Complaints Over Cutting Back World Cup Qualifiers in California Led to Review of Events Showing Low Levels of Participation in Recent Years

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Geñay Vaughn on Gino at 2025 World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland Geñay qualified in her home state of California. © 2025 Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

Sept. 23, 2025

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Complaints from some California riders over cutting back to two the number of World Cup dressage qualifiers on the West Coast led to a review of competitions there in recent years that show low levels of participation following the Covid pandemic five years ago.

The lineup of 10 qualifiers in North America for the Final in Fort Worth, Texas included for the first time events in the same season in both Canada and Mexico in addition to the United States. The 2025-26 season for North America includes Mexico for the second year in a row and the first qualifier in Canada since 2015.

The schedule is decided by a committee representing all three North American nations based on entries submitted to each national federation. North America gets to send three horse and rider combinations out of a total of 18 worldwide to the Final–this season’s Final to be held alongside the jumping championship at Fort Worth for the first time and scheduled for April 8-12.

North America has a format similar to the Western and Central European Leagues, as well as points awarded based on placings.

Florida has become the center of dressage in winter in North America with three top notch facilities–Wellington International, Ocala’s World Equestrian Center and TerraNova near Sarasota, and all within less than a four-hour drive of each other. The growth was spurred by the creation of Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival of seven international events including the first dressage Nations Cup, a top rated CDI5* and other innovations all with previously unmatched prize money, as well as national shows over winter beginning 15 years ago. Global attracts competitors from around the world (Germany has won the Nations Cup in each of the past three years).

Olympic and world championship riders Robert Dover, Lisa Wilcox and Michelle Gibson of the USA and Oded Shimoni of Israel with Mark Bellissimo, chief executive of Wellington Equestrian Partners, at Global’s ground-breaking in 2011. The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center–now named Wellington International–includes the Global Dressage and Winter Equestrian Festivals. © Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

Likewise, Desert International in Thermal, California is a world class facility with more improvements underway with new management following an ownership change.

A review by DRESSAGE-NEWS.com of the World Cup qualifier entries over the past four years years as recorded by the FEI shows:

2021-22–Wellington 3 events with 12, 11, 5 entries; Ocala 2 events with 8, 10 entries; Devon 1 with 8 and Thermal 2 events each with 2 entries;

2022-23–Wellington 4 events, 10, 10, 13, 13; Terra Nova 1, 6; Tryon 1, 4; Devon 1, 10; Thermal 3, 6, 4, 3;

2023-24–Wellington 3 events, 13, 11, 9; Ocala 1, 17; TerraNova 1, 4; Devon 1, 10; Del Mar, California 1, 2; Thermal 3, 2, 3, 1 (sole entry in third event was Florida-based rider who earned maximum of 20 points that helped him qualify for Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia);

2024-25–Wellington 4, 13, 10, 15, 13; Ocala 1, 15; Devon 1, 21; Mexico 1, 6; Del Mar 1, 7; Thermal 2, 4, 4.

The 2025-26 circuit starts this week at Devon Pennsylvania with five events in Florida spread between three facilities, two in California in two different show grounds, one in Canada and one in Mexico.