| Dear Ms. Cushny, I understand
that you have been researching a new project on which the USEA has been working
– the Gold Cup Series. I normally do not give unsolicited comments to the
media; however, this is such an exciting project for our sport that I thought
I would break that policy just this once. As I have said from the first
day I took office as president of the USEA, sports marketing needs to become a
top priority for Eventing. The reason is simple. The sport is expensive, and,
thus far, 100% of the cost burden has fallen on the backs of the riders. This
CANNOT continue. We MUST bring new sources of revenue into the sport to help pay
some of the costs. We MUST bring more and bigger sponsors into this sport
to help cover the costs of fielding competitions. That is the core purpose of
the Gold Cup Series. It was designed to bring new and bigger sponsors into our
sport. The concept is not a new one. The motorsport people did it with the
various NASCAR series. The Thoroughbred Racing Association did it with the Breeders
Cup Series. Both of those groups have had tremendous successes with their series.
They have pulled literally BILLIONS of dollars into those sports. It took time,
but in the end it succeeded in establishing a consistent level of sponsorship
that enabled those sports to develop far beyond their initial dreams. We
are starting with small steps, as all new journeys must; but we have been very
successful in a short amount of time. We have already surpassed the sponsorship
goals we set for the first year. We now expect to raise sponsorship funds totaling
somewhere in the mid 5 figures. This is a great start. However, as much
as this is, it is far too little to make a difference if spread across all of
our competitions. Over the next 5 to 10 years, we need to develop annual sponsorship
to amount to AT LEAST 15 TIMES THIS MUCH. It will take many years of work to develop
the sponsorship to this level. But we have a successful start, and we must work
diligently to capitalize on that start. So, in an effort to get to that goal,
we are reinvesting the series’ revenue back into the project. The
sponsorship proceeds are being plowed back into the project in ways that will
develop more sponsorship in subsequent years. Sponsors love to give prize money
to potential customers. So if that is what it takes to get them to the table,
then that is how we are going to “set the table”! Accordingly, the proceeds
are funding the prize money necessary to attract new and bigger sponsorship commitments.
In 2004 the series will consist of 7 competitions located across the country.
We do have a large country, however, and we are looking forward to expanding the
series each year. We want to give our sponsors as much geographic and demographic
reach as possible. The more we are able to give them, the more they will be willing
to give us.
As this develops and we generate the kind of sponsorship
for which we are striving, we will be able to take these proceeds and distribute
them in ways that will enable our organizers to charge less and our riders to
pay less.
That is the goal. The endgame is to make our sport more affordable
to everyone with the good sense to get on a horse and try our sport. The
Gold Cup Series is a tool to reach that goal. It is designed to meet the needs
of potential sponsors. It was created to get them interested in our sport. It
is an invitation to them to get involved. We desperately need them. The
logic is simple: Invite more sponsors to pay, so that more riders can afford
to play. Sincerely, Charles Lloyd
President, US Eventing
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