Washington International Horse Show Announces $10,000 Dressage Invitational Championship Qualifiers

Washington, D.C.- October 24- The $10,000 Washington International Invitational Dressage Championship starts a new tradition this year at the MCI Center during the week of October 25-30, 2005. Four selected dressage riders will compete for a purse of $10,000, with 40% going to first place, 30% going to second, 20% to third, and 10% to the fourth place finisher.

As of now, three Olympic dressage veterans have accepted their invitations for the competition. Ashley Holzer of Manhattan, NY, will compete with her mount Gambol for the first place trophy. A Canadian Olympic Bronze Medallist, Holzer is an established international grand prix rider who represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. She has earned top honors at such prestigious shows as the 2005 CDI3* Toronto Dressage Classic and the 2005 Dressage at Devon CDI*/CDI-4 in Devon, PA.

Cathy Morelli will also compete in the Washington International Invitational. A USDF Gold Medallist, this instructor and author has developed her own training program called “The System” that reflects the classical methods of riding. Morelli represented the USET in the Volvo World Cup in St. Hertogenbosch, Holland, and she has won consistently at the grand prix level on horses she has trained. She has also won numerous USET selection classes in Wellington, FL.

Heather Blitz of Mandeville, LA, will be the third Olympian dressage competitor attending the MCI Center this week. Blitz spends every winter on the South Florida show circuit and competes in classes spanning from first level dressage to the grand prix ring. She has won USDF Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, as well as multiple regional and national championship titles. Blitz and her nine year old mount Arabella, owned by Denise Arroyo, will challenge these other two dressage talents this week during the premiere Invitational Championship of the Washington International Horse Show.

These riders were selected from the United States Equestrian Federation High Performance Dressage Grand Prix Ranking List and through “Wild Card” invitations. The USEF Grand Prix Ranking List starts anew every summer and ranks rider and horse combinations according to scores earned at designated USEF HP Qualifying Competitions.

On Thursday, October 27, four competitors will participate in the Grand Prix Competition for the first half of the championship class. The riders will then return for the Musical Freestyle portion on Friday, October 28.

Thursday and Friday’s evening activities will begin at 7:30 p.m., with terrier races and barrel racing preceding the WIHS Dressage Invitational Championship. Join the audience and experience the beginning of a new, exciting dressage event at the Washington International Horse Show.

For more information on the Washington International Horse Show, please visit their official website at www.wihs.org.

Full results for the Washington International Horse Show are available at www.ryegate.com.

Photo Credit: Ashley Holzer on Gambol. Photo By: Susan Stickle