The Horse Park at Woodside in Menlo Park, CA, will mark its 25th anniversary in August as a venue for the sport of three-day eventing with the reopening of its most challenging cross-country jumping course and a reception/fundraiser.
The August 11-13 Event at Woodside Summer is the first Horse Park event in a half decade to offer an advanced division; this level of three-day competition requires that horses jump obstacles up to four feet tall and six feet wide on a winding, and often hilly, cross-country course. As a United States Eventing Association (USEA) Gold Cup event, it is part of a series in which riders compete for $100,000 in prize money. Noted participants will include Gina Miles, who competed in the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games, and Hawley Bennett, who rode for Canada in the 2004 Summer Olympics. The winning advanced rider will become the first recipient of an annual Horse Park Founder's Cup trophy to be inaugurated at the event.
In addition to the advanced division, riders will compete in beginner novice, novice, training, preliminary and intermediate divisions. Dressage will be held on Friday, with cross-country and show jumping on Saturday and Sunday. Competition begins each day at 8 a.m.
The August event marks the culmination of two years of work bringing jumps and tracks up to international competition standards, said event organizer Robert Kellerhouse. "The rebirth of advanced-level eventing at the Horse Park gives the region's top riders a challenging new course to help prepare them for their future as competitive eventers. It is one of the only courses in the western U.S. with significant natural terrain in a unique and beautiful setting. Renowned course designer Derek DiGrazia has given it a consistency and flow, such that every level, from beginner novice to advanced, makes sense with respect to every other."
On August 10, the eve of the event, a reception will be held at a private estate in Portola Valley to raise $40,000 for the continued maintenance and improvement of the cross-country course. The party will feature a "Calcutta" auction in which participants bid on intermediate and advanced riders in the three-day event, as well as a silent auction for such items as weekend vacations, horseshow entries and fine wines. Tickets are $125 each.
The party will also honor two individuals who have been instrumental to the Horse Park's success. Founder Robert E. (Bob) Smith rallied the local equestrian community in 1981 to help the Combined Team Equestrian Training Alliance lease the property, and worked tirelessly over the next 12 years to promote the Park and create arenas, courses and stabling. The Founder's Cup will be presented August 13 in his honor. Mary Lou Reese, a former Horse Park board member who died in June, had been a USEA and Pony Club volunteer continuously over the past 60 years, will be receiving awards from both organizations.
For more information, visit www.horsepark.org.
For fundraiser tickets, contact Shannon Lilley, (408) 842-8667 or [email protected].
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