Wits End Farm Hosts International Equestrian Competition

Wits End Farm in Mansfield will host the only Canadian stop of the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing Qualifiers from August 6-9.

Top ranked riders from around the world will compete in dressage, jumping and cross-country. The event will also feature a CCI* competition for up and coming riders and horses.

Located near Alliston, Wits End Farm is hosting this prestigious equestrian event, the last stop in the 2009 HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing series. Over 2,000 people are expected to attend the four-day competition, which is the last chance for riders to earn points towards qualifying for the HSBC FEI World Cup™ Eventing Final held August 21-23 in Strzegom, Poland.

More entries than ever before have been received for this year’s event, including top ranked riders such as Olympic and World Champion Philip Dutton (ranked 11th in the world), Bruce Davidson Jr., from the United States (18th), Boyd Martin from Australia (66th), and Canadian stars Kyle Carter, Carl Slezak (206th) and 2008 Wits End winner Corinne Ashton.

The competition gets underway on Wednesday, August 5 with the Canadian Young Event Horse competition. Thursday sees the start of Dressage, which will run through to Friday evening. Saturday is the exciting cross-country day where spectators will see the riders tackle the four-kilometre course featuring banks, ditches, water and extremely challenging fences. Sunday — the culmination of the competition — features show jumping, where riders compete in reverse order of standing.

The prize ceremony will take place at approximately 3:30 p.m. Over $40,000 in prize money will be up for grabs, as well as a host of prizes in-kind…

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Date: 8-05-2009
By: www.caledonenterprise.com