2020 US Dressage Finals to be Held at Kentucky Horse Park in November Canceled
4 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on 2020 US Dressage Finals to be Held at Kentucky Horse Park in November Canceled
The U.S. Dressage Finals has been canceled for this year as a result of coronavirus, the first time in seven years of qualifiers through regional championships.
Lisa Gorretta, president of the U.S. Dressage Federation that stages the event that was to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in November, announced cancellation of the organization’s premier national event that typically brings together large numbers of competitors, including many amateurs.
The American championships named the Festival of Champions of every international division from ponies to Grand Prix and young horses is organized by the U.S. Equestrian Federation and was held without incident at Chicago area suburb of Wayne, Illinois last month.
Lisa said the USDF “simply could not be confident in our ability to overcome the obstacles beyond our control: the ever-changing picture of the pandemic from state to state, the requirements of the US Equestrian COVID-19 Action Plan to which the Kentucky Horse Park requires strict compliance, the stresses of deep cleaning the premises on the heels of the National Horse Show that would precede the arrival of our dressage horses, and the limitations of what we could provide for competitors, volunteers, and officials with the restrictions placed upon the Park itself.
“After lengthy discussion, taking into consideration the health and well-being of our members, the executive board voted to cancel the 2020 US Dressage Finals, with full intentions to return the event to its glory in 2021 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
“While I understand this seems to be another unfair blow to many who have worked so tirelessly to realize their dreams of competing at the Finals, all is not lost. Any competitor eligible for the 2020 US Dressage Finals, whether by placing or earning a qualifying wild card score, will be allowed to carry over their eligibility to the 2021 event.”