Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Big news, EN! The FEI has released the dates for the 2016 Nations Cup Eventing Series, and Great Meadow in the Plains, Va. will be hosting a leg on July 8-10. This is the first Nations Cup leg ever to be held in the U.S., so this is huge news for the sport here in the States.
A Nations Cup leg in the U.S. was originally approved by the FEI in June, and Great Meadow had previously promised a whole slew of international caliber events to be added to its calendar. Thanks to the combined efforts of the organizing committee at Great Meadow and Great Meadow Foundation President Rob Banner, the dream is now becoming a reality.
“If we do win the bid for the Nations Cup, the event will only get bigger,” organizing committee co-chair Darrin Mollett told EN earlier this year. “It’s always rewarding to be a part of these things when they’re just starting out, and we’d love for people to be involved. We’re a small committee, and we want people with ideas. If you’re excited about eventing and the direction the sport is going, then please join us and be a part of it.”
“We’ve proved that we can certainly draw a big crowd, and a lot of people realized at the WEG Prep Trials that we can handle the larger task as well,” Rob Banner said in March. “We’ll get together the very best committee we possibly can to not only navigate the organization of a Nations Cup but also work with the FEI to secure a date.”
Now that the bid has officially come to fruition, the hard work continues to prepare the venue to host riders from multiple nationalities who will be traveling in for the event. Rob has also worked with Washington Dulles International Airport to secure a new vetport which would assist international riders with getting their horses into the country.
Additionally, another new location has been introduced: Vairano, Milano, which replaces the Montelibretti leg.
We’ll continue to bring you more news on the preparations for the first ever Nations Cup leg in the U.S. and we’d like to congratulate and thank those behind the Great Meadow effort for giving U.S. eventing a big boost.
[FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series 2016]
