Florida’s 2nd Global Dressage Festival Competition Opens with 360 Rides
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- Global Dressage Festival’s second World Cup event being readied at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center . © 2012 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 15–The Global Dressage Festival’s second World Cup event opens Thursday with 100 rides in CDI competition and 260 in national classes that launches a new phase in dressage competitions in North America.
After a faltering start to the inuagural GDF circuit of five CDI competitions with total prize money of $275,000, the second competition received government permits to enable horses to be stabled in two permanent barns with a total of 200 stalls, to celebrate the opening in a jampacked VIP club sponsored by the U.S. PRE Association with three competition arenas decorated with flowers.
Dozens of palm trees were planted around the GDF grounds that, with a giant covered arena still under construction, is spread over about 60 acres on polo fields that were the birth of horse sports in this community of 55,000 people and is now the premier winter destination for equestrians from around the world.
The other half of what is known as the Stadium is a grass jumper derby field which will see action there Friday and Sunday afternoons at the same times as the high performance dressage in the new facility.
Development of the dressage facility is a second phase of building a complete world class horse show grounds. The first phase was rebuilding the main sprawling Palm Beach grounds with a dozen competition arenas dedicated to jumpers and hunters.
The World Cup Grand Prix is scheduled for Friday with the Freestyle set for Saturday and the Olympic Grand Prix Special on Sunday.
National classes start Thursday.
