Wellington, FL – December 22, 2010 – The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) will run for 12 weeks from January 12 to April 3, and this year’s competition will offer more opportunities for show jumpers to accumulate FEI ROLEX ranking points than ever before. For riders to start their year off strongly, the only place to gain this amount of points in North America is at the FTI WEF. The FTI WEF will award more than $6 million in prize money throughout the circuit, and $3.2 million of that will be given in the open jumper classes. For the FEI level jumpers, they will compete for $2.7 million in prize money.

“Adding more FEI ROLEX ranking classes is part of our dedication to providing the best equestrian sport,” said Michael Stone, President of Equestrian Sport Productions. “The riders that compete at the FTI WEF will more chances to gain points this year at our events during the winter season than anywhere else in the continent.”

Thanks to the support of G&C Farm, owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal, the FTI WEF was able to add eight new FEI ROLEX ranking classes to the schedule. There are now 27 ranking classes during the FTI WEF, and these eight new FEI ROLEX ranking classes increased over 20% from last year. “Now there will be over 10,000 points available,” Stone said.

G&C Farm has kindly sponsored the 1.45m Jumper division, which adds five of the additional FEI ROLEX ranking classes, and they are the title sponsor of the CSIO week on March 2-6 and the $50,000 G&C Farm Jumping Derby at The Stadium during week six. Suncast Corporation and Tom Tisbo increased the prize money to $30,000 for the 1.50m Suncast Jumper Championship in Week 11 and the final class will now be an FEI ROLEX ranking class.

The Mirabals have stepped up to help increase the availability of ROLEX ranking classes. “Our goal is to increase the opportunities for riders in North America,” said Gustavo Mirabal. “Riders from this hemisphere deserve to be able to raise their ranking while still being able to show closer to home.”

“We are always looking for ways to improve the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival,” said Mark Bellissimo, CEO of Equestrian Sport Productions. “Adding FEI ROLEX ranking classes shows our dedication to advancing the sport here. The competition here is some of the strongest in the world, and riders have more opportunities for prize money. We have the best weather of any winter circuit in the world, and with the thousands of competitors here, trainers and horse dealers will find the most active horse selling market anywhere.”

Equestrian Sport Productions has made the commitment to improve the footing in every schooling and competition arena on the property, so that no matter what level you show at, your horse will have the best footing available.

“It really is the best equestrian lifestyle destination in the world,” Bellissimo added. “When you add up all of these amenities, there is no better place to be in the winter.”

The following classes are FEI ROLEX ranking classes:

Week Two: January 19-23
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 2
$40,000 Equine Couture/Tuff Rider Grand Prix, CSI 2*

Week Three: January 26-30
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 3
$40,000 Surpass Grand Prix, CSI 2*

Week Four: February 2-6
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 4
$75,000 Adequan Grand Prix, CSI 2*

Week Five: February 9-13
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 5
$150,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix, CSI 3*-W, presented by Spy Coast Farms

Week Six: February 16-20
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 6 at The Stadium
$50,000 G&C Farm Jumping Derby at The Stadium

Week Seven: February 23-27
$30,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 7
$75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix, CSI 2*

Week Eight: March 2-6
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 8
$75,000 FEI Nations Cup, CSIO 4*, presented by G&C Farm
$30,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic
$150,000 Grand Prix, CSIO 4*

Week Nine: March 9-13
$30,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 9
$200,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix, CSI 4*

Week Ten: March 16-20
$30,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 10
$75,000 Pennfield Feeds Grand Prix, CSI 2* at The Stadium

Week Eleven: March 23-27
$30,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic
$30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round 11
$500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5*
$30,000 Suncast Jumper Championship 1.50 Classic Final

For more information on G&C Farm, please visit www.farmgc.com.

For more information on Suncast Corporation, please visit www.suncast.com.

The 2011 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 12 through April 3. WEF is run by Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC, and Wellington Equestrian Partners and held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. All 12 shows are “AA” rated and Jumper Rated 6, and more than $6 million in prize money will be awarded.

WEF is proud to be supported by their title sponsor, FTI Consulting, Inc. FTI Consulting, Inc. exists to help companies and their stakeholders protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex economic, legal and regulatory environment. FTI is the trusted advisor entrenched in many of the game-changing events that make headlines, move markets and create business history. For more information, please visit www.fticonsulting.com.

Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.

Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC
14440 Pierson Rd., Wellington, FL 33414
561-793-5867 (phone)
561-753-3386 (fax)

Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Equestrian Public Relations
803-240-7488
info@jenniferwoodmedia.com

Clara Belden
Public Relations and Marketing
561-793-5867
clara@equestriansport.com