Canadian Fortnight Celebration Set for Wellington, Florida in January
11 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Canadian Fortnight Celebration Set for Wellington, Florida in January
A Canadian Fortnight to bring Canadians from around the world to celebrate, develop and support dressage talent in Canada has been set for the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida from Jan. 19 through Feb. 2.
The inaugural event created by Desi Dillingham, Canada’s newly appointed Special Advisor, to harness the extraordinary team spirit surrounding Canada’s dressage riders is designed to provide education and networking opportunities for officials, owners, sponsors and dressage enthusiasts.
Featured events of the Fortnight are:
Sunday, Jan. 19–Welcome party hosted by Vel and Deborah Miculinic, by invitation only
Four Seasons Hotel, Palm Beach
Thursday, Jan. 23/Sunday, Jan. 26–CDI-W/CDI1*/Under-25/Y/J/P
Global Dressage Festival, Wellington
Sunday, Jan. 26–Canadian Celebration Cook-Off Fundraiser, open invitation, ticket purchase required
Global Dressage Festival, Wellington
Additional educational opportunities currently being planned
· Listen to commentary directly from FEI officials, FEI riders and industry experts as they evaluate performances;
· Educational and panel discussions with industry experts on Officiating, Sport Psychology, Nutrition, Fitness, Veterinary research and treatment, and
· A behind-the-scenes look at Canadian riders as they train and prepare for competition.
Further information will be released on VIP seating , discounts on hotel rates and tickets for the CDI-W Freestyle Gala.
Equine Canada urges Canadians to not miss out on the opportunity to visit the Winter Equestrian Capital of the World to experience top international dressage competition with some of the best equestrian athletes from around the globe as they strive to represent their country at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France in August.
Many Fortnight events will be held at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival show grounds, one of the world’s largest international and national dressage venues. Currently, the venue consists of four competition and four warmup arenas equal in quality to those at the 2012 and 2008 Olympic Games.
Several hundred stadium seats surround the main arena ring and there are 200 permanent horse stalls.
A Patrons Club overlooks the main competition arena and a raised courtyard at the center of the show grounds provides a panoramic view of the entire facility. One of the world’s largest covered arenas at 360 by 210 feet (110 x 64 meters).
For 2014, GDF has increased prize money by more than 42 per cent from 2013, to a total of more than $450,000 (CDI5*-$120,000; CDI4*-$110,000; three World Cup events each with $50,000, Nations Cup $35,000 and additional purses for FEI classes such as small tour, Under-25, Young, Junior and Pony Riders).
For those interested in hunter, jumper competition during the Canadian Fortnight, the dressage grounds adjoin a beautiful grass jumping derby field, all part of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center that attracts thousands of horses from about three dozen countries for the Winter Equestrian Festival and its $7 million in prize money.
Correction: An earlier version included an event on the schedule that has been modified. The event has been removed from this version.
