4th Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National To Be Featured at 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival in Wellington, Florida
Equestrian News Release
WELLINGTON, FL – August 15, 2005 – The 4th Zada Enterprises LLC Dressage at the National will be held December 2-4, 2005, at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida, in conjunction with the 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival (November 29-December 4). Dressage competition from Training Level through Grand Prix, including the popular Musical Freestyles, will highlight two rings, with more than 100 horses expected to compete. Judges officiating will be: Major General Jonathan ‘Jack’ R. Burton (S) of Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Colonel A. R. Kitts (S) of Newville, Pennsylvania; and Gary Rockwell (C) of Wellington, Florida. Klaus Fraessdorf will manage the show for the fourth consecutive year.
Surrounded by the show jumping action of the historic 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival, the Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National event has developed its own unique prestige in just a few short years, attracting some of the best horse-and-rider combinations in the sport of dressage. The roster of Grand Prix riders at Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National has featured international dressage stars such as Canada’s Shannon Dueck, Germany’s Mirja ‘Mimi’ Block, Denmark’s Lars Petersen, Mexico’s Patrick Burssens, and Columbia’s Dr. Cesar Para, as well as a highly competitive USA contingent including Robert Dover, Betsey Steiner, Jan Brons, Katherine Bateson, Christopher Hickey, Susan Dutta, and Arlene ‘Tuny’ Page. Mary Silcox, who heads up dressage at Stadium Jumping, Inc., and has been the Show Secretary for Dressage at the National since its inception, is once again expecting topnotch exhibitors to compete in 2005. “This horse show attracts a high caliber of horses and riders,” said Silcox. “We had 15 in the Grand Prix last year – all top quality horses.”
The 2004 Grand Prix champions expected to defend their titles in 2005 are: Lars Petersen (Dansko’s Success), Grand Prix; Katherine Bateson (Rainier), Grand Prix Special; and Mirja Block (Asarhaddon), Grand Prix Freestyle.
Not only does Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National attract an accomplished corps of international riders but also large crowds of dressage aficionados as well as a wide range of ticket-holders who come to enjoy the activities of the 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival. “Spectators have come to know that they will see world-class dressage horses and competition in a beautiful setting with wonderful judges,” Silcox said. “We have developed a very strong spectator base for this show.”
The Musical Freestyles have become a major draw for Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National, with all the kurs scheduled for the final Sunday of the event, December 4. Horse-and-rider combinations ‘dance’ to music and in the upper level freestyles, horses exhibit piaffe (trot in place), passage (elevated trot), and one-tempis (lead changes every stride) to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd.
A featured class that adds an element of fun for the riders is the 3rd annual “Zada Enterprises LLC National Take Your Own Score” – a competition created jointly by the show’s sponsor, rider/owner Joe Zada, and Silcox. Open to riders from Training Level through Grand Prix, exhibitors inform the show secretary what they ‘guess’ their score will be prior to competing. The rides are judged and scored, and the rider whose ‘guess’ comes closest to the actual score wins. Ribbons are given to six places, but it’s winner take all for the $500 prize money! Previous winners were Johnny Robb aboard Mr. Boombastic in 2003, and Lisa Payne Hyslop riding You Betcha in 2004.
The number of entries for Zada Enterprises LLC Dressage at the National has grown every year, from the first Dressage at the National held in 2002 when 60 horses competed to double that number in 2005 – Silcox is expecting approximately 120 horses this year. One of the keys to the success of Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National is the event’s timing, which creates a unique environ for the riders – the show falls at the end of the 2005 competition year and precedes the start of the Florida dressage circuit at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Silcox noted that all three of the WEF dressage shows held at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club are high-pressure events, especially the CDI (Concours de Dressage Internationale), plus riders on the winter circuit also compete in the CDI held at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby Series in Loxahatchee. “The CDIs in Wellington and Loxahatchee are two of the largest CDIs in the United States. In relation to that scenario, Dressage at the National is low pressure – definitely not low key – but low pressure,” said Silcox. “The riders really enjoy that aspect of this show.”
For additional information about Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National, visit http://www.stadiumjumping.com. The Tentative Schedule and the Prize List will be available to download after August 30, 2005.
For more information on the 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival, call 866-NHS-SHOW or visit http://www.nhs.org.
Reader Comments
Be the first to submit a comment on this article!
Submit your comments
Link to this article
---------------------- It's easy! Just copy code below and paste into your webpage --------------------
<a href="http://www.equestrianmag.com/article/zada-enterprises-national-horse-show.html">4th Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National To Be Featured at 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival in Wellington, Florida</a> ~ EquestrianMag.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your link will appear like this:
4th Zada Enterprises, LLC Dressage at the National To Be Featured at 122nd National Horse Show & Family Festival in Wellington, Florida ~ EquestrianMag.com
|
