FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jennifer Wood for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Wellington, FL – January 13, 2010 – The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival is pleased to welcome their week one title sponsor, G&C Farm. In addition to their week one title sponsorship, G&C is also a driving force and title sponsor behind the $25,000 G&C Farm Young Riders Grand Prix, which will be held on Sunday, February 14, at 2 p.m. in the International Arena.
G&C Farm is owned by Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal of Venezuela. G&C Farm brings exceptional horses and top Venezuelan jumper riders to the highest levels of competition. Their state-of-the-art, full-service facility is located in Wellington, FL.
The vision of G&C Farm is to improve the instruction and training of their top jumper riders and horses in order to seek a place on the Venezuelan team for all high level tournaments and top competitions, including the World Equestrian Games and Olympic Games.
G&C Farm sponsors top grand prix rider Pablo Barrios of Venezuela, as well as other up and coming riders. Barrios had a very successful year in 2009, and they have solid goals for 2010, including fielding a Venezuelan team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. A team from Venezuela will compete in this year’s Nations Cup competition at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, and G&C Farm will provide horses for three out of the four riders. The technical advisor at G&C Farm is Olympic Games course designer Leopoldo Palacios.
The Mirabals both compete in the High Amateur Jumpers and have three children. They started G&C Farm this year, and Gustavo commented, “It’s been a dream for my family to be here with good horses and to expose Venezuelan horses and riders to a new level at WEF. My wife and I have been involved with equestrian sport since we were kids. It’s like a dream come true to be here.”
The Mirabal family and everyone at G&C Farm are excited to start their year at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival. “It’s great to see the Venezuelan flag around the show. We have so many good horses this year, and we’re here to win!” Gustavo said.
Having found a permanent home in the United States, the Mirabals looked to increase their visibility in the sport in North America, and sponsorship at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival was a natural fit. “Mark Bellissimo and Michael Stone have been treating me like I was at home here, and we decided to sponsor the horse show,” Gustavo explained. “We love this sport, and particularly in this economic time, we have to contribute to maintain this level of the sport. It’s good for all of us. I really want to thank the horse show for how they are treating us. It feels great to be here in Wellington.”
For more information on G&C Farm, please visit www.farmgc.com.
The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of top competition running from January 13 through April 4. 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 $5.5 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.
WEF will offer many exciting events this year, including: the $500,000 FTI Finale Grand Prix, the USEF WEG Show Jumping Trials, the $150,000 World Dressage Masters, CDI-5*, the AHJF/WCHR Hunter Spectacular, the $150,000 Spy Coast Grand Prix, the $100,000 FTI Rider Challenge, the $75,000 CN Nations Cup, the $50,000 CN Palm Beach Derby, the $50,000 Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby, the $25,000 G&C Farm Young Rider Grand Prix, the Nespresso Battle of the Sexes, the Third Annual George Morris Excellence in Equitation Exhibition, and the Palm Beach Charity Pro/Am Exhibition.
During the 12 weeks of WEF, “Saturday Night Lights” headlines the entertainment each Saturday night where spectators not only enjoy the Grand Prix class, but a street carnival, live music, and numerous dining options with box seats, sports bars, and the famed Tiki Hut for front row fun.
The competition areas include the 360′ x 280′ all-weather International Arena, the Bertalan DeNemethy Arena, Mogavero Ring, and E.R. Mische Grand Hunter Field each with their own schooling ring, in addition to several other competition rings. The competition and warm-up rings have all-weather footing. Amenities include VIP seating in the International Club, refreshment and food vendors, and shopping areas. Please visit www.equestriansport.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information.