A star-studded cast of dressage riders will make their way to the Rolex Central Park Horse Show Sept. 25-26 in New York City. The talented line-up includes five of the world’s top 11 ranked riders to compete in the inaugural U.S. Open Dressage event.
The U.S. Open Dressage Grand Prix on Friday and the $75,000 Dressage Freestyle presented by the Axel Johnson Group on Saturday will highlight the schedule. The No. 1 dressage rider in the world over the last 24 months and double Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin will make a rare trip to New York City with her famed mount Valegro.
German rider Isabell Werth, one of the most celebrated equestrian olympians of all time with five gold medals and currently ranked seventh in the world will also make the trip to the U.S. along with Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfvén and Patrik Kittel, ranked sixth and 11th respectively. Spain’s Juan Matute Jr, recent European Junior Champion and one of the most talented up and coming riders, will also compete.
North America will be well-represented with rising star and ninth-ranked rider Laura Graves and her mount Verdades making the trip to the big city as well as Catherine Haddad Staller and Charlotte Jorst riding for the USA. They will be joined by Canada’s Ashley Holzer and Karen Pavicic to round out the competition.
Laura Graves commented, ”I am beyond excited to be invited to this very special event in Central Park. This year will be a real showcase and I am looking forward to a strong competition. I have one thing on my mind going into 2016 and that is Rio. This show is the perfect stepping stone on that path.”
After the 2014 debut of the sold-out Rolex Central Park Horse Show, Mark Bellissimo, CEO of International Equestrian Group, LLC, is pleased to see the reach and impact of the thrilling event expand to more international talent this year.
“We work hard to make sure the show itself is as special as it can be, but it is the riders who truly make it unforgettable,” he said. “We are very proud to present the best in sport across so many disciplines in the heart of New York City.”
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Rolex Central Park Horse Show Dressage Schedule:
Friday, September 25th
1:30 PM – U.S. Open Dressage Grand Prix
Saturday, September 26th
6:30 PM – U.S. Open $75,000 Dressage Freestyle, presented by Axel Johnson Group
The second-annual Rolex Central Park Horse Show will feature five days of multi-discipline equestrian sport. The schedule will include the inaugural U.S. Open in the following categories: Jumpers, Dressage, Hunters, U25 Jumpers, and Arabians. For a complete schedule, click here.
Tickets are now on sale for all events at the 2015 Rolex Central Park Horse Show. There are only a couple of hundred tickets left available for the event and they are anticipated to sell out. Tickets can now be purchased at http://bit.ly/1AV2imv.
Additional information, including matinee performances will be announced in the coming weeks on www.coth.com and www.centralparkhorseshow.com. Also, like The Chronicle of the Horse and Central Park Horse Show on Facebook for more information.
