Category Archives: Fundraisers

Brazilian Grand Prix Icon Paulo Santana Wins Step by Step Foundation’s All In for Charity Poker Tournament Championship

Step by Step Founder Liliane Stransky & Grand Prix rider Paulo Santana, who was the evening's Poker Champion, by Mancini Photos

International Equestrians Unite to Raise Funds & Awareness for Children in Need at Dinner Benefit at Winter Equestrian Festival

Wellington, FL – Olympic show jumping legend Margie Engle and international children’s charity founder Liliane Stransky joined forces for the Step by Step Foundation’s second annual All In for Charity Poker Tournament and dinner benefit on Sunday, March 13 in Wellington, FL.  After Richard Spooner rode to victory in the $25,000 Suncast Jumper Classic, the action shifted to the tents for some fast paced, high stakes gaming in the Grand Prix Pavilion at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Engle, who was the Event Chair, was on hand with Stransky to welcome guests to the fun filled evening that featured fine food and good times for a great cause. Guests enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner as DJ Mario kept the music pumping, but it was the poker action that drew in the serious players and international teams.  Stransky had assembled a strong lineup of lovely ladies on her team including Engle, event organizer Kathy Andersen, Junior Jumper champion Daniela Stransky, and grand prix veteran Hillary Dobbs.  After donning their bright orange team Polos, the girls sat down to take on all challengers and raise funds for the children.

Continue reading Brazilian Grand Prix Icon Paulo Santana Wins Step by Step Foundation’s All In for Charity Poker Tournament Championship

Darragh Kenny Leads the Fun & Games at Fete Cheval for The EQUUS Foundation

Fete Cheval winner Darragh Kenny riding Leia, with Visse Wedell, Clea Newman Soderlund, Jenny Belknap Kees, and Elizabeth Press. Photo By: Phelps Media Group.

Wellington, FL – March 15, 2011 – This year’s Fete Cheval was a huge hit that featured fantastic riders performing games on rescue horses on Friday, March 11, 2011. The beautiful night, presented by Foundation Farm, benefitted The EQUUS Foundation, which helps equestrian and horse related charities across the United States. There was a beautiful dinner for guests, catered by White Horse Tavern Catering on the grounds of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center at their Special Events Tent.

The evening’s events got underway at 6:00 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction, which were followed by a dinner buffet. The main event, the Gymkhana Games, got underway at 8:00 p.m., with horses provided by Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue and a group of world class riders. This year’s riders included Max Amaya, Derek Braun, Nick Dello Joio, Sandy Ferrell, Patricia Griffith, Charlie Jayne, Darragh Kenny, Kate Oliver, Kim Prince, Havens Schatt, Louise Serio, Shane Sweetnam, Jimmy Torano, and McLain Ward. As part of the silent auction, guests could bid to become a guest rider, which went to junior rider Alex Crown. The judges for the night were Ralph Caristo and Leo Conroy, along with special guest judge Kim Jacobs, with emcee David Distler.

Continue reading Darragh Kenny Leads the Fun & Games at Fete Cheval for The EQUUS Foundation

Team USA – Purina Mills Wins Dressage Quadrille, Team Vanderbilt-Ingram Victorious in Polo Match at 10th Annual Challenge of the Americas

Team USA. All photos: Susan J. Stickle Photography

March 12, 2011 – Tonight was a gorgeous evening, where Team Purina USA performed a stunning quadrille under the lights at this year’s Challenge of the Americas. In its tenth year, the Challenge of the Americas is an annual fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Play for P.I.N.K., and is sponsored by the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Team USA beat Team International and Team Can/America by earning the evening’s highest score of 93.95, marking their first ever win during the Challenge.  It was not an easy fight, however, as Team International scored a very close 91.95.  Throughout the performance, the teams were judged on impact on the audience, spacing and alignment, choreography interpretation, and harmony.

This year’s United States Team featured Betsy Steiner, aboard Domingo, owned by TAH Enterprises and Trisha Hessinger, George Williams riding Sandro Simian, owned by Mitzi Presnell and Holly Shook, Pamela Goodrich showing Karateka III owned by Judy Sprieser, Bill Warren with Romantic, owned by Team Romantic LLC, Jim Koford riding Liberty, owned by Barbara Marks, and John Zopatti aboard Fabio, owned by Christina Hewitt and sponsored by Blue Marlin Farms. Terry Ciotti-Gallo handled the team’s choreography, music and coaching.

The winning team completed passages, tempi changes, half passes and pirouettes, all in perfect harmony with one another. They performed to an original melody of music featuring the theme of New York, honoring the Twin Towers. The team opened with “Two Yankees”, followed by Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes’ “New York” and ended their performance with Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York”.

Continue reading Team USA – Purina Mills Wins Dressage Quadrille, Team Vanderbilt-Ingram Victorious in Polo Match at 10th Annual Challenge of the Americas

Come Prepared to Ride at the Fete Cheval to Benefit The EQUUS Foundation

Rodrigo Pessoa at the 2010 Fete Cheval to benefit The EQUUS Foundation. Photo courtesy of The EQUUS Foundation.

WELLINGTON, FL – March 7, 2011 – It’s a sell out for dinner, but performance seating is still available for the Fete Cheval to benefit The EQUUS Foundation and presented by Foundation Farm, which will be held on Friday, March 11, 2011, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida. Performance seats are $100 per person and include an open bar and great entertainment!

One lucky winner of the Fete Cheval Rider Raffle will have the opportunity to ride with professional riders, Max Amaya, Pablo Barrios, Derek Braun, Molly Ashe Cawley, Nick Dellojoio, Mario Deslauriers, Hillary Dobbs, Sandy Ferrell, Brianne Goutal, Patricia Griffith, Charlie Jayne, Darragh Kenny, Laura Kraut, Kate Oliver, Rodrigo Pessoa, Kim Prince, Havens Schatt, Louise Serio, Shane Sweetnam, Jimmy Torano and McLain Ward. Raffle tickets at $100 per ticket will be on sale at the event. The winner must be a guest at the event, and wear appropriate riding attire for the games, including a riding helmet.

The International Club will be closed for the evening to focus all the festivities in the Special Events Tent, where, prior to the games, a cocktail reception, auction, and dinner will be held starting at 6:00 p.m.

Continue reading Come Prepared to Ride at the Fete Cheval to Benefit The EQUUS Foundation

USEF and The EQUUS Foundation Team Up to Play Favorites; Can You Help?

February 25 2011 – Lexington, KY – Who is the most beloved equestrian athlete in America? The clock is ticking. The buzzer sounds. Can you prove it? Actually, you can. All it takes is a $5 gift to The EQUUS Foundation and you’ll be able to “play favorites” in the nationwide fundraising effort “America’s Favorite Equestrian.” The EQUUS Foundation and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) jointly launched the charitable mobile texting game in celebration of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the eight international disciplines represented on the field of play.

Today, both organizations announce the expansion of the inaugural program through 2011, including multiple rounds and eliminations. These rounds will add suspense to the game, as the crowd favorites move forward and those with fewer votes are eliminated. The EQUUS Foundation has also pledged to award a minimum of $10,000 in grants in support of USEF programs within these eight international equestrian disciplines. The discipline generating the greatest number of votes will receive an additional $5,000 grant award for its USEF-affiliated association.

How to Vote:

Visit the link at http://www.equusfoundation.org/vote. For a $5 contribution, you can select your favorite equestrian (listed by discipline) and follow the instructions provided to use mobile texting to vote. After texting your vote, you must reply YES to confirm your vote and $5 donation.

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‘Salute to Driving’ Benefit Offers Generous Support to USET Foundation

Bev Lesher, Lisa Singer, and Wendy O'Brien at the Salute to Driving. Photo By: Vicki Long.

Aiken, SC – February 25, 2011 – The first annual ‘Salute to Driving’ event hosted a beautiful Dinner & Live Auction on Saturday, February 19, 2011, to benefit the United States Equestrian Team Foundation and, ultimately, USEF High Performance Combined Driving. The successful evening was held at Wendy O’Brien’s Trout Walk Farm in Aiken, SC. The goal of the event was to help raise funds for the USET Foundation that will be dedicated to helping fund and train the best drivers and equines to represent the USA in World Driving Championships to bring home Team and Individual Medals.

The dinner began at 6:30 pm, and during the evening’s Live Auction attendees helped raise funds for the USET Foundation. Auction items included two lessons with top driver Michael Freund at Little Everglades or Live Oak 2011, two lessons with Chester Weber during Live Oak 2011, a dinner for eight presented by Jack Wetzel at his new log cabin in Aiken, a week long vacation in a large Victorian home on the beach in Cape May, NJ, a week long vacation in Block Island, RI, a print, “Patriots Barn” by Jamie Wyeth, signed and remarqued by the artist and brunch for four at the Green Boundary Club. There were also over 20 raffle items given away through the night that ranged from a professional photo shoot to dancing lessons.

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2011 FTI Great Charity Challenge Presented by Fidelity Investments Is Huge Success and Awards More Than $1 Million to 32 Palm Beach County Charities

The Kessler family competed for Resource Depot. Photos © Anne Gittins Photography, Sportfot, and ManciniPhotos

Wellington, FL – February 20, 2011 – The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida transformed into a field of dreams for 32 Palm Beach charities in the second annual FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments where over a million dollars was raised in an exciting Pro-Am show jumping event on February 19. A signature event of the 12 week FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, the event featured 32 teams of three riders ranging in age from 11 to 70 where amateurs competed side by side with their professional heroes. Each team was randomly assigned to a charity to compete for $1,020,000 in prize money with the winning charity receiving $150,000 with a sliding scale to 32nd place of $10,000. A crowd of 6,000 came out to enjoy the family fun as part of the Saturday Night Lights series which continues through April 2nd.

Every team was generously sponsored by an equestrian family with additional monies coming from corporate and individual donors as well as all proceeds from ticket and VIP table sales for the evening’s event produced by Equestrian Sport Productions, which donates its staff and venue for the event.

The winning team, competing for Wheels for Kids, set a blazing fast time of 91.376 seconds. The riders were Olympian Pablo Barrios, 18-year-old Luis Fernando Larrazabal, and 14-year-old Emmanuel Andrade. All three riders are from Venezuela and competed for team sponsors, Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of G&C Farm. The Mirabals, Barrios, and Larrazabal live in Wellington, FL.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=13288

Pat Parelli Joins Star-Studded Line-Up of Judges for Vinceremos “Buck Off” Mechanical Bull Riding Contest

Pat Parelli will put his rodeo knowledge to work for a great cause when he joins Robert Dover, Margie Engle, and other judges during VTRC’s Mechanical Bull Riding Contest. (Photo by Hubbell Photography)

Wellington, FL (February 16, 2011) – There’s no bull about it that Pat Parelli, the founder of Parelli Natural Horsemanship, understands the relationship between a horse and rider. As a former rodeo bareback bronc rider, Parelli will put his rodeo knowledge to work for a great cause when he joins Robert Dover, Margie Engle, and an esteemed panel of judges during the Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center’s Mechanical Bull Riding Contest.

Parelli, who won the Bareback Rookie of the Year title in 1972, will help judge the “Final Buck Off” during the Vinceremos Dinner and Auction at the International Polo Club on February 18th. The “Buck Off” competition will take place during a Vinceremos benefit and auction entitled “My First Pony”.

Vinceremos, located in Loxahatchee near the famed grounds of the Winter Equestrian Festival, uses horses and therapy to enhance the lives of special needs people in Palm Beach County.

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EAF Tetrathlon Raises More Than $100,000 for Equestrians in Need

Winning Team FarmVet: Christian Currey, Ashley Holzer, Candice King, Whistle Uys. All photos (c) Phelps Photos

WELLINGTON, Fla. – Presenting sponsor FarmVet edged out Team MeadowView to win the 2011 Sidelines Tetrathlon Presented by FarmVet on Jan. 30, at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. More than 500 people came together for an evening of friendly competition, great food and exceptional auction items, to raise more than $100,000 to benefit the Equestrian Aid Foundation (EAF). The EAF helps equestrians, horsemen and equine professionals who are suffering from catastrophic illnesses or injuries during their time of need. The event was managed by Sean O’Keefe Events, which specializes in developing signature events for nonprofit organizations.

“It’s been more than three years since the last Sidelines Triathlon and we’ve successfully brought it back to a higher level of competition by adding the all-American sport of reining,” said R. Scot Evans, president of the EAF. “With the overwhelming support from the community for the vision of Sean O’Keefe of Sean O’Keefe Events, we were given the resources to create a fun-filled evening that also successfully raised necessary funds for those in the horse world who need our help.”

Tetrathlon Competition

Master of Ceremonies Brian Lookabill added commentary to the competition, which included dressage, show jumping, polo, and reining. Riders showed world-class talent as they performed in disciplines not their own.

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Polo Patrons Join the Fight against Breast Cancer at the 10th Annual Challenge of the Americas

Team International from the 2010 Challenge of the Americas Photo Credit: Susan Stickle

Wellington, FL – February 1, 2011 – Featuring more exciting equestrian performances than ever before, the Tenth Annual Challenge of the Americas will return to Wellington, FL, on Saturday, March 12, 2011, at the beautiful International Polo Club Palm Beach. The evening will get underway at 5:00 p.m. and feature musical dressage team quadrilles and a new and exciting four on four polo challenge.  Presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach the event will benefit Play for P.I.N.K (PFP), a partner of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Play for P.I.N.K, which stands for Prevention, Immediate diagnosis, New technology, and Knowledge, is a grassroots organization dedicated to raising funds to fight breast cancer.  PFP does this by creating and promoting awareness of breast cancer through sporting and lifestyle events including men’s and women’s golf tournaments, tennis, swimming, card games, equestrian events, shopping benefits, spa days and wine tastings.  PFPs commitment is to contribute 100% of all funds raised to their partner The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Since 1996, PFP has donated $18,750,000 to BCRF.  Play for P.I.N.K and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation are proud to share the same vision: Find prevention and a cure in our lifetime.

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