The Land Rover Great Meadow International will become host to the first ever U.S. leg of the FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series next year, from July 8-10 in The Plains, Va.

Great Meadow Foundation President Rob Banner said being awarded the Nations Cup met a goal he and U.S. Eventing Chef D’Equipe David O’Connor have been working on for the last few years.

“I’m elated and extremely excited—thrilled that this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been working on for a long time. It was a part of a major vision that I shared with David O’Connor. He needed a place to host a Nations Cup, and I needed to buy this land to preserve it for open space and equestrian, and that was the plan. If I could buy it and build it, he would bring it.”

Great Meadow, home to the Virginia Gold Cup steeplechase, last hosted FEI eventing in 2001, until this summer’s inaugural CIC*** and Pan American Games Preparatory Trial. 

Banner confirmed that groundbreaking on a new international-sized ring that will overlook a new main water complex should begin next week and take 45-60 days to complete, weather pending, making it ready in plenty of time for next summer’s event.

He also added that the Great Meadow International will be the final outing for the U.S. Eventing Team headed to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August.

“We want to make sure it’s a special event and a spotlight on the very highest level of performance,” he said. “I’d like to thank all of the donors who gave me enormous support in getting to this point in the project, that they all shared my vision and that they wanted to support both David and me in bringing high performance equestrianism to this area and specifically Great Meadow. We’re proud that they were able to help the way they have and continue to.”

Banner is also looking into a new vetport at nearby Dulles International Airport to help ease the travel of horses coming from Europe, not only potentially for the Nations Cup but other disciplines as well. While it won’t be a reality for next year’s event, it could become one soon.

“The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors have agreed to embark on a cooperative study that would show the Dulles Authority Board and the [Metropolitan Washington] Airports Authority in the area that there is an opportunity that they should embrace,” he said. “I think Dulles wants to do this, but obviously this is a big commitment and they want to make sure that the business is there.” 

In total, the FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series will include nine events. Vairano, Milan, in Italy is another new addition to the calendar, replacing another Italian leg, Montelibretti.

For more information on the series and a calendar, visit the FEI website.