A symbolic horse wedding in Las Vegas at the most romantic time of the year marks two months to the prestigious Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping and Reem Acra FEI World Cup™ Dressage Finals in the entertainment capital of the world. (Liz Gregg/FEI).
A symbolic horse wedding in Las Vegas at the most romantic time of the year marks two months to the prestigious Finals for the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping and Reem Acra FEI World Cup™ Dressage, when the world’s best athletes will battle it out from 15-19 April in the entertainment capital of the world.
“With this carrot I thee wed”
The horses - beautiful red-headed bride Romy and her chestnut bridegroom Rocky - are besotted with each other in real life. The pair were married by the King himself at The Little Church of the West in Las Vegas, setting for more celebrity marriages than any other wedding chapel in the world, boasting Betty Grable, Judy Garland, Dudley Moore, Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere amongst its celebrity celebrants. Even Elvis got hitched at The Little Church of the West when he and Ann-Margret recited their vows in the 1964 movie Viva Las Vegas.
The Little Church of the West has now gone into the history books by marrying its first equine couple, and the newlyweds are looking forward to watching their equine idols compete for FEI World Cup™ honours in their home town!
Carats are a girl’s best friend
Las Vegas, as the first venue to combine Jumping and Dressage Finals in 2005, is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary of hosting the joint Finals, and like many modern couples marking this major milestone with diamonds, the city will be celebrating the marriage of love for Jumping and Dressage in glittering fashion at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Las Vegas has produced some of the most electrifying finishes in the 36-year history of the FEI World Cup™ Jumping and 30 years of FEI World Cup™ Dressage. Now, after a five-year break, the Finals are back with a bang in Las Vegas, where the world's best Jumping and Dressage athletes will compete for the titles at the Thomas & Mack Center in mid-April.
American dominance
American athletes dominated the FEI World Cup™ Jumping in the early years, winning seven of the first nine Finals, but there was a 24-year drought before Olympians Rich Fellers and Beezie Madden scored back-to-back US wins in 2012 and 2013.
When the 2015 Finals open in Las Vegas, the home side won’t just be looking for a Jumping victory, they’ll be bidding for the first FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final win on home soil since Steffen Peters and his legendary Ravel stole the show in 2009.