The United States Eventing Association has announced that the 2006 Maui Jim Horse Trials in Wayne, IL, will again be part of the Adequan Gold Cup Series of events, thus designating it as one of the 12 “premier” eventing competitions in the United States.
Maui Jim Horse Trials, who recently entered into a five-year sponsorship agreement with Maui Jim, Inc., the Peoria-based manufacturer of high-end sunglasses, will offer riders a new look for the July 7-9 competition. A long unused parcel of DuPage County Forest Preserve land in the Pratt Wayne Equestrian Area has been mowed and opened up for use by the competition, and, again thanks to Maui Jim’s generosity, a brand new water complex will be built in time for the Horse Trials. Work on the multi-level obstacle designed by Ritch Temple from Virginia was abruptly interrupted in November when Chicago’s trademark winter weather rolled in, but cross-country course builder, Dan Starck, is poised and ready to resume construction the minute spring arrives. “The water jump is going to give an entirely new look to the course,” designer Temple said. “It will be extremely versatile as well as being sited for maximum enjoyment by spectators. Its location will offer a sense of the magic of Maui in the middle of Illinois.”
The Maui Jim Horse Trials annually attracts riders throughout the United States as well as strong Canadian support, and it has become an annual “destination event” for local competitors. Two of the three phases of competition, dressage and show jumping, are held at Lamplight Equestrian Center, without doubt one of the most beautiful show facilities in the country. In addition to two Horse Trials held annually, the Equestrian Center also offers a full calendar of dressage and hunter/jumper shows throughout the summer where one can see world class horses perform against a backdrop of breathtaking gardens and colorful landscaping. Lamplight has further strengthened its commitment to the Maui Jim Horse Trials by agreeing to be the name sponsor of the FEI CIC***, an International competition at the Advanced level, which will be offered for the first time at this year’s July competition.
The second phase of competition, which in 2006 takes place on Saturday, July 8, is the cross-country, felt by many to be the “heart and guts” of the sport. This will be held at the Pratt Wayne Equestrian Area that is part of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, located directly across Dunham Road from Lamplight. The Equestrian Area contains competition jumps designed for every level of eventing competition along with fences maintained and used by the Wayne-DuPage Hunt for more general use by the riding population.
This year’s Maui Jim Horse Trials will repeat the popular USEA Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Tests on Thursday, July 6, the day before the official start of the Horse Trials. This competition, which is in its third year nationally, is designed to showcase potential future stars of the sport and to give American breeders a place to shine. Starting on Friday, July 7, the competition will include advanced, intermediate, preliminary and training levels, as well as FEI international CIC***, ** and * competitions. The Horse Trials will also again serve as a final qualifier for young riders aiming their sites at the North American Young Rider Championships later in the year.
The beneficiaries of the Maui Jim Horse Trials are the Illinois Wisconsin Search and Rescue Dogs Organization and programs participating in the Illinois Special Olympics Equestrian Competition that will run at Lamplight on Sunday, July 9, concurrently with the show jumping phase of the Horse Trials. Further information about the weekend is online at www.mauijimhorsetrials.org.
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