Las Vegas Gets Go-Ahead to Negotiate With FEI to Host 2015 World Cups of Dressage & Jumping
11 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Las Vegas Gets Go-Ahead to Negotiate With FEI to Host 2015 World Cups of Dressage & Jumping
The Las Vegas organization that staged three World Cup Finals of Dressage and Jumping within the past decade has been given the go-ahead by its board of directors to negotiate with the International Equestrian Federation to bring the annual global championships back to the city that bills itself as the Entertainment Capital of the World in 2015
The FEI turned to Las Vegas to host the event at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Arena after Guadalajara, Mexico, was unable to get facilities ready in time for the World Cups that are typically held in April each year.
Las Vegas Events, the producer of major special events, staged the 2005, 2007 and 2009 World Cups of both Olympic disciplines that were sold out. The organization bid for the 2015 Finals but lost out initially to Guadalajara. It also held the 2000 and 2003 Jumping World Cup Finals.
If the World Cups go to Las Vegas it will be one of two major equestrian championships in North America in 2015–Toronto will host the Pan American Games that summer.
“The LVE Board of Directors did meet in February and authorized LVE staff to pursue negotiations with the FEI,” a spokesman for Las Vegas Events told dressage-news.com.
The 2015 Final will be the 29th anniversary of the dressage World Cup that was initially created as the final of the European indoor circuit. The dressage circuit comprises leagues in Western Europe, Central Europe, North America and the Pacific.
Steffen Peters and Ravel claimed the 2009 title, only the second American combination to do so. The first was Debbie McDonald and Brentina who did it in 2003.
The Thomas & Mack Center is, aptly, named for two Las Vegas bankers, one of them Parry Thomas who with his wife, Peggy, owned Brentina.
