Wellington, FL – February 13, 2013 – Equestrian Sport Productions welcomes Spy Coast Farm as the title sponsor of week six at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Spy Coast Farm CSI 3*-W competition will run February 13-17 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. The week will feature a $125,000 FEI World Cup Qualifier CSI 3*-W Grand Prix, presented by Spy Coast Farm, on Saturday, February 16.
Week six competition will also host three other FEI World Ranking classes besides the grand prix, including the $33,000 G&C Farm 1.45m on Wednesday, February 13, the $50,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Round 6 on Thursday, February 14, and the $33,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic on Sunday, February 17.
Spy Coast Farm owners Robert and Lisa Lourie are proud to return as a major sponsor of FTI WEF competition in 2013. In addition to their week six title sponsorship, Spy Coast Farm presents four $6,000 1.40m Jumper classes each week throughout the twelve weeks of competition.
In addition to amazing competition at the FEI World Cup Qualifier Grand Prix on Saturday night, there will be a “Purple Party,” the official after party held at The Gallery following the end of competition, to celebrate Spy Coast Farm. Music will be by DJ Mister Gray, there will be dancers, Belvedere Specialty Cocktails served, and there is no cover charge. Please contact Rob Gray for VIP table reservations at 561-246-0969.
With three locations in East Setauket, NY, Lexington, KY, and Wellington, FL, Spy Coast Farm specializes in the breeding and development of top quality performance horses. The promotion of young horse breeding and training in America has become a priority for owner Lisa Lourie, as in recent years, Spy Coast Farm has become one of the premier breeding programs in the United States.
Along with their FTI WEF sponsorship, The Lourie Family will also once again present the Spy Coast Farm Young Horse Show Series (YHS) in cooperation with The North American Studbook in 2013. The Young Horse Shows give breeders, owners, and trainers a chance to showcase yearling to five-year-old young sport horses in an age appropriate setting, helping to promote breeding in America and in turn create a marketplace for trainers and riders to purchase young horses.
In its third year, the YHS will host two events during this year’s FTI WEF. Both shows will be held at The Stadium at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The first show will be held on Saturday, March 2, during FTI WEF 8. The second show will be on Tuesday, March 5. The 2013 YHS Finals will once again be scheduled to take place at the PBIEC at the end of the year.
In addition to her dedication to improving the breeding and development of young horses in America, Lourie has also begun to encourage more young American riders to embrace training and showing young horses. As part of that effort, Lourie and Spy Coast Farm will host a special Lunch & Learn on Thursday, February 14, with a panel discussion on “Creating a Young Horse Pipeline in America.” Part of the Lunch & Learn Series, sponsored by the Print & Copy Depot at Office Depot, the event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in The Wellington Club at PBIEC.
The panel discussion will feature esteemed industry professionals familiar with the issues that impact the expansion of the American breeding industry. The panel will include Diane Langer (Hunter/Jumper trainer specializing in breeding and young horse development), Alex Jayne (Trainer/breeder Our Day Farm), Candice King (Grand Prix show jumper and young horse trainer), Sally Ike (USEF Managing Director Show Jumping), Robert Ridland (U.S. Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe) and special guest Stephen Foran (2013 winner USEF Emerging Athletes Program).
As moderator, Lourie will guide the conversation in a discussion of four general questions:
1) Please discuss whether you feel breeders should be required to register their foals with DNA typing. What are the barriers and what are the benefits?
2) How can the industry encourage young American riders to become proficient at working with young horses?
3) What can our regulatory agencies (USEF and USHJA) do to encourage American breeding and young horse development?
4) How can horse show managers encourage and support young horse classes?
A Q&A session will follow the discussion. For more information please contact (561) 793-5867. Admission is free for riders, trainers, and owners. Lourie looks forward to the event and hopes to engage owners, riders and industry professionals in an open discussion regarding the development of the young horse industry.
“What I’ve discovered over the last few years is that many in the industry: rider- sponsors, grand prix riders, and others are breeding a couple of horses a year. The grand prix riders don’t necessarily have the time to bring those young ones along in the early stages and it requires a very select set of skills to do it,” Lourie noted. “You need to know how to long line and how to have the patience to bring them along in steps. You have to recognize if you have pushed them too far and bring them back. You have to expect setbacks, as young horse development is not a linear progression. There aren’t many young riders in America specifically educated to work with young horses, yet it is a very good way to get into the business. Addressing this need is my next project. In addition to continuing to develop the young horse show series, I would love to facilitate the creation of a pipeline of young horse trainers.”
Lourie continues to further her breeding program at home and is thrilled with the progress that her young horses have made.
“My breeding program is going extremely well,” she acknowledged. “The quality of my offspring is improving annually. I am thrilled to have my young horse trainer Willie Tynan in position and I am super happy with what he is doing. We have the first five-year-old that graduated from our training program showing here now – Intoxicate JSF. I didn’t breed her, but I bought her when she was three weeks old and she is by my stallion. I am just starting to reap the rewards of our program. I am finally realizing my goals and it is just as exciting, if not more exciting, to produce a successful animal as it is to win a big class.”
Of course, winning classes is also still very exciting. Spy Coast Farm’s professional rider, Shane Sweetnam, has had a great season so far with many of his Spy Coast mounts. In addition to the Lourie’s Lunch & Learn on Thursday of week six, Sweetnam will kick off week seven on Tuesday, February 19, by teaching a Ride & Learn clinic.
The Ride & Learn Series, presented by Palm Beach Riding Academy, is just $100.00 per horse/rider per clinic, maximum 12 riders. In his Ride and Learn, Sweetnam will teach “Instilling Confidence in Your Young Jumper.” One of Ireland’s top show jumpers, Shane Sweetnam has earned many victories with both mature and young mounts. Sweetnam will share his insight and experience in working with and building confidence in young jumpers. The minimum fence height is three-feet. For more information please contact (561) 784-4275.
Spy Coast Farm has been one of the biggest supporters of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival for many years and the Lourie Family continues their support through their many endeavors, including Robert and Lisa’s participation in the Wellington Equestrian Partners (WEP).
“I continue to be very proud of being a Wellington Equestrian Partner,” Lourie declared. “I think the proof is in the product and I think we put out a terrific product. My husband and I are very proud to be a part of it. It is exciting every day. The growing pains can be hard, but it has been so worth it to see the caliber of competitors that we have here and the caliber of horses that we have here. Everybody seems to be having such a great time. The vendors have improved and the sponsorship is amazing. We are super happy with the progress and are really glad that we became partners.”
For more information on Spy Coast Farm, please visit www.spycoastfarm.com.
Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.
Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.