SHARE THE GAMES COUNTDOWN WITH US HERE IN JEREZ !

TEST EVENTS IN SEPTEMBER : jerez 2002 WILL TUNE THE ORGANIZATION and staff WITH TWO TEST EVENTS

First, the Driving competition CAI-A

September 2001: the count-down has started for WEG 2002. We are twelve months ahead of the Games and the engine of the organization for WEG 2002 is full and running toward the biggest ever equestrian event. September 2001 not only marks the beginning of the monthly count-down towards the big one, it is in fact a very important month for Jerez 2002 Organizing Committee which, in the very same venues of next years WEG, will run two Test Events which will take place the second and fourth week-ends of the month. Jerez 2002 Organizing Committee has infact decided to test the venues and the staff in order to futher improve the standard of next years event. The Test Events will consist in an International Driving competition (CAI-A) and an International Three Day Event (CCI**). "Test Events will represent the ideal occasion for the 'machine' to be tested, improved, tuned they say at WEG headquarters where in the last few weeks activity has become pretty hectic - A very important occasion to experience, though in a minimum part, what WEG 2002 will be like. A great festival for the horse, for equestrian sport, for Jerez, for Spain".

BUILDING THE TEAM: International courses and seminars for officials

Seven disciplines for seven World Championships: show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, endurance, vaulting and, for the first time, reining. September 2001 will also see Jerez hosting many important international courses and seminars: on 8th September international eventing judge Nicolas Ybarra Azcarraga will chair a seminar for Eventing Fence Judges. On 9th September there will be a course for Driving National and International Judges, the course will be chaired by Marek Zaleski. On the same date Arjan Willen Brink (International course designer for driving) will hold a course for National and Candidate International Course Designers. Finally on 28th September, during the eventing test event, Prof. Leo B. Jeffcott will chair an FEI Course for Veterinarians. J. McEwen, H.Sommerseth and T. Greet will also be speakers at this course.

DRIVING AND EVENTING: let´s the sport start

THE TEST EVENTS WILL BE A REAL TEST FOR THE TWO WEG VENUES

The Test Events will be a real test for the two competition venues: Chapin and Garrapilos. Chapin is the main venue and it will host all competitions except the eventing cross country, the marathon for driving and the endurance competition. Chapin, located in the heart of Jerez, is a large sport complex dedicated to equestrian with a main stadium (under construction during Test Events), a second competition arena (eventing and driving dressage test), several training rings, stabling, and a brand new Sports Palace with seating for 5,000 spectators (under construction) where vaulting and reining competitions will take place next year. In Garrapilos (17 km from Chapin), a large military installation, there will be WEG 2002 cross-country and marathon courses for eventing and driving (as well as for Test Events) and it will be headquarters and competition venue for the endurance competitors.

First of the two scheduled Test Events will be the International Driving Competition (CAI-A) that will take place from 14th to 16th. Competitors from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, Netherland, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain have announced their participation, as well as many others official delegations from National Federations all around the world. Many of the officials who have been appointed for WEG 2002 will officiate at Test Events, like Marek Zaleski from Poland, President of the Ground Jury, and FEI Technical Delegate Pierre Cazas (France). Riders from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland and Spain are expected to take part in the International Eventing Competition (CCI**) that will take place from 28th to 30th. As for the driving test event this will be a priceless occasion to test venues and organization, as well as an ideal moment for the officials to get a chance to work together. The Ground Jury will be formed by Giovanni Grignolo from Italy (President), Alain James (France) and Nicolas Ybarra Azcarraga from Spain. FEI Technical Delegate will be Guy Otheguy (France), while the cross-country course for this event has been designed by Michael Tucker (Great Britain), who will be designing also WEG Jerez 2002 track.

FOLLOW TEST EVENTS ON JEREZ 2002 OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Jerez 2002 WEG will be of course an event of nowadays in terms of communication.

www.jerez2002weg.com is the official web site of WEG and also the best way to keep informed on all facts and information regarding the event. During Test Events also the functioning of the web site will be tested and results will be regularly made available through the net, as well as images from the competitions. If you are not attending the Test Events make sure you follow them on the website!

The web site offers a wide picture of the biggest equestrian event in the world and it will be regularly updated with general information and news. In the Press Area you can dowload all latest news, releases, photos and media information. Also on the web site you can access to the Box Office (to be opened soon); get to know Jerez de la Frontera; and send your request to become a volunteer during WEG 2002.

Mike Tucker

Course Designer for WEG MIKE TUCKER on the eventing cross country course Mike Tucker from Great Britain will be the course designer for WEG 2002 eventing cross-country, as well as for the test event. For the past few months Mike, a former international rider, has been following closely preparations on site at Garrapilos, and he is confident that the Test Event will be a very good occasion to test the venue, the officials, the flow of spectators, emergencies: "The Test Event is an ideal occasion to test a bit of everything comments Tucker in particular to me it will be very good to test the ground, to verify how the course flows, and in general to tune my working team. For the Test Event I have designed a course of 26 fences and 34 jumping efforts. A fair test for a two star competition.

The start and finish area as well as the water feature are the same as they will be for WEG, while the rest of the course next year will be totally different. I am very happy with the venue at Garrapilos, which for the Test Event will be 75% ready.

I am sure that we will all learn a lot from this test. The only thing that will be different this time from next years event is that horses will be travelling from Chapin to Garrapilos on the same day of cross-country, while during WEG the horses will be transferred the night before the cross-country phase

For the Test Event I have designed a course of 26 fences and 34 jumping efforts. A fair test for a two star competition The start and finish area as well as the water feature are the same. The rest of the course next year will be totally different.

HELLO! WILL BE THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE GAMES ¡Hola! shall be the Official Magazine of the World Equestrian Games. This agreement, executed last August, will allow Hola, SA to associate its image to that of the World Equestrian Games through its Spanish heading, ¡Hola! or that of the British, Hello!, French, Oh la!, or any other edition, having all of them a great diffusion and known prestige in the market.

Furthermore, the official magazine will carry out a support strategy of the event, which will be based, apart from its sponsoring, on an informative attention, promotion, and disclosure of the Games through the numerous personalities that will meet in Jerez 2002 due to their affinity to the world of horses. Together with ¡Hola!, one year before the Games, leading companies as Banesto, Osborne, Telefónica, Movistar and AVE-Renfe, among others, are already sponsors of Jerez 2002

GENERAL INFORMATION FROM WEG 2002 MEDIA DEPARTMENT:

Press accreditation and hotel reservation

Press Accreditation and hotel Reservation will begin next January. Deadline for application and hotel booking will be 31st March 2002. Further information about this subject will be available later this year.

Media previews

Publications wishing to do previews on Jerez 2002 World Equestrian Games can contact the Media Department. Photos and all kind of information are available for the editors on request.

For any further media information you may need please contact Jerez 2002 World Equestrian Games Media Department. All media information and requests should be addressed directly to the Media Department:

Cesar García de Quevedo, Communications Manager
comunicacion@jerez2002weg.com
Tel. +34 956 32 67 39, Fax +34 956 32 67 44
Lucia Montanarella
International Press Officer
media@jerez2002weg.com
Tel. + 39 335 6165415

THE SPANISH TEAMS: all spanish drivers will be in the test event aiming at JEREZ 2002

For Spanish riders, each competition will have a different meaning from the sports point of view. The first test event is within the programme established by the Royal Spanish Equestrian Federation for Driving regarding the preliminaries of the World Equestrian Games, so this means a double incentive for Spanish drivers: they will be able to know the climatic conditions for the next world championships and they will continue its line of training for the WEG 2002 at this years Spanish National Championship, which has not been held yet.

Fernando Vizcaíno, technical director of the NF, announced at the end of the edition of this Newsletter that "all drivers who will probably constitute the Spanish representation in the World Championship will be present at the test event of Jerez" and he mentioned the names of Juan Robles, Juan Manuel Fernández-Argüeso, José Barranco, Manuel Márquez and Antonio Carrillo as sure participants representing Spain in the international test competition.

Juan Queipo de Llano

The plans of Spanish representation in the CCI**, which will be held at the end of September, will have to be very different. The European Senior Championship (Pau) will be held just some days after the CCI in Jerez, so the horses would not be in perfect conditions to dispute this championship, due to the lack of time for them to have enough rest for the European championship, so the Spanish representation could not participate with their first horses in the CCI test event. Spanish riders will profit by this competition to have a first approach to the scenario of the next world championship with their second horses, while young riders will try to get a good classification useful for higher competitions or to prove to the Spanish selector, Juan Queipo de Llano, that they are good future riders. Enrique Sarasola, Ramón Beca, Coby Bolger and Santiago Centenera seem to be the most firm option for the first team. Iván Buezo, Marta Botín, who has incorporated a new horse, or a young rider, such us Manuel Gonzalo de Ligne, who has just got his classification in Scotland, are other possibilities for the team.