Wellington, FL – January 13, 2003 -- The 31st annual Winter Equestrian Festival will host a qualifier for the 2003 Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Children's International Jumping Final at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, FL, February 15-16, 2003.

Riders from at least five countries have been invited to compete in the Stanford Financial Group FEI World Children’s Jumping competition, which is open only to children between the ages of 12 and 14 and is run under FEI Rules for Jumping Events (Art. 258, 260); Young Riders (Art. Y21); and the FEI General Regulations, including schooling, medication and saddlery.

The qualifier will comprise two competitions (one per day) with two rounds each, to be run under FEI Table A rules. Riders will compete over courses of between eight and 12 obstacles with heights over three and a half feet and spreads of more than four feet. Participants may compete on horses or ponies and may ride more than one mount, however the score of only one mount will count.

In 2001, Wellington was host of the FEI Children's International Jumping Final, where Wellington resident Dorothy Grubb won the event aboard Pistol Pete. Grubb is the daughter of Olympic veteran Tim Grubb and his wife Michelle McEvoy-Grubb, who is one of only two riders ever to win the Winter Equestrian Festival's Budweiser American Invitational two years in a row (1974-75). The only other rider to do so is the current defending champion Molly Ashe, who won the event in 2001 and 2002.

The Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), which offers over $3 million in prize money and draws more than 4,000 horses and 6,000 riders, trainers, owners and grooms, begins January 22, 2003 at The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington. It will remain there for seven weeks before moving to the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa on March 12. The Festival will spend three weeks in Tampa culminating with the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational on Saturday evening, March 29, at Raymond James Stadium.

The final show of the 2003 Winter Equestrian Festival, the $200,000 AGA Championship, presented by Budweiser, will be held April 2-6 back at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington.

Besides the Stanford Financial Group FEI World Children’s Jumping competition, the WEF also features more exciting action for young equestrians — the $230,000 Junior Jumper Series, the $16,000 Pony Jumper Series, the $15,000 Solaray Junior Jumper Gambler’s Choice, the $10,000 WEF Young Rider International Team Competition, and eight Children’s Jumper Classics.

The WEF also offers excellent hunter, jumper, and dressage competition for adults, including selection trials to determine the U.S. Dressage Team for the Pan-American Games to be held in the summer of 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Other highlights include the $430,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper Series, the $350,000 USA Equestrian ‘AA’ Hunter Series, the $96,000 Adult Amateur Jumper Series, the $25,000 Windsome WEF Dressage/Jumper Spectacular, and the R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship.

The 2003 Winter Equestrian Festival also includes the WEF $1,000,000 Grand Prix Series featuring the following:

• Farr Legacy/Western Hay Grand Prix of Palm Beach
• Bayer/USET Wellington Cup, presented by Fleet Financial
• Kilkenny/ICH Internationale Cup
• Idle Dice Classic
• Zada Enterprises, LLC Masters Cup
• Tommy Bahama Florida Open, presented by RV Sales of Broward
• Samsung Nations’ Cup, presented by CN
• Cosequin U.S. Open Jumper Championship, presented by CN
• Grand Prix of Tampa
• Budweiser American Invitational, presented by The Tampa Tribune

For more information on the Winter Equestrian Festival and all its exciting events and activities, please call Stadium Jumping, Inc. in Wellington at (561) 793-JUMP or visit www.stadiumjumping.com.