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NBC Brings World Equestrian Games to U.S. Four Years Early

NBC special on 2006 World Equestrian Championships presented by Rolex to air this weekend
World Cup qualifier to offer public a preview of Sunday’s show

09/20/2006

Lexington, Ky. — Kentucky will get teed-up for major coverage this Sunday when NBC will broadcast both the Ryder Cup from Ireland followed by the 2006 World Equestrian Championships from Germany. Both events are scheduled to make their next appearance in the Bluegrass State. The next Ryder Cup will be held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville in 2008; in 2010, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games come to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

NBC will present 90 minutes of highlights of the FEI World Equestrian Championships, which concluded in Aachen, Germany earlier this month. The show includes highlights of the five individual and four team medalists from the U.S. The broadcast is presented by Rolex, a major sponsor of the event in Aachen.

Veteran sportscaster Kenny Rice will be the on-site host at the Kentucky Horse Park for the broadcast. The show will air following the Ryder Cup coverage, this Sunday, September 24, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m.

“We feel it’s never too early to start showing people what these Games are all about,” said Jack Kelly, CEO of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. “Many people don’t understand the different disciplines of the Games and how much horse and rider have to act as a single unit. This NBC broadcast, following the high-profile coverage of the Ryder Cup, gives us great exposure to introduce equestrian sports to a wider American audience than ever before.”

Beforehand, however, visitors to the Kentucky Horse Park will get a sneak preview this Friday of some of the most accomplished riders in the world at The Hagyard $50,000 CSI-W Grand Prix, World Cup Qualifier—a qualifying event for the 2007 World Cup next April in Las Vegas. The competition begins at 7:30.

Several Olympic and 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games medalists will compete at an international-level show jumping event including Beezie Madden, Margie Engle and McLain Ward from the Silver Medal-winning World Champion Show Jumping competition in Aachen, Germany. Rounding out this star-studded event will be 2006 Athens Olympic team Gold medalist and individual silver medalist Chris Kappler as well as fellow team Gold Medal-winners Madden and Ward. Horses will compete on an indoor course over mammoth jumps that span five-and-a-half-feet deep and tall. General admission to the arena is free. Regular Kentucky Horse Park admission applies.

In the Games that recently concluded in Aachen, the USEF—United States Equestrian Federation—fielded 42 athletes competing in all seven disciplines and took home nine medals. The USEF is headquartered at the Kentucky Horse Park and is the only National Governing Body based in Kentucky.

When the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games come to the storied Bluegrass region, the historic event will be memorable:

For the first time, the Games will be held outside of Europe;
The Games will partner with a $10 million title sponsor—Alltech, a global animal health company proudly based in Kentucky;
The para-equestrian competition will be added to the Games for the first time;
More teams; more competitors; and hundreds of thousands spectators from around the world—some 60+ countries in all—will give Kentucky global exposure; and
The economic impact—estimated at $150 million—will be realized in many ways, including plans for a resort hotel and a new, indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, to be held at the Kentucky Horse Park, are the world championships of the eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), and are held every four years. The eight disciplines are dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, para-equestrian, reining, show jumping and vaulting.

The Team USA 2006 World Equestrian Championship medalists from Aachen were:

Individual Gold Medal – Vaulting
Megan Benjamin, Saratoga, California
Individual Silver Medal – Show Jumping
Beezie Madden, Cazenovia, New York
Individual Silver Medal – Reining
Tim McQuay, Tigoa, Texas
Individual Bronze Medal – Eventing
Amy Tryon, Redmond, Washington
Individual Bronze Medal – Reining
Aaron Ralston, Silt Colorado
Team Gold Medal – Reining
Dell Hendricks, Tioga, Texas
Matt Mills, Scottsdale, Arizona
Tim McQuay, Tioga, Texas
Aaron Ralston, Silt, Colorado
Team Silver Medal – Vaulting
Megan Benjamin, Saratoga, California
Blake Dahlgren, Sun Valley, California
Elizabeth Ioannou, Saratoga, California
Devon Maitozo, Simi Valley, California
Rosalind Ross, Woodside, California
Annalise Van Vranken, Mays Landing, New Jersey
Team Silver Medal – Show Jumping
Margie Engle, Wellington, Florida
Laura Kraut, Wellington, Florida
Beezie Madden, Cazenovia, New York
McLain Ward, Brewster, New York
Team Bronze Medal – Dressage
Debbie McDonald, Hailey, Idaho
Leslie Morse, Beverly Hills, California
Steffen Petters, San Diego, California
Guenter Seidel, Cardiff California

Media inquiries:
Betsy Fishback, Friday show organizer
859-221-6877
tside895@aol.com

Rolf Linder, World Games 2010 Foundation
859-221-0339 (mobile)
rlinder@feigames2010.org

Lisa Jackson, Kentucky Horse Park
859-259-4224
ljackson@kyhorsepark.com

Maria Partlow, USEF
859-225-6941
mpartlow@usef.org

Ellen Gregory, Preston-Osborne
859-231-7711
elgregory@preston-osborne.com

For more information on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ visit www.feigames2010.org.

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