2010 Winter Circuits
2010 may be the most buzzed about year yet for the winter show circuits! In Florida, jumper riders will be competing in both World Cup qualifiers and the selection trials for the 2010 World Equestrian Games, now just eight months away.
The location of the trials may be drawing some of the perennial stars of Thermal to the east coast, but the HITS circuits are attracting their own buzz and international big names as every HITS Grand Prix in Thermal and Ocala is a qualifying event for the first-ever Pfizer $1M Grand Prix on September 12, 2010 in Saugerties, NY. HITS Thermal is also home to four World Cup showjumping qualifiers and, for the first time, the Dressage Getaway CDI***, a dressage qualifier for WEG.
On the heels of last year's inaugural USHJA Hunter Derby Finals, we're expecting an exciting winter circuit of derbies, highlighted by the Winter Equestrian Festival's $50,000 Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby. HITS Thermal also has derby fever, offering the COTH/USHJA $10,000 International derby event and the new addition of weekly 3'3" Marshall & Sterling hunter derbies, each with a $10,000 prize.Dressage excitement kicks off with the first WEG qualifier at the Gold Coast Opener, January 22-24, in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Wellington Classic Dressage Master Symposium featuring Kyra Kyrklund the following weekend. WEG qualifying events will occur on each coast throughout the winter and into April.
It's an unprecedented year for high-stakes sport horse competition and we expect all the riders will be bringing their best game to the winter circuits. All in all, a great time to compete and to spectate!
Posted Jan 10, 2010 | Comments (0) |
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