Wellington, FL – February 25, 2014 – G&C Farm is proud to return as the title sponsor for week eight of competition at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. The FTI WEF will host the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup prsented by G&C Farm and accompanying CSIO competition from February 26 – March 2 at the Main Grounds at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC).
The featured event of the week is the $75,000 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup CSIO 4*, presented by G&C Farm, on Friday evening. Other highlights include the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 8 on Thursday and the $10,000 G&C Farm Speed Stake CSIO on Friday. The FEI Hollow Creek Farm Children’s, Junior, and Young Rider Nations Cups will take place on Saturday evening, and the week will wrap up on Sunday with the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic and the $150,000 CSIO 4* Grand Prix, presented by Wellington Equestrian Realty.
Gustavo Mirabal, owner of G&C Farm, is proud to sponsor CSIO 4* competition during Week 8 for the fifth year in a row and stressed the importance of hosting FEI ranking classes to keep riders in the Americas on par with Europe. In addition to CSIO week, they sponsor the 1.45m Jumper division during the 12-week circuit, including seven FEI world ranking classes, the $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classics.
“Only a few shows in the United States have a good number of FEI classes. It’s important for WEF to have all of these FEI classes to give riders the same chances as the Europeans. I’m super happy and proud to be a sponsor of the FTI WEF and the Nations Cup. I feel like my sponsorship is going to something that is very important,” Mirabal explained.
G&C Farm is based in Wellington, FL, and provides a world-class environment to support the dreams and passions of their exceptional riders in the highest levels of the sport. G&C Farm supports Olympic gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa as well as Venezuelan riders Gustavo Arroyo, Luis Larrazabal, and Luis Miguel Martinez. The entire Mirabal family also competes around the world at some of the most prestigious show jumping competitions.
Mirabal has been thrilled to see the increasing amount of foreign riders attending the FTI WEF and the ever-expanding number of teams competing in the Nations Cup.
“This year has been amazing. There are new riders from Europe. Since I have been here, from 2009 until now, I’ve seen all the Europeans start to look at the WEF. That’s good. We see Markus and Meredith Beerbaum, Rodrigo Pessoa, Ben Maher, Scott Brash, and a lot more. That’s the biggest way to promote the show, to have the best riders,” Mirabal pointed out.
He continued, “We have 12 teams this year, including one from Venezuela. It’s great! When we started sponsoring this Nations Cup, it was only six teams. It’s great because it’s one of only three Nations Cups in North America.”
Mirabal believes the Nations Cup competition is one of the most important classes at the FTI WEF, since it gives fellow Latin American riders an opportunity to compete at the top level of the sport.
G&C Farm looks forward to a fantastic week of world-class show jumping competition and wishes all competitors the best of luck during week eight. For more information, visit www.gandcfarm.com.
Photo Credit: Photos © Sportfot, An Official Photographer of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, us.sportfot.com. This photo may be used only in relation to this press release and must include photo credit.