Calendar of Events

Index, 2007, Jan-Mar

Links

For immediate release ­

Maui Jim Wayne Horse Trials

300 horses and riders from 22 States and two Canadian provinces will vie for top honors at the Maui Jim Wayne Horse Trials on July 9 ­ 11. The eventing competition will be held at Lamplight Equestrian Center and the Pratt Wayne Forest Preserve on north Dunham Road in Wayne, Illinois. A weekend full of attractions is anticipated. The title sponsor of the weekend is Maui Jim, Inc. from Peoria, Illinois who sell high end sunglasses.

Included among the Advanced level riders and their horses are 9 Canadian elite riders, six of whom are hoping to be chosen to represent their country at the Olympic Games in Athens in August of this year. Canadian Olympian Stuart Black, who now resides in Virginia and who has twice won at Wayne said, "We chose Maui Jim Wayne as the site for our selection trials because it is a lovely venue and a well run competition with good courses and carefully prepared
footing." Black is hoping to be one of those chosen to ride in Athens with his young horse Fleeceworks Blackout who he co-owns with Elkins Wetherill. (Stuart and Fleeceworks Blackout are pictured at the right in the first water at Rolex-Kentucky, 2004.)

For the first time this year, Maui Jim Wayne is offering Young Event Horse Divisions along with the four regular divisions of competition which range from Advanced through Training level. The competition organizers are pleasantly surprised at the response to this innovation and hope to include it as part of their regular program in the future. Joan O'Connor from Maple Park, Illinois is happy to have a division for Arbitrate, her young New Zealand import. "It's exciting to have a place to compete a youngster on equal footing," she said.

This competition doesn¹t usually include Novice, the lowest level of the sport of Eventing, on its schedule, but this year it is offering the Aloha Challenge presented by Effen Vodka for Novice horse/rider combinations who have qualified with a first through third place finish in a Novice
competition throughout the past year. Over thirty horses are expected to compete for more than $2000 in prize money earmarked specifically for this group.

The primary beneficiaries of the Maui Jim Wayne Horse Trials are the Illinois Wisconsin Search Dogs Organization and the programs that take part in the Special Olympics Equestrian Competition which runs concurrently with the final phase of the Horse Trials on Sunday, July 11.

Admission to the competition is free and food and parking are available on grounds. For information and directions, log on to www.waynehorsetrials.com.