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Wellington, FL – February 4, 2006 – A strong storm front with heavy rains, high winds and lightning moved through the South Florida area late this morning causing most of the thousands of exhibitors on hand for the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival to call it a day early on. The show, the Gold Coast Jumper Classic Presented by Carlisle, CSI 3*, was delayed for two hours, and when the call came to resume, many riders had already made the decision to take the balance of Saturday off. Although the winds and lightning had died down, the heavy rains continued on into the afternoon. A heavy overnight rain had already forced management to shut down the Internationale Arena for Saturday’s competition. (The Storm front is pictured at the right. Ken Kraus Photo.)

The main event, the $20,000 1.50m Jumper Classic, rescheduled to the DeNemethy Arena, failed to fill, and was eventually cancelled.

Tomorrow’s schedule features a 7:30 a.m. start in all jumper locations.

According to Winter Equestrian Festival Executive Director Michael Morrissey, “If the rain lets up, the Sunday schedule should remain pretty much intact. With no hunters showing this week, if I do run into some necessary rescheduling, at least I’ve got some room to work. I’d like to hold the main event, the $60,000 Wellington Cup, presented by Carlisle, on the grass if possible,” he said.

The Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club has seven different “all weather” rings that can be used rain or shine.

Regardless of the location, on Sunday the long-awaited official presentation of the Team Gold Medal and Individual Silver Medal for U.S. show jumping athletes who competed in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games will take place. The presentation is scheduled to take place immediately prior to the $60,000 Wellington Cup Presented by Carlisle, the featured event of Week 2 at WEF.

Following the competition in the Sunday Grand Prix, the newly gilded Gold Medal Olympians will be available to meet with fans for photos and autographs. Autographed photos of the Olympians will also be available to fans.

All four athletes that competed on the Gold Medal show jumping team in Athens will be present: Chris Kappler, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward, and Peter Wylde, who will fly in from Europe for the occasion. In addition to the Team Gold, Kappler will also officially receive the Individual Silver Medal.

In honor of the 2004 Olympic Medalists, equestrian legends will present the medals to them. Presenters include will be USEF President and Olympic Gold Medal Eventing athlete David O’Connor; and 1984 U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team members Conrad Homfeld, Joe Fargis, and Leslie Howard.

The presentation of the medals to the show jumping athletes follows a 2005 decision made by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which stipulates that the Team Silver Medal originally awarded to the U.S. team in 2004 at Athens be replaced with Team Gold, and that the Individual Bronze Medal awarded to Kappler in 2004 at Athens be replaced with Silver.

WELLINGTON, FL – February 4, 2006 – Wellington Dressage competition at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, started off day three this morning under cloudy skies and drizzle, but by 11:00 am heavy rains poured down on the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club rings. With most riders electing to scratch their rides, and the weather worsening to include strong winds, show management ended the show early today. (The dreary Dressage Ring is pictured at the left below. Mary Hilton Photo.) Mary Silcox, head of dressage for Stadium Jumping Inc., the producer of the Winter Equestrian Festival, will re-schedule classes for competition on Sunday, February 5, as follows:

Class 83, the USEF Grand Prix Special, a High Performance qualifier for the USEF Grand Prix National Championship and a qualifier for the World Equestrian Games Selection Trials, will be competed on Sunday morning; ride times will be posted later today at www.stadiumjumping.com

Riders who were scheduled to compete this afternoon in Training Level through Fourth Level classes will have the opportunity to re-schedule their ride in a Test of Choice class on Sunday.

The $25,000 Windsome Dressage/Show Jumping Team Spectacular scheduled for 3:00 pm today was cancelled. Show management may re-schedule the event for later in the season. The popular event, which has been contested at the Winter Equestrian Festival for 10 consecutive years, will return as scheduled for the Wellington Dressage show in 2007.

“I want to thank all those riders who braved the weather this morning and competed in the rain,” said Silcox. “We are re-working tomorrow’s schedule and will try to accommodate those riders who did not have the opportunity to compete this afternoon.”

Wellington Dressage is the first of three dressage shows featured at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. Wellington Dressage runs through Sunday, February 5, at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club.