WEF: 2011 FTI Great Charity Challenge Is Huge Success

Source: FTI WEF News Release

2011 FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments®
Is Huge Success and Awards More Than $1 Million to
32 Palm Beach County Charities

The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida transformed into a field of dreams for 32 Palm Beach charities in the second annual FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments®where over a million dollars was raised in an exciting Pro-Am show jumping event on February 19. A signature event of the 12 week FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, the event featured 32 teams of three riders ranging in age from 11 to 70 where amateurs competed side by side with their professional heroes. Each team was randomly assigned to a charity to compete for $1,020,000 in prize money with the winning charity receiving $150,000 with a sliding scale to 32^nd place of $10,000. A crowd of 6,000 came out to enjoy the family fun as part of the Saturday Night Lights series which continues through April 2nd.

Every team was generously sponsored by an equestrian family with additional monies coming from corporate and individual donors as well as all proceeds from ticket and VIP table sales for the evening's event produced by Equestrian Sport Productions, which donates its staff and venue for the event.

GCC Shirts

Riders in the Great Charity Challenge watch the competition

The winning team, competing for Wheels for Kids, set a blazing fast time of 91.376 seconds. The riders were Olympian Pablo Barrios, 18-year-old Luis Fernando Larrazabal, and 14-year-old Emmanuel Andrade. All three riders are from Venezuela and competed for team sponsors, Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of G&C Farm. The Mirabals, Barrios, and Larrazabal live in Wellington, FL.

The second place team, consisting of riders Amy Millar, Karina Aziz, and Jordan McPherson, won $125,000 for the Horses N' Heroes charity when they finished in a time of 93.976 seconds. Their team sponsor was Susan Grange.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist McLain Ward led the team sponsored by Susan Goldstein. Joined by riders Danielle Goldstein and Marley Goodman, they had a time of 94.140 seconds to win $100,000 for the YMCA of the Palm Beaches.

Andrade set the pace for the winning team around the first part of the relay course. "He was flying!" Barrios said. "I think they really enjoyed competing on a team like this."

All three riders felt that competing for charity was a unique experience and one that they would want to do again. "It is unbelievable to get the money for the charity. It is a great idea and it is a great way to help the kids with all of those donations. $1,020,000 is amazing, and it is really special for us to be a part of this. It feels great to help in some way," Barrios said.

GCC Wheels for Kids G&C presentation

The winning presentation for the Mirabal team and Wheels for Kids

Team sponsor Gustavo Mirabal said, "This was one of the classes that we really wanted to win because it is something special. It is a great feeling to know that we can help so many charitable organizations in one night and, we are always going to support these classes."

The winning team received the largest share of the prize money for their randomly assigned charity, Wheels for Kids. Denise Jungbert, the founder of Wheels for Kids, was extremely excited to be able to provide wheelchairs for children with permanent physical disabilities on her waiting list with the money won in the event.

"It is amazing," Jungbert said. "This is our first year and we are so excited to have been a part of it. If we came home with $10,000 we were going to give out a chair, but oh my god, now we can give out ten chairs!"

She continued, "To be able to compete with the big dogs and be able to win is just amazing. I am so excited. I want to go national eventually, which will take some time, but to win something like this we can make this happen. There is no other event that I have ever heard of in this country that gives out to so many organizations."

Denise Jungbert

Denise Jungbert celebrates her team's victory

Jungbert responded to an open call for all Palm Beach County based charities to throw their name into the "riding" hat to participate in this exciting event. Over 160 charities serving Palm Beach County applied to be included in the 2011 FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® in a random drawing held at the Holiday HorseFest at the Meyer Amphitheatre last December.

The charities were then randomly assigned to the teams to create an equal chance for winning. This unique multi-charity approach has also allowed the event to assemble a diverse portfolio of charities covering animal rescue, children's causes, family care, public health, senior care, medical support, equestrians, education, the arts, and the environment among others.

For the second place winner it was a Cinderella story, but this Cinderella didn't need a prince, just a horse. Horses 'N Heroes was started by Mindy Morrow in 1994 as a way to continue her love of horses and give back to the community. The program serves underprivileged girls and gives them the opportunity to bond with horses and through the experience gain self-esteem and learn about responsibility, team work, commitment, and more.

Mindy was overwhelmed with emotion, "By the grace of god we get by every month and this money will help get us through a whole year. These girls are so excited. All the girls who rode for our team last night were so amazing and we loved the girl team riding for the girls' charity. We teach our girls that you can make a difference in your life no matter where you come from. They form a magical bond and focus on the horses and academics. Ninety percent of the girls who come through our program go on to college when most of their families never graduated from grade school."

And as proof to bonds formed that night - the next day all the girls from Horses N Heroes were treated by their team sponsor Susan Grange to an afternoon at her farm and riding demonstration.

Horses N Heroes group

The group from Horses N Heroes with their team

Mark Bellissimo, CEO of Equestrian Sport Productions, sent out his thanks for the evening' s success, "I want to thank the team sponsors without whose generous support we would never have been able to create this event. The level of appreciation from the charities, many of them smaller charities with limited resources, was astounding, and it is immensely gratifying to see how many lives are touched by the significant money raised tonight. For everyone who was a part of this event from the sponsors to riders to the staff, we share in the pride of what the equestrian community can do when it comes together and reaches out in a broad based spirit of giving to surpass our one million dollar goal to benefit 32 Palm Beach charities. In only its second year, the FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® has become the defining event of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival."

Results: FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments
	CHARITY	TEAM SPONSOR	PROFESSIONAL	AMATEUR / JUNIOR	AMATEUR / JUNIOR	Team Total Time	Charity Prize Money
1	Wheels for Kids	Gustavo & Carolina Mirabal	Pablo Barrios	Luis Fernando Larrazabal	Emmanuel Andrade	91.376	$150,000.00
2	Horses N' Heroes	Susan Grange	Amy Millar	Karina Aziz	Jordan MacPherson	93.976	$125,000.00
3	YMCA of the Palm Beaches	Susan Goldstein	McLain Ward	Danielle Goldstein	Marley Goodman	94.140	$100,000.00
4	Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper	Tom & Jeannie Tisbo	Jeffrey Welles	Lauren Tisbo	Nicole Chrighton	94.510	$85,000.00
5	Oasis Compassion Agency	Maura Thatcher	Maggie Jayne	Madeline Thatcher	Sydney Shulman	94.745	$70,000.00
6	Partners International Women	Cara Raether	Callie Schott	Shannon Spencer	Lydia Ulrich	94.779	$60,000.00
7	American Red Cross	Christian Woschenko & Diane Rodich	Caitlin Venezia	Christian Woschenko	Mireya Godoy	96.966	$50,000.00
8	Drug Abuse Treatment Association	Justin & Lee Kellogg-Sadrian	Anne Kursinksi	Nickie Wiingaard	Susannah Wise	97.047	$37,500.00
9	Equestrian Aid Foundation	Ahmed Alali & Beth Johnson	Candice King	Brittni Raflowitz	Ahmed Alali	97.786	$25,000.00
10	Resource Depot	Murray & Teri Kessler	Reed Kessler	Murray Kessler	Teri Kessler	98.125	$20,000.00
11	Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options	Robert & Lisa Lourie	Shane Sweetnam	Julia Lourie/Kaitlin Campbell	Kaely Tomeu	98.137	$18,500.00
12	Norton Museum of Art	Cathleen Rooney & Ricky Moyer	Debbie Stephens	Arly Golombek	Michael Murphy	98.787	$18,000.00
13	The Lord's Place	Hunter & Jeannie Harrison	Rodrigo Pessoa	Christina Kelly	Olivia Weeks	98.969	$17,500.00
14	Children's Place at Home Safe	Mark & Katherine Bellissimo	Laura Kraut	Paige Bellissimo	Nicole Bellissimo	99.554	$17,000.00
15	Crohn's and Colitis Foundation	David Burton Sr. & Mr. & Mrs. D'Ambra	Will Simpson	Barbara Ruziska	Allison Blais	100.157	$16,500.00
16	Caridad Center	Richard & Sara Mershad	Paul O'Shea	Ricky Mershad	Gabriela Mershad	100.799	$16,000.00
17	Loggerhead Marinelife Center	Georgina Bloomberg	Georgina Bloomberg	Mahala Rumell	Meghan MacPherson	101.915	$15,500.00
18	George Snow Scholarship Fund	Andrew & Carlene Ziegler	Tiffany Foster	Caitlin Ziegler	Jessica Rooks	103.028	$15,000.00
19	Hospice of Palm Beach County	Bruce Duchossois & Mr. & Mrs. Boyer	Schuyler Riley	Daniela Cordero	Hayley Barnhill	103.665	$14,500.00
20	YWCA of Palm Beach County	Pasmore Stables & Pin Oak Farm	Julie Welles	Catherine Pasmore	Sophie Simpson	104.807	$14,000.00
21	Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park	Sand Castle Farm & Friends	Sarah Segal	Donald Little	Tori Corts	105.164	$13,500.00
22	Children's Foundation for Equine Assisted Therapy	Roger & Jennifer Smith	Jennifer Hannan	William Coleman	Chloe Reid	105.340	$13,000.00
23	Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center	Falconwood	Enrique Gonzales	Salvador Onate	Luis Alejandro Placencia	106.018	$12,500.00
24	Urban League of Palm Beach County	Caroline Moran	Bob Kraut	Shawn Casady	Bobby Kraut	106.549	$12,000.00
25	Wellington Community Foundation	Dan & Ellen Crown	Ashlee Bond	Spencer Smith	Ailishe Cunniffe	106.733	$11,500.00
26	Kids Cancer Foundation	Dr. Betsee Parker	Ken Berkley	Heather Hooker	Victoria Colvin	106.743	$11,000.00
27	Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County	Bob Johnson	Brianne Goutal	Ashley Collins	Zoellen Speelman	106.783	$10,750.00
28	Danny and Ron's Rescue	Lucy Mitchell-Innes & Mr. & Mrs. Gammino	Chris Ewanouski	Melissa Jacobs	Lucy Mitchell-Innes	111.087	$10,500.00
29	South Florida Science Museum	B.G. & Suzanne Porter	Ragan Roberts	Wilton Porter	Lucas Porter	112.977	$10,250.00
30	The King's Academy	Lea Allen & Amb. & Mrs. Ronald Spogli	Margie Engle	Lea Allen	Caroline Spogli	113.937	$10,000.00
31	Junior Achievement of South Florida	John & Daveanna Fleischhacker	Ashley Fleischhacker	Liza Finsness	Laura Belmont	115.009	$10,000.00
32	Leukemia and Lymphoma Society	The Stein Family	Molly Ashe-Cawley	Alexis Stein	Olivia Jack	115.220	$10,000.00

The FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® was supported by many generous sponsors. We thank them for recognizing our riders who donate their talents for free and our team sponsors for their contribution.

Each rider on the first place team was presented with a complimentary one-night stay at the Brazilian Court Hotel & Beach Club in Palm Beach and a gift bag prize pack with goodies from the Official WEF Wear Boutique, an Arbonne International gift certificate donated by Anna Hall, a mini photo session and desk portrait by famed equine photographer Barbara Bower and delicious horse cookies from Paddock Cakes.

The Team Sponsor for the first place team is being presented with a generous three day, two night stay at the Ritz Carlton Residences at Singer Island donated by Lionheart Capital. The package also includes a gift certificate for the Capital Grille and Saks Fifth Avenue and gift items from the WEF Wear Boutique, Arbonne International and Barbara's Visions.

Each Rider on the second place team is being presented with a Nespresso coffee machine and a gift bag prize pack with goodies from the Official WEF Wear Boutique, an Arbonne International gift certificate donated by Anna Hall, a mini photo session and desk portrait by famed equine photographer Barbara Bower and delicious horse cookies from Paddock Cakes.

The Team Sponsor for the second place team is being presented with a complimentary one-night stay at the Brazilian Court Hotel & Beach Club in Palm Beach and gift items from the WEF Wear Boutique, Arbonne International and Barbara's Visions.

Each Rider on the third place team is being presented with a gift certificate towards a custom Triple Crown blanket, which can they can design their very own blanket atBuildYourOwnBlanket.com. They are also getting the gift bag prize pack with a beautiful leather lead from English Riding Supply, an Arbonne International gift certificate donated by Anna Hall, a mini photo session and desk portrait by famed equine photographer Barbara Bower and delicious horse cookies from Paddock Cakes.

The Team Sponsor for the third place team is being presented with a WEF Wear Boutique Equestrian Gift pack including gift items from the WEF Wear Boutique, Arbonne International and Barbara's Visions, a gift certificate towards a custom Triple Crown Blanket at BuildYourOwnBlanket.com and an Equivisor.

Kesslers