Woodside, Calif., Oct. 4, 2012—The Woodside International Horse Trials, presented by Equine Insurance of California, Professional’s Choice and Sunsprite Warmbloods, will get underway on Friday, Oct. 4, with 63 horses starting in the three international divisions. The Woodside International Horse Trials, the first event of the 2013/2014 season in the Adequan/USEA Gold Cup Series, are held at the Horse Park at Woodside.
Dressage for the featured C IC3* starts at 8:20 a.m. and concludes at 11:10 p.m., before judges Marilyn Payne and Jack Leary of the USA. The 19 horses in the CIC3* —from the USA, Canada Australia and Puerto Rico—will then show jump from 2:00 to approximately 2:40 p.m.
The 17 horses in the CIC2* will perform their dressage tests from 8:00 until 10:25 a.m. and then show jump from 3:20 to 4:00 p.m. The CIC1*, a 27-horse field, will conclude the day’s international action, with the first horse in the dressage ring at 10:35 a.m. and the first horse show jumping at 4:35 p.m.
On Saturday, spectators will enjoy the heart of the sport of eventing—the cross-country phase—as the previous day’s pairs tackle the cross-country course in reverse order of their two-phase standing. The CIC1* begins the action at 10:20 a.m., with the CIC2* starting at 12:40, and then the CIC3* will provide the day’s climax from 1:50 to 2:50 p.m.
The CIC3* horses will vie for a chance at the Fric Frac Berence Heart Award trophy and $1,000 prize money presented to the horse with the best cross-country performance, as determined by a panel of judges.
The winners of all three international divisions will be recognized Saturday evening at a special dinner celebration and awards ceremony, open to the public.
National competition will continue until mid-afternoon on Sunday, though. The advanced, intermediate, preliminary and training divisions will show jump, starting at 8:00, while the novice and beginner novice horses will gallop around the cross-country course, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Professional’s Choice, Equine Insurance of California and Sunsprite Warmbloods are the Woodside presenting sponsors this year.
Devoucoux Biarritz-France is the Gold Medal Sponsor.
CWD Saddles, Voltaire Design, JRD Saddles and SmartPak Equine are the Silver Medal Sponsors.
American Medical Response, Auburn Laboratories Inc., Geranium Street Floral, Point Two Air Jackets, Professional Riders Organization, Ride On Video and are the Bronze Medal Sponsors.
The sponsors are just some of the equine-product manufacturers and service providers that, in addition to supporting the event with prizes, are on site for riders and spectators to meet in the event trade fair.
General admission is $10 per person, including parking and a show program. General admission tickets can be purchased at the gate or in advance. Patrons’ passes are also available for the weekend.
Go to http://woodsideeventing.com for ticket and full competition information.