Wednesday April 20, 2005

2005 World Cup Dressage Finals Kick Off with Vet Inspection

The 2005 version of the FEI World Cup Dressage Finals kicked off yesterday with the vet inspection of the dressage horses. The vet check is a formal occasion where all horses are presented in hand to the panel of judges. They are checked for any apparent lameness and if a horse is unsound, he will not be allowed to compete.

Unfortunately for Isabell Werth her World Cup Finals might end really soon. Her 19-year old Antony FRH did not pass the jog on Tuesday and will be re-inspected on Wednesday morning 6 PM. If the horse is not sound during the trot-up, the Finals will be over for former Olympic champion Isabell Werth.

The World Cup Finals feature five action-packed days of electrifying equestrian competition. The schedule for the Jumping Final includes a heart-stopping speed class on Thursday evening, a nail-biting jump-off class on Friday evening, the Grand Prix of Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, and of course, the illustrious World Cup Final on Sunday afternoon.

The Dressage Final features the world’s best dressage riders locked in a four-day battle to determine who will be crowned this year’s FEI World Cup Dressage Champion. The schedule includes the impressive Grand Prix on Thursday afternoon, an exciting Grand Prix on Friday afternoon for horses not entered in the Final, and the crowd-pleasing Musical Freestyle on Saturday evening.

More than 100,000 tickets have been sold with tickets purchased by individuals in 13 countries and all 50 of the United States. Better than 96% of the ticket sales have been to people who live outside Nevada.

By Astrid Appels of Eurodressage.com

Tune into Dressagedaily/Horsesdaily's extensive "On the Scene" coverage of the 2005 World Cup Finals with daily articles, scores and photos.