Due to the inclement weather forecast for Friday, March 25, Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) has made the difficult decision to move the 9th Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Championship (GMEE) to the Van Kampen Covered Arena on the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) show grounds. Because of the time required to run the class, there is not a sufficient rain date available. This will help insure the class can be completed as scheduled.
Due to the change, please note the following:
– ESP will provide stalls at the AGDF show grounds free of charge to the 35 finalists. Stall assignments can be obtained from Tom Blankenship on Friday morning. Please be aware that GMEE horses should not arrive at AGDF before 12 p.m. on Friday, March 25. Horses may stay overnight in their assigned stalls at AGDF, but must vacate the stall by 9 am on Saturday, March 26.
-The Van Kampen Covered Arena will be in use for the Special Olympics Area Games until 12 p.m.
-The course will be built by 2 p.m. We will allow hacking in the covered ring between 2:30-3:30 p.m. This will be the only time allowed for hacking in the ring. There will be no jumping at the AGDF show grounds until the schooling area is opened for the final at 4:45 p.m.
-No FEI horses may be used in the GMEE class.
-Due to the change in venue, between 3:30 p.m. and the completion of the class, only the riders and their designated grooms are allowed in the barn area, schooling area, or North Side (In-gate side) of the arena.
-The spectator area will be limited to the South side (Parking lot side) of the ring.
– Please note the Riders Meeting will still be held at 4 p.m. at the in-gate area. Riders may arrive by 3:30 p.m. in order to pick up their welcome gifts, rules, course plans, and turn in their cell phones. All other portions of the timeline and rules are accurate.
ESP appreciates your understanding in advance that this is the best option available to run the George Morris Excellence in Equitation Championship safely and in its entirety.
Other scheduling alerts:
The FEI Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Series Final Horse Inspection will still take place at 1 p.m. at the AGDF show grounds.
The FEI Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Series Final will take place at 11:10 a.m. on Saturday, March 26, at the AGDF show grounds. Due to the uncertainty in the amount of rainfall, the decision to use either the Derby Field or the AGDF Global Ring will be made by 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 26.
The FEI $86,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 27, at the AGDF show grounds. Due to the uncertainty in the amount of rainfall, the decision to use either the Derby Field or AGDF Global Ring will be made by 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 27. Transportation to AGDF show grounds for the 1.50 horses will be provided starting at 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 27.
Source: Press release
