Wellington, FL – March 24, 2010 – FTI has been a sponsor at the Winter Equestrian Festival for five years, and this is their second year as the title sponsor of the 12 week circuit. They are the sponsor of the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5*, which will run on Saturday, March 27, and were the title sponsor of the inaugural Great Charity Challenge. They also sponsor the $100,000 FTI Rider Challenge, a rider bonus series that tracks the best rider in the grand prix classes over 11 weeks of competition.
FTI Chairman of the Board Dennis Shaughnessy first sponsored at WEF with his family, where he got to see first-hand the overall facilities and how the show operated. When FTI started sponsoring at the Hampton Classic Horse Show and received very good feedback, they looked into WEF, it’s demographics, and what it could do for the company.
When they first joined WEF for sponsorship, FTI started with the FTI Rider Challenge. “Instead of sponsoring one event, we would sponsor a point driven series based on success with a fairly substantial payback to the riders at the end, rewarding a series of success consistently,” Shaughnessy explained. “From our point of view, it gave us impressions over the entire horse show, rather than just one grand prix or one event. It became extremely popular, and I think we struck a good chord. People like to keep score and like the idea that the riders were striving for a big prize at the end based on their cumulative performance. The riders were very excited about it.”
Two years ago, Equestrian Sport Productions CEO Mark Bellissimo approached Shaughnessy about the title sponsorship for the circuit. The partnership has been beneficial on both sides. “We’ve gained business. There’s no doubt that we’ve made connections with people because they’ve seen us connected to the event,” Shaughnessy stated. “We can directly trace certain business that is related to people who are owners or exhibitors or friends in the equestrian or polo world. They were exposed to FTI through the sponsorship.”
FTI will continue their title sponsorship of the Winter Equestrian Festival next year as well, and they would like to continue the FTI Rider Challenge. “It’s good for the fans, and we have scoreboards all over the facility because people like to see who’s leading,” Shaughnessy said. FTI was also very pleased with last week’s Great Charity Challenge. “I was very impressed with the Great Charity Challenge and the commitment by the industry to give back to the community,” Shaughnessy confirmed. “I would like to see that grow. Wellington and the equestrian community are great partners, and it was a great opportunity to support Palm Beach County charities.”
FTI is one of the largest consulting companies in the world and provide services in 23 countries around the world. They are the biggest restructuring and forensic investigation firms in the world. This global consulting company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and its headquarters are in Palm Beach. Please visit their website at www.fticonsulting.com.
For more information on the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, please visit www.equestriansport.com.