2005 FEI World Cup Finals to Host First Ever World Championship Hunter Rider World Cup Team Hunter Challenge

Las Vegas, NV—March 28, 2005—The 2005 FEI World Cup Finals will team up with the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation to host the first ever World Championship Hunter Rider World Cup Team Hunter Challenge when the Finals come to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV, April 20-24, 2005.

The FEI World Cup Dressage Final will join the Jumping Final in Las Vegas, running concurrently in the same location for the first time in history. The FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals are annual Championships featuring the best show jumpers and dressage riders in the world vying for the title of FEI World Cup Champion in their respective sports.

In an unprecedented event on Saturday, following the grand prix, highlighting the 2005 Finals, the World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) World Cup Team Hunter Challenge will pit the skills of four past WCHR Professional National Hunter Champions against four of Europe’s top show jumping superstars. Americans John French, Peter Pletcher, the reigning Monarch International/Show Circuit Magazine WCHR Professional Hunter Rider, Louise Serio and Scott Stewart will represent the U.S. While all four riders are stars in the hunter ring, French and Pletcher have also excelled in the show jumping arena. Each has ridden in an FEI World Cup Final, Pletcher in 1992 in Del Mar, CA, and French in 2003 in Las Vegas.

The foursome will battle for victory against four of the world’s best show jumpers, including three-time FEI World Cup Champion and Athens Olympic individual Silver Medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, Sydney Olympic team Gold Medalist and 2003 FEI World Cup Champion Marcus Ehning of Germany, five-time Olympic veteran and 1995 FEI World Cup Champion Nick Skelton of Great Britain and his countryman, three-time Olympic veteran Michael Whitaker.

“I think it is very exciting that the best riders and horseman from Europe have issued this challenge to our top hunter riders. The fact that we will be able to showcase this event in Las Vegas at the FEI World Cup Finals is such a great opportunity to promote show hunters. It should be one of our most spectacular efforts yet,” commented Geoff Teall, President of the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation, Inc.

The Challenge will be composed of two rounds in which all eight riders (four riders per team) will compete over a course on horses donated specifically for the competition. In the first round, the horse-and-rider combinations will jump a 3’6” course and will be judged by three pairs of two judges each. Each pair of judges will present a score for every rider. The lowest scores for each four-member team will be dropped, and the remaining three scores added together for a single round team cumulative total.

In the second round, all riders will be invited back for a handy course. Each rider will navigate the course on a different horse than he or she rode in the first round. The second round scores will be added to the previous team totals for a final cumulative score. The team earning the highest two-round score will emerge victorious. In addition, the horse which produces the highest single round score will be named the “High Score Horse.”

“We are so excited that the 2005 FEI World Cup Finals will be hosting this unprecedented event,” said Pat Christenson, President of Las Vegas Events, the producer of the 2005 FEI World Cup Finals. “Nowhere at any time have two groups of such talented hunter/jumper athletes and horses converged in one ring. It promises to be the kind of thrilling spectacle for which the FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas has become known—world-class competition with the glamour and sparkle that is Las Vegas.”

There are both similarities and differences between show hunters and show jumpers. Show jumping is straightforward and judging is completely objective. In order to win, a rider must pilot his horse over a course of obstacles with the least number of faults or penalties. The rider must also ride against the clock, and often only a fraction of a second divides winners and losers. Show jumpers, both horses and riders, must be bold and athletic. The obstacles they jump are large, colorful and challenging. Together with the great speed at which the courses are run, show jumping is considered one of equestrian sport’s most dramatic and exciting spectacles.

Show hunters are judged subjectively, with scoring based on the way a horse moves or its overall style of going and jumping obstacles. A certain percentage of these qualities are determined by a horse’s innate attributes, but equally important is the way the horse is presented and ridden. The rider must navigate his mount over every obstacle with the same speed, length of stride, and style. In order to do so, the rider must keep his horse relaxed and comfortable enough to display a pleasant expression and move with a fluid stride. Any of the rider’s corrections or aids must be invisible to the judge. The overall “picture” presented determines the winner. To that end, obstacles are usually less bold and flashy. Showing a hunter requires a great deal of finesse and a wonderful sense of style on the part of a rider.

What better forum for highlighting a sport which provides a showcase for the talent and skill of horse and rider than the FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas? Not only are the Finals the perfect venue for displaying the elite of equestrian sport’s most popular disciplines, but they also provide the most natural setting to further spectator awareness and understanding of the hunter discipline, a grass-roots sport that has drawn an innumerable group of participants of all ages.

The FEI World Cup Jumping Final, started in 1979, is an annual showdown among the world’s best jumping horses and riders. Approximately 45 riders qualify from 13 leagues around the world. In the 26 finals held through 2004, United States riders have emerged with the most titles, having won the championship seven times.

This marks the sixth FEI World Cup Jumping Final to be held in the United States, following Finals in Baltimore in 1980, Tampa in 1989, Del Mar, CA in 1992 and the two in Las Vegas in 2000 and 2003.

The FEI World Cup Dressage Final is coming to the United States in 2005 for only the second time ever when it joins the FEI Budweiser World Cup Jumping Final in an unprecedented co-hosting of two of the world’s most prestigious and glamorous equine events! First held in 1986, the FEI World Cup Dressage Final was previously held in the U.S. in 1995 in Los Angeles. Germany and The Netherlands have dominated the competition, winning six titles each through 2004.

The American Hunter-Jumper Foundation (AHJF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the equestrian sport of hunter-jumper competition and address the needs and provide for education, support, and encouragement of the sport’s participants. The AHJF emphasizes integrity, compassion, and sportsmanship through its business programs, human services, ethics leadership, and education. The organization has developed numerous programs toward that end, including the World Championship Hunter Rider program, a nationally sought after awards program for world-class hunter rider competition, the AHJF Emergency Relief Fund, The Legacy Cup, AHJF 401(k) and Profit Sharing Plan and the AHJF/Dover Saddlery Junior Hunter Challenge. Learn more about the AHJF at www.ahjf.org.

Las Vegas Events, Inc. (LVE), producer of 2005 FEI World Cup Finals, was founded in 1983. LVE has grown with Las Vegas as the city has emerged as one of the world’s top special event and resort destinations. A private, not-for-profit organization, LVE is funded by hotel room tax and serves as the exclusive major special events agency for the city. In its 21-year history, Las Vegas Events has produced, presented or supported more than 200 events, which have driven more than 2.5 million visitors to the area, resulting in an economic impact of more than $700 million.

A variety of individual and all-session ticket packages are available for the FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals. Special pricing is available for those interested in attending both events.

For more information on the 2005 FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals, please call Las Vegas Events, Inc. at (702) 260-8605 or visit the official website at www.worldcuplasvegas.com.