Dressage riders on the West Coast will have another chance to qualify for the FEI World Cup Dressage Final in Omaha, Neb., in 2017 with the addition of the Las Vegas High Rollers CDI-W, held Jan. 4-7 at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas.
Organizer Heather Petersen of 2 White Feet Inc. explained that a group of California trainers came forward to ask her if she could host another World Cup qualifier.
In 2016, only three World Cup qualifiers were held in California—California Dreaming Productions’ L.A. Winter and Mid-Winter, in Burbank in January and February, and the Del Mar National in April in Del Mar.
“There’s a one-star and a two-star out there and only a couple of other big CDIs, so it’s been discouraging for some of those that can’t really give up their training business to be gone in Florida for the entire winter,” said Petersen. “The venue was something that they had been looking at and researching, and the date was so that it wouldn’t conflict with the Florida season, and it was one of the only dates they had available. Most of [the riders] are going to have to go to Florida anyway to get enough Ws, but they just wanted something that wouldn’t conflict with the other Ws currently scheduled.”
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Petersen, Elbert, Colo., had organized the dressage competition at the International Friesian Show Horse Associations’ World and Grand National Championship Horse Show at South Point in the past, so she has experience with the venue.
With a large main arena able to comfortably fit five stands for judges and another pavilion with two full dressage rings plus warm-up space, she thinks the venue will work well for the CDI-W and accompanying national open show.
“We don’t want to encourage the loss of high performance dressage on the West Coast,” she said. “I think that’s what [the trainers] really want. I know Florida is wonderful and an absolutely fantastic facility, but they have junior riders and amateurs riders, and they can’t afford to leave them for two or three months. They can go for two or three weeks, but it’s just to help them.”
