World Games Test Event CDI3* Starts in Caen Monday
11 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on World Games Test Event CDI3* Starts in Caen Monday
CAEN, France, June 22, 2014–Olympic gold medal rider Carl Hester of Great Britain and Denmark’s veteran star Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein are among the 16 horse and rider combinations to test out the competition arena newly created for dressage and jumping at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games two months away.
With four Olympics and two World Games already in the books for Carl and two Olympics and three world championships for Nathalie over the past 24 years, their knowledge and experience make their opinions critical for the organizers that had to wait until the soccer season was over to install the sand and fiber footing over the grass field of the d’Ornano football stadium.
The 16 CDI3* dressage combinations from 10 nations will be the first to compete on the new surface with the Grand Prix Monday followed by the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle Tuesday.
As many as 50 jumping athletes from 24 nations will compete after dressage on the same arena.
Among the dressage entries are Christian Brühe on Cinco de Mayo of Palestine, one of 14 countries scheduled to compete at a WEG for the first time, and Israel’s Constance Menard on Oceane de Mesille.
Two Australian and one Canadian pair who had entered the dressage test event pulled out.
The d’Ornano Stadium is home to Ligue 1 football club Malherbe Caen but for the WEG will host the three Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing’s jumping phase and jumping.
