POLO Equestrian low

On a quest to qualify
BY JENNIFER SHAPIRO-SACKS
Dressage
The Adequan Global Dressage Festival (GDF), the world’s
largest international and national dressage circuit, offers
spectators a chance to see athletes who competed in the
2016 Olympics in Rio, competitors under 25 years old as
well as amateur riders.
Carly Weilminster, spokeswoman for Equestrian Sport Productions,
which runs the festival, recently talked about this season.
How will this year be different?
This year is a special year for a lot of the riders because later in
September 2018, our sister venue in North Carolina is hosting the
World Equestrian Games, which is kind of the pinnacle of equestrian
sports.
This season, at GDF, is a qualifying period for that competition,
so a lot of riders will be seeking their qualifications to meet the standards
needed to be selected for that event. It’ll be a really interesting
few weeks of competition, especially for the American competitors
because their performance at GDF will, in turn, kind of provide a
platform for them to be selected for a European tour, which then will
ultimately decide who competes at the World Equestrian Games in
September.
How many competitions are there?
Within each week of Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI)
competition, there are numerous classes, upward of 20 to 25 classes,
within each Concours Dressage International (CDI) depending on
the tour. Large tour is grand prix, which is the highest designation of
dressage. Within the large tour competitions, there are three classes:
grand prix, grand prix freestyle and grand prix special. Then the
small tour, which also has three to four classes. Then there are also a
lot of amateur classes, young horse classes and under-25 classes that
all compose that FEI week.
How much prize money is awarded?
Within recent years, dressage has definitely become more popular
in the U.S., but in most other areas it may not be the most
well-funded equestrian discipline from a sponsorship perspective. In
Florida, we have a great group of dedicated and loyal sponsors who
help make the season super special for the riders because they have
the opportunity to earn more prize money than they would probably
anywhere else in the world. Typically, on average, there is $700,000
to $800,000 in prize money throughout the circuit.
Why should people attend?
It’s such a wide range of riders, so you can come at any point and
see amateur riders or under-25 riders or some of the best riders in the
world competing in Wellington. Most of the team from the U.S. Rio
team will be competing. It’s a great way to watch Olympic-level athletes
competing in South Florida’s backyard. Dressage is an expanding
sport in the U.S. Show jumping is the most familiar, but dressage
is a great sport for amateurs, and that is exploding. There’s no age
limit and men and women compete equally. They’re scored and judged
the same way. We’ll have a lot of international riders from Europe and
South America trying to qualify for it.
What are some of the highlights?
Definitely the Friday nights and week 5, which is Feb. 7 to 12, is a
CDI 5 star, which is the only CDI 5 star. That’s the highest international
rank for a dressage show. It’s the only CDI 5 star in North
America. That will bring out a lot of the top riders who are based in
Wellington for the winter season. Another fun week is the Nations
Cup, which is the only non-championship for dressage hosted in our
hemisphere on week 12, which is the final week of competition on
March 25. The Nations Cup format is teams of three or four who
compete for their representative country. People get really into it with
flags. It’s a great way to end the season.
Fast Facts
HAPPENINGS Competitions run Thursday through Sunday
starting at 8 a.m. and finishing in the late afternoon/
evening through April 1. Friday Night Stars showcases
grand prix freestyle from 7 to 10 p.m.
THE PLACE The Stadium, 13500 South Shore Blvd.
GET IN TOUCH gdf.coth.com
ENTRY POINTS Free admission. During the day, parking
is free. During Friday Night Stars, parking is $10 and valet
is $20.
EATS Vendors are on site. Beach Buffalo serves salad and
sandwich options for spectators. The Hospitality Tent offers
breakfast and lunch options for table holders and guests.
Schedule
JAN. 11-14
CDI-W & National
JAN. 18-21
CPEDI 3* &
National
JAN. 24-28
CDI-W & National
FEB. 8-11
CDI 5* & National
FEB. 16-17
National
FEB. 22-25
CDI-W & National
MARCH 1-4
Palm Beach Derby
CDI-W & National
MARCH 9-11
National
MARCH 15-18
CDI 4* & National
MARCH 24-25
National
MARCH 27-31
CDIO 3* & National
POLO EQUESTRIAN | 19