Wellington, FL – March 5, 2015 – The Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) is pleased to announce that they will host a unique derby competition on Sunday, March 8, at 11 am. The class is a special part of this week’s AGDF 9 Palm Beach Dressage Derby competition, which has a long and important history of dressage in Wellington.
“We are happy to host this class and believe in the tradition of the Palm Beach Derby,” said AGDF Sport Director Thomas Baur. “This will be a fun, new class for dressage fans and fans of equestrian sport to experience.”
The Palm Beach Dressage Derby as a competition started in 1984 at White Fences and was the only dressage event in Wellington at the time. It grew and became a CDI competition and moved to new show grounds in Equestrian Estates in 1999. “Every year we added and added, and it grew,” said Maryann McPhail of the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, who ran the competition with Evelyn O’Sullivan. The Palm Beach Dressage Derby was incorporated into AGDF in 2013.
The derby class will feature four top grand prix riders in a “North America vs. Europe” format. The riders include Lars Petersen (DEN) and Christoph Koschel (GER), and Karen Pavicic (CAN) and Adrienne Lyle (USA).
Held in a bracket format, the first two riders will perform the same Prix St. Georges test on one horse, while the second two riders will ride a second horse. The winners from those tests will go head to head in the final competition on a third horse.
Each rider will receive a five-minute familiarization period with the horses, as it will be the first time they have ridden these horses.
McPhail and O’Sullivan hosted a similar-style bracket derby class once before at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, but in different format. “It is an improved format for here!” McPhail remarked.
AGDF welcomes everyone out to The Stadium at PBIEC on Sunday morning to watch this fun and engaging event. General admission and parking are free.
www.globaldressagefestival.com
Source: Press release
