Source:  ESP/JWM Inc./Brooke Bidgood

 

 

 

Another Great Year For Holiday HorseFest Presented by Fidelity Investments®
at The Meyer Amphitheatre!

 

 

It was another successful event at The Meyer Amphitheatre for Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC and the City of West Palm Beach at the second annual Holiday HorseFest presented by Fidelity 

Investments^® on Sunday, December 11, 2011. It was a festive and exciting day by the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront that attracted thousands of spectators to experience the live entertainment, food, and carnival, in addition to thrilling equestrian competitions and exhibitions that showcased the sport of show jumping as well as other equestrian disciplines such as vaulting, dressage, and driving.

 

Onlookers enjoy the dressage exhibition center stage at
the Meyer Amphitheatre during the 2011 Holiday HorseFest
presented by Fidelity Investments

 

The Holiday Horsefest feature two classes for some of the top show jumpers in the nation. In the first class, Olympian Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, was unbeatable. The class had 20 entries, and they had to find the fastest track over a course designed by Jason Shelley. The fastest one with the least faults was the winner. Engle rode her sale horse Zubantos, who is only seven years old, and it was their first competition together. They were able to notch the first clear round when they went sixth in the class. They posted a time of 63.011 seconds for the win. The only other clear was Schuyler Riley on Gold Marie 33, who finished in 63.621 seconds, just off the pace for second place. Third place went to Michael Desiderio on Landini, who had four faults in 50.434 seconds.

 

Margie Engle and Zubantos speed to victory in the 1.35m speed class at the 2011 Holiday HorseFest presented by Fidelity Investments

 

The second class offered for riders was the four-bar competition, where they had to go clear over four jumps set in a row, with just one stride between each fence. In the first round, the jumps started at 1.25m and ended at 1.40m. There were 12 entries in the class, and nine of them were clear in the first round. Only five were able to advance to the third round of competition, and the only clear was Steven Bluman of Colombia, who rode his big jumping Percy to victory. Tied for second place were Carolina Mirabal (VEN) on G&C Leroy, Ryan Genn on For Farina, Richard McGrath with Rugby, and Andres Rodriguez on Williams.

 

It was a great day of competition for these riders, who were happy to come to the Meyer Amphitheatre to show a new crowd of spectators what show jumping is all about.

 

In addition to the variety of horse sports demonstrated throughout the day, the drawing of charities for the 2012 FTI Consulting Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments (FTI GCC) brought over 150 charities from all over Palm Beach County out with their fingers crossed in hopes of being drawn for this year's event.

 

Charities were drawn randomly throughout the day in a series of drawings dispersed in between the different equestrian competitions. While some lucky charities that participated in last year's event happened to get drawn again, there were many new charities drawn this year that will compete in the FTI GCC for the first time.

 

Wellington Equestrian Partner Bruce Duchossois draws a lucky
charity from the hopper during the 2011 Holiday HorseFest
presented by Fidelity Investments

 

Arguably, none were luckier at Sunday's event than last year's FTI GCC winner Wheels For Kids. The organization made a heartfelt and emotional presentation of a customized wheel chair to a little girl in need at the beginning of Sunday's event. The wheel chair, costing nearly $7,000, was bought with the money that Wheels For Kids received as the winner of last year's FTI GCC.

 

After witnessing the emotional presentation, the generous Mirabal Family of G&C Farm (sponsor of last year's FTI GCC winning team) decided that they would donate two more wheel chairs to Wheels For Kids to help more children in need. "You guys are amazing," beamed Denise Jungbert, head of Wheels For Kids.

 

As if the day couldn't get any better for the Wheels For Kids organization, they were randomly drawn again to participate in this year's FTI GCC event on February 17, 2012, guaranteeing them no less than $10,000 for their charity. "I've never been this lucky before," smiled Jungbert. "We will be able to help so many more kids now."

 

Not all is lost for the charities that were not drawn at Holiday HorseFest. Over the next couple of months Equestrian Sport Productions will be announcing Wild Card opportunities for charities not drawn on Sunday to still have a chance to participate in this year's FTI GCC.

 

The 28 charities chosen to participate in the 2012 FTI Consulting Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments are:

 

2 Pre-selects/Pre-qualified:

1. The Caridad Center

2. The Wellington Community Foundation

 

Charities drawn randomly at Holiday HorseFest:

3. American Humane Association

4. American Red Cross

5. Be A Star Foundation

6. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Palm Beach and Martin Counties

7. Big Dog Ranch Rescue, Inc.

8. Child and Family Connections, Inc.

9. Children's Home Society of Florida

10. Greyhound Pets of America

11. Gulfstream Goodwill Transition to Life Academy

12. Hanley Center Foundation

13. Hospice of Palm Beach County

14. Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options (JAFCO)

15. Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches & Treasure Coast, Inc.

16. Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc.

17. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

18. Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County

19. Loggerhead Marinelife Center

20. Lupus Foundation of America, Southeast Florida Chapter

21. Palm Healthcare Foundation

22. Place of Hope

23. South Florida Science Museum

24. Susan G. Komen For The Cure South Florida

25. The Center For Family Services

26. The Unicorn Children's Foundation

27. Wheels For Kids

28. Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center

 

This event would not be possible without the help and support of our wonderful sponsors: FTI Consulting, Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, The City of West Palm Beach, The Downtown Development Authority, Palm Beach Illustrated, Brook Ledge, Dever Golf Cars, Gracie Street, and Renny & Reed.

Be sure to visit the new FTI GCC website atwww.ftigreatcharitychallenge.com!  

For more information about Equestrian Sport Productions or the 2012 FTI Consulting Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments please visit our website, www.equestriansport.com.

 

The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 11 through April 1. The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. All 12 shows are "AA" rated and Jumper Rated 6, and more than $6 million in prize money will be awarded.

WEF is proud to be supported by their title sponsor, FTI Consulting, Inc. FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex legal, regulatory and economic environment. With more than 3,700 employees located in 22 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges in areas such as investigations, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, reputation management and restructuring. The company generated $1.4 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2010. More information can be found at www.fticonsulting.com.  

 

About Fidelity Investments 

Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with assets under administration of $3.4 trillion, including managed assets of $1.5 trillion, as of November 30, 2011. Founded in 1946, the firm is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and many other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals and institutions, as well as through 5,000 financial intermediary firms. For more information about Fidelity Investments,

visit www.fidelity.com. 

 

 

Barnmice News is brought to you by EnglishHabit.com, a great place to shop
for all your English riding needs.