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Saturday, April 7, 2007

Rafael Soto Dressage Clinic April 10-11, Sponsored by Iberia Airlines

Preparations continue for the upcoming Rafael Soto clinic at Halcyon Farm in Wellington, hosted by the Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse and sponsored by Iberia Airlines. Rafael Soto Andrade is the head trainer of the Spanish Riding School in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Aboard Invasor he participated in three Olympic Games: Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. They were also the second best performing Spanish pair at the World Equestrian Games in Rome (1998), Jerez de la Frontera (2002) and Aachen (2006). With Invasor, he showed at four European Championships and finished in the top ten riders in both the World Equestrian Games in Jerez in 2002 and in the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Selection of riders for the clinic was based on the following criteria: USDF Gold Medalist, or participation on a national team. Riders for the clinic include Pati Pierucci, Cheri Reiber, Bruce Miller, Dr. Michael Kohl, Janne Rumbough and others. The clinic will be held April 10 and 11, from 8.30 to 4.30, at Joli Burrell's Halcyon Farm in Palm Beach Point, 4950 South Road in Wellington. Auditor's fee is $35.00 per day, which includes a buffet lunch prepared by Frederic Boyer. Kimberly and Frederic Boyer will host a cocktail reception for the dressage community to meet Rafael on Wednesday evening, April 11th, at Hampton Green Farm on Southfields Road.

The PhelpsPhotos team will be on hand to cover some of the highlights of the clinic, as well as videotaping for the individual participants, and doing a digital master tape of all sessions. Euro American Saddlery is sponsoring all the saddle pads for the riders.

Iberia Airlines
The Official Airline for the Foundation of the Pure Spanish Horse

Iberia is now the official airline of the Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse and its members, most of whom make annual trips to Spain, especially in November to attend SICAB. They were thrilled to have the opportunity to sponsor Rafael in his trip to Wellington. Iberia is now offering discounts of up to 45% in travel to Spain on its airline to Foundation members. Contact the Foundation office for more details.

Iberia Airlines is the largest airline of Spain, based in Madrid. It operates an extensive international network of services. Its main bases are Madrid Barajas and Barcelona airports. Iberia will have an all Airbus fleet by 2008, after retiring all of its remaining Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft. Iberia's livery is a Eurowhite scheme, composed of primarily white with orange and yellow accents.

Iberia Airlines makes extensive use of e-tickets and encourages customers to print the boarding pass prior to their flight. Travellers with only carry-on baggage can go directly to the boarding gate. e-tickets sales accounted for 93% of all Iberia tickets sold in January 2006. In Spain identification of the traveller by means of an Identity document or Passport is mandatory for all airlines on all routes, including Spanish domestic ones.

The Iberia Group encompasses the Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum franchise. In addition to transporting passengers and freight, Iberia carries out many related activities, such as aircraft maintenance, handling in airports, IT systems, and in-flight catering.

Iberia Group airlines fly to 105 destinations in 40 countries. Via code-sharing arrangements with other companies, it offers flights to another 60 destinations in 25 countries. With a fleet of over 200 aircraft, it makes about 1,000 flights each day. In 2002, Iberia carried 28 million passengers and 210,000 tons of freight. [citation needed]

On February 5 2006 the new Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas was awarded to Iberia and the Oneworld alliance members. This provided much-needed expansion capabilities for Iberia. Iberia alone is responsible for around 60% of Madrid Barajas traffic. In 2005 Iberia and its regional branch Air Nostrum transported 21,619,041 passengers to/from Madrid Barajas alone. Source: Answers.com

Related Links
HorsesDaily Breeding News - P.R.E. Pure Spanish Horse
More About the Clinic - Raphael Soto Coming to America
The Purebred Spanish Horse - The Stars of the 2002 World Equestrian Games