Cannes to Join Exquis World Dressage Masters Series in June
16 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Cannes to Join Exquis World Dressage Masters Series in June
CANNES, France, Apr. 11–Cannes is joining the Exquis World Dressage Masters series of four competitions with a €100,000 (US$132,000) CDI-5* in the French Riviera resort city June 11-13.
Cannes was the site of the initial public display of the concept of the World Dressage Masters that was formally launched at Palm Beach in Florida at the end of January this year to sellout crowds. The Grand Prix Freestyle was won by Anky van Grunsven on IPS Painted Black. The Grand Prix was won by Steffen Peters on Ravel and the Grand Prix Special by Michael Barisone and Neruda.
The other two events in the series are Munich, Germany May 21-24 and Hickstead, Great Britain July 23-26.
Mr. Anthony Kies, the WDM Chief Executive Officer, said he is “very happy” with the current lineup although there could be conflicts with the CDI-4* in Lingen, Germany the week before and the CDIO in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the week after.
“We are happy Cannes has embraced the innovating concept of the Exquis World Dressage Masters WDM again,” he said. “We trust all riders will be more than happy with our efforts to include this wonderful show again.”
The Exquis World Dressage Masters Show in Munich next month already is moving forward with improvements.
The footing is being renewed for this year’s show.
John van de Laar, the WDM manager, said: “Some of the best riders in the world like Anky van Grunsven, Isabell Werth, Hans Peter Minderhoud and Kyra Kyrklund have already confirmed their participation. We are very happy with the fact that WDM seems to bring a new spirit to the events. Although times are tough, organizers put in an extra effort to guarantee top conditions for riders and fans. This is a very positive spin-off of our concept!”
The Exquis World Dressage Masters is an initiative of equestrian innovator Exquis, international sports marketing agency SportBizz and Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) that owns and operates the shows at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida.
The WDM goal is to provide prize money that matches some of the top horse sports in a format that is attractive to the media and lends itself to professional marketing.
WDM is sponsored by Exquis, Moorland Stables and Moorland Investments.
