Stadium Jumping, Inc., the nation's oldest and most respected producer of quality equestrian competitions, announced that they will host one of only two United States qualifying events for the 2008 FEI Children's International Jumping Final.

This important event for riders 12 to 14 years of age will be held September 17-21, 2008, during the Wachovia Securities American Gold Cup at the Metro Parks Polo Field in Moreland Hills, OH. A similar event for West Coast riders will be held at the Oaks Blenheim Fall Tournament in San Juan Capistrano, CA, on September 10-14, 2008.

The Finals will be held in December in Bogota, Colombia.

The Wachovia Securities American Gold Cup, one of the nation's oldest show jumping competitions, was warmly welcomed by spectators and media as it returned home to Cleveland after a 35 year absence. The first American Gold Cup was held during the Chagrin Valley PHA Horse Show in 1970 at the historic Polo Field, the site of North America's first show jumping grand prix.

Making this year's FEI Children's Jumper event in Ohio even more important are the limited spots available to riders from the United States. The U.S. could qualify none, one or a maximum of two riders. This will be determined by how well the U.S. riders perform in the qualifiers compared to all of the other riders in the world participating in the qualifiers once the standings are complete.

Stadium Jumping's Michael Morrissey stated that he was thrilled that the American Gold Cup would host this important event for young riders. "Many of the top riders in the history of United States show jumping got their start right here at the Metro Park Polo Field. We hope that this FEI Children's International Jumping Qualifier will be the launching pad for one or two of the future superstars of our sport."

Morrissey went on to say that the Metro Park Polo Field in Northern Ohio should be the perfect proving ground and a great way to gear up for this year's FEI Children's Final. "With the popular all-weather surface, the high quality jumps, and the challenging courses designed by Steve Stephens, this year's Olympic course designer, the American Gold Cup is the ideal setting for these young riders to make a run at a spot on the roster in Bogota in December," he said.

The FEI Children's Jumping Final in Bogota, Colombia, on December 6-12, will feature a total of 32 riders, including 16 from the host country of Colombia and sixteen additional foreign riders. The sixteen foreign riders selected to participate in the Final are the best 10 riders from the worldwide standings, plus the best rider from the remaining six FEI groups. The USA is in FEI Group IV.

The worldwide standings include the final scores for each competitor from every FEI Children's Qualifying Competition in the world held in 2008 before October 15. The final score for each competitor is the total penalties of the four rounds and the total of time in the two second rounds.

With only two slots available to riders from the United States, the qualifier at this year's Wachovia Securities American Gold Cup is a vital event. If the U.S. has two or more riders in the top 10, the top two riders will be invited. If the U.S. has one rider in the top ten, only that rider will be invited. If no U.S. riders are in the top ten but a rider from another country in Group IV is in the top ten, no U.S. riders will be invited.

Riders are considered children by the FEI from the beginning of the year they reach the age of 12 until the end of the year they reach the age of 14.

For more information about the 2008 FEI Children's International Jumping qualifying event or the Wachovia Securities American Gold Cup, please visit the Stadium Jumping website at www.stadiumjumping.com.