta, GA—March 4, 2002—The MBNA Foxhall Cup CCI***, April
18-21 in Atlanta, GA, will be the first of the final five United States
Equestrian Team selection trials for the U.S. eventing team for the 2002
World Equestrian Games (WEG). The eventing World Championships will take
place as part of the World Equestrian Games that are scheduled to take place
September 11-22 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
The World Equestrian Games are held every four years and are, other than the
Olympics, the world’s most important equestrian event. This year, for the
first time, seven world championships will be decided at the World
Equestrian Games: eventing, dressage, show-jumping, endurance, driving,
vaulting and for the first time ever, reining.
Following six selection trials held in 2001, the MBNA Foxhall
Cup is the first of five eventing selection trials to be held this spring.
It will be followed by the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by
Bayer, April 25-28 in Lexington, KY; the Badminton CCI**** in England, May
2-5; the Punchestown CCI*** in Ireland, May 16-19; and the Bramham CCI*** in
England, June 6-9.
“It is indeed an honor to again host a USET selection trial at
the MBNA Foxhall Cup,” said Foxhall Cup Chairman Jim Richards. “We have a
cherished tradition of working with the USET including hosting a selection
trial for our highly-successful Sydney Olympic team in 2000. Hopefully, our
results at the World Equestrian Games this year will be equally impressive.”
Within 21 days after the conclusion of Punchestown, the USET
will name a short list of at least six horse-and-rider combinations. It
will have an option of adding to that list after the competition at Bramham.
All horse-and-rider combinations on the Short List will be
required to compete at one or more Mandatory Outings and/or Training
Sessions before the final squad for WEG is named.
The USET Eventing Selectors are: 1984 Olympic team Gold and
individual Silver Medalist Karen Stives, Chairman; 1980 U.S. Olympian
Washington Bishop; event organizer and competitor Anne Getchell; 1994 WEG
veteran Jim Graham; and Peter Green, a veteran of the 1982 Eventing World
Championships.
The first World Equestrian Games were held in 1990, when at
Stockholm (Sweden), the International Equestrian Federation for the first
time hosted the World Championships from each discipline at a single
location. These first World Equestrian Games proved to be an event of great
prestige, a total success with regard to organization, attendance, interest
and worldwide response. Four years later in 1994, The Hague (Holland) played
host to the second edition of the Games. The third World Equestrian Games
took place in Rome in 1998.
The USET has made quite an impact in eventing at past World
Equestrian Games. In 1990 Bruce Davidson won the individual Bronze Medal;
in 1994 Dorothy Trapp won individual Silver Medal; and in 1998, Bruce
Davidson, Karen and David O’Connor, and Kerry Millikin took home the team
Bronze Medal.
The eventing competition for this year’s World Equestrian Games is scheduled
for September 12-15. Following is a detailed schedule:
Thursday, September 12 – Dressage First Phase
Friday, September 13 – Dressage Second Phase
Saturday, September 14 – Cross Country Phase
Sunday, September 15 – Jumping Phase
For those who can’t make it to Jerez in September to see the World
Equestrian Games, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is the perfect place to see this
country’s top riders competing for the right to be on the team!
The MBNA Foxhall Cup Three-Day Event is designated the National Championship
of Eventing and is one of only two three-star level eventing competitions in
the nation. Prize money is $100,000.
Foxhall will also host a Grand Prix freestyle dressage competition with a
$20,000 cash prize.
To add to the exhilarating spectacle of the MBNA Foxhall Cup, Foxhall
Events, LLC is presenting the inaugural Foxhall Flower Show presented by
Home Depot, modeled after the breathtaking Chelsea Gardens Flower Show in
London. Participants in the Foxhall Flower Show can compete within a
variety of categories to display gardening talents. The total prize money
for the Flower Show is $100,000.
About MBNA Foxhall Cup
Established in 2000 by Jim Richards, the MBNA Foxhall Cup is held in Douglas
County, Georgia every spring. The three-star level eventing competition
featuring dressage, cross-country and show jumping is designated as the
National Championship of Eventing and serves as the U.S. Equestrian Team
(USET) Three-Star Spring Championship. The MBNA Foxhall Cup donates a
portion of its profits to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta-based catastrophic
care hospital that treats individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord
injuries. For more information, please visit
www.foxhallcup.com
About the Foxhall Flower Show
The inaugural Foxhall Flower Show will be held in Douglas County, Georgia,
April 18-21, 2002, at Foxhall Farms. Based on the spirit, tradition and
elegance of outdoor European flower shows, the growing event will be the
largest open-air flower show in the eastern United States and offers over
$100,000 in prizes. Proceeds will benefit The State Botanical Garden of
Georgia at the University of Georgia. For more information and to purchase
tickets, please visit
www.foxhallflowershow.com
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