Tryon International Equestrian Center is now accepting applications for the inaugural Great Charity Challenge of the Carolinas annual fundraiser. Fourteen charities will be randomly selected during the $210,000 Tryon Grand Prix on June 6, at TIEC from 5-9 p.m. Those 14 finalists will each be paired with an equestrian team that will compete for a minimum purse of $250,000 purse during an October competition.

Based on the founding event held annually in Wellington, Fla., The Great Charity Challenge of the Carolinas is a relay-style equestrian jumping competition with teams consisting of two junior/amateur riders combined with one Olympic or world-class rider. Twenty-four rider teams are randomly paired with 24 charities.

Some features of the event include:

• 100 percent of all proceeds go straight to benefit charities The charity represented by the winning team of riders will be awarded a minimum of $50,000. 
• There will be a sliding scale of winnings with every charity ensured a minimum award of $5,000. 
• Not selected on June 6 for the challenge, don’t worry. In addition to the selected 14 charities, we will be holding random drawings and award grants to deserving charities up to the event date. Prize money for these lucky charities will range from $50,000 to $5,000 depending on the final rank of their team rider in the grand prix competition to be held in October. 
• With no funding going toward administrative or overhead costs, the Great Charity Challenge event ensures that all funds raised are donated back into the communities, and every charity chosen walks away with prize money. 

The Great Charity Challenge at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, founded in 2010 by Mark and Katherine Bellissimo of Equestrian Sport Productions and their daughter Paige, has distributed more than $8 million from the equestrian community to more than 100 nonprofits in Palm Beach County over the last six years.

(Want to watch the emotional 2014 Great Charity Challenge at PBIEC?)

How to Apply

Nonprofit organizations can visit www.tryon.com to apply and select the “Great Charity Challenge” from the main menu or click on the following link.  

Applications must be submitted online only by Thursday, June 4, at 5:00 pm, and at least one representative from the charity must be present at the event on June 6 in order to be eligible for selection.

Charities must also have federal 501c3 status, two years of IRS federal tax filings and a $50,000 minimum operating budget. Only nonprofit organizations in Polk, Rutherford, Henderson and Buncombe Counties in North Carolina, and Spartanburg and Greenville Counties in South Carolina may apply. All participating charities are required to utilize 75 percent of their funds in the county they serve, so these donations directly impact the community.

Of the 24 available spots, Polk County Schools is guaranteed annual placement in the Great Charity Challenge as part of TIEC’s commitment of giving back to its home county. Another spot is being reserved for a second county school system from the remaining five counties. Additional school systems can still make the final list in the random drawing.

TIEC reserves the right to choose a fixed percentage of nonprofit organizations from each county. Two wildcard charities will be chosen on the day of The Great Charity Challenge grand prix competition.

For more information on TIEC and a schedule of current events, please visit www.tryon.com.