Dust Storm Hits Las Vegas–No Problems Reported With World Cup Horses

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The normally sharply defined skyline of the famed Las Vegas Strip barely visible one mile (1.6km) away at the Thomas & Mack Center, the venue of the World Cup Finals of dressage and jumping. 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
The normally sharply defined skyline of the famed Las Vegas Strip barely visible one mile (1.6km) away at the Thomas & Mack Center, the venue of the World Cup Finals of dressage and jumping. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

LAS VEGAS, April 14, 2015–Winds of up to 50 miles an hour (80kph) whipped up a rare sand storm that shrouded the famed Las Vegas Strip skyline but no problems were reported among the 100 horses stabled in tents for the World Cup Finals of dressage and jumping.

Some officials left the Thomas & Mack Center for nearby hotels when warnings of the sand and dust storm were posted for this city in the Mojave Desert after the storm hit Salt Lake City, 400 miles to the north.

Isabell Werth (center) in the sand storm heading to the tent where El Santo NRW is stabled with Madeline Winter-Schultze, the owner, and Thomas Baur, a member of the FEI Dressage Committee. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
Isabell Werth (center) in the sand storm heading to the tent where El Santo NRW is stabled with Madeline Winter-Schultze, the owner, and Thomas Baur, a member of the FEI Dressage Committee. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

However, there was no interruption to electricity in Las Vegas and no injuries were reported around the Thomas & Mack Center that is the basketball arena of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

The first World Cup competition starts Wednesday with round 1 of jumping.

The dressage Grand Prix is scheduled for Thursday.