Wellington
lands National Horse Show
When every friend I have in the USA is sending me e-mails telling
me that the 119th National Horse Show (which is the oldest indoor
horse show in the USA), is to move to Wellington in Palm Beach Florida,
then you had better believe, that's a BIG deal. The event is now to
be held on Thanksgiving weekend, running from Nov. 26, through Dec.
1, and will include the traditional Maclay National Championship for
junior riders.
The Madison Square Garden Show officials who are responsible for the
future success of the show made their decision after careful consideration
of the problems and restrictions involved with staying at the old
venue. National Horse Show chairman and president of Stadium Jumping,
Eugene R. Mische, commented "Due to the basketball and hockey
schedules, we could not get a contract for our particular sanctioned
dates for more than one year," further adding that "Without
that guarantee, it didn't make any sense to spend money to build a
spectator base."
The Wellington venue immediately removes old problems such as time
constraints, restricted participation due to having only one ring
and insufficient stabling, which resulted in several divisions, including
adults, being excluded from the Garden but more importantly Wellington
offers a few new advantages. Based at The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian
Club, with its multi-ring outdoor facility, this most venerable and
established of events could well have found itself room to blossom
further in years to come when exposed to the Florida sunshine!
In
the past, of the more than 1,000 juniors competing in Maclay qualifying
classes, only the top 50 were chosen for the finals last year. With
the expanded facility this year, 100 riders will make it to the
finals in Wellington. Perhaps for some holding the show on Thanksgiving
weekend is somewhat inconvenience, but it was the only sanctioned
date available at the Wellington facility in November. On the positive
side, kids are out of school that weekend, where as for the indoors
Garden event kids usually had to miss school. At the moment the
suggestion is that in order to allow families to enjoy their Thanksgiving
Day, classes might only be held on the Thursday morning.
I
personally hope that the move is well received by competitors and
those who support them. Knowing the showground, the facilities and
Gene Misch quite well I can assure those who are doubtful that the
new venue and the staff who run the facility are nothing short of
superb and quite professionals.
By
John Crawford. Copyright © 2002, Equiworld.net All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
.
|
