World Equestrian Center Ocala National Dressage Show for Mar. 12-14 Canceled Following 2nd Equine Herpes Virus Case, But April CDI Still On

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World Equestrian Center at Ocala, Florida that will host three international dressage events in 2021.

Mar. 8, 2021

A national dressage show scheduled for the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida Mar. 12-14 has been canceled following a second Equine Herpes Virus case but organizers reported Monday a CDI3* that will be the first international dressage event at the new facility is still on for April 15-18.

Two horses that were stabled at WEC have been confirmed EHV-1 positive, both horses in the same barn a week apart. The two cases have not been connected to the outbreak of EHV-1 that began at Valencia, Spain a month ago and spread throughout Europe by infected horses leaving the facility with no testing.

The dressage competition at Ocala this week was to be the fourth show for the discipline since the WEC opened in January, but weekly hunter/jumper competitions of thousands of horses have been held since the beginning of the year.

Debra Reinhardt, the WEC dressage organizer, said WEC decided to cancel the dressage show this weekend as “they do not want to introduce 80 new horses to the grounds when they are trying to get horses to leave. Our barns have not been used since we left but they do want to introduce another vector.”

Complete refunds for entries will be made, she said.

“The April CDI is still a go,” Debra said. “Horses will be leaving WEC in the next 10 days for the season and they will have a massive cleaning etc.

“We will have the grounds to ourselves with no one there for two weeks. So that competition will be safe.”

The Global Dressage Festival has run without interruption but with restrictions on spectators due to coronavirus and for horses as a result of the EHV-1 outbreak. A Nations Cup Mar. 16-21 and a CDI4* Mar. 31-April 4 are still on the calendar to complete the 12-week circuit.

A CDI3* is scheduled for Tryon, North Carolina April 23-25, the week after the Ocala CDI.