Wellington, Florida - February 12, 2011 - In only its second year the FTI Great Charity Challenge Presented by Fidelity Investments® has galloped out of the gates to become one of the largest fundraising events in Palm Beach County with a goal of one million dollars to benefit 32 Palm Beach charities at an exciting Pro-Am show jumping family event on Saturday Feb. 19th, 2011. To be held at the prestigious Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida which has recently undergone a 20 million dollar renovation to become a major spectator destination, this signature event of the twelve week FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival horse show features the top riders in the sport including Olympic riders who are training for the 2012 London Olympics.

Mark Bellissimo, CEO of Equestrian Sport Productions, comments, "We are inspired by the enthusiasm and support of the equestrian community as well as our sponsors for this charity event. We devised a broad based charity approach to impact as many worthy causes as possible in Palm Beach County, and are proud to have this as a signature event of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival."

Thirty two teams of one professional and two amateur riders will compete under the lights of the International Arena for the charities which were randomly assigned to each team. These teams are generously sponsored by an equestrian family with additional monies coming from corporate and individual donors as well as all proceeds from ticket and VIP table sales for the evening's event. Everyone is a winner in this event where the charity matched with the winning team will win approximately $150,000 with a sliding scale where even the last place finisher will win $10,000 for its assigned charity.

Commenting on the event, Dennis Shaughnessy, Chairman of FTI Consulting stated, "FTI is proud to be the title sponsor of the FTI Charity Challenge for the second year in a row. It is fantastic that the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, with the support of its sponsors, owners and riders, has come together to aid these local charities in such a large way."

"As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, we're delighted to be associated with the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival's FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® and its outreach to benefit so many worthy causes in the Palm Beach area," said Sarah Libbey, president of Fidelity Charitable Services.

Equestrian Sport Productions, which produces the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, one of the largest and longest running horse show in the world, and the FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® donates the venue and its staff for this charitable event. Many of the team sponsors are not only vital to the equestrian sport but are international leaders in business, finance, the media, and politics.

Without the leadership and generosity of these team sponsors we would not be here today. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks for your contribution and to the riders who share their time and talents to participate.

Team Sponsor - Charity - Anchor Rider
Junior/Amateur Riders

Ahmed Alali/Elizabeth Johnson - Equestrian Aid Foundation - Candice King
Ahmed Alali, Brittni Raflowitz

Lea Allen/Ambassador and Mrs. Ronald P. Spogli - The King's Academy - Margie Engle
Lea Allen, Caroline Spogli

Mark and Katherine Bellissimo - Children's Place at Home Safe - Laura Kraut
Paige Bellissimo, Nicole Bellissimo

Georgina Bloomberg - Loggerhead Marinelife Center Inc. - Georgina Bloomberg
Mahala Rumell, Meghan Macpherson

Dave Burton Sr./Thomas and Constance D'Ambra - Crohn's and Colitis Foundation - Will Simpson
Agatha D'Ambra

Dan and Ellen Crown - Wellington Community Foundation - Ashlee Bond
Spencer Smith

Sand Castle Farm and Friends
Marsha and Dennis Dammerman, Bill and Sue Conaty,
Don and Judy Little, and Ken and Barbara Horowitz - Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park -Sarah Segal
Donald Little, Tori Corts

Bruce Duchossois/Frederic and Kimberly Boyer - Hospice of Palm Beach County - Schuyler Riley
Charlotte Jacobs, Hayley Barnhill

Falconwood - Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center - Enrique Gonzales
Salvador Onate, Luis Alejandro Plasencia

John and Daveanna Fleischhacker - Junior Achievement of South Florida -
Ashley Fleischhacker
Mary Shirley, Laura Belmont

Susan Goldstein - YMCA of the Palm Beaches - McLain Ward
Danielle Goldstein, Marley Goodman

Susan Grange - Horses N' Heroes - Amy Millar
Karina Aziz, Jordan MacPherson

Hunter and Jeannie Harrison - The Lord's Place Inc. - Rodrigo Pessoa
Christina Kelly, Olivia Weeks

Bob Johnson - Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County- Brianne Goutal
Cindy Johnson, Zoellen Speelman

Justin and Lee Kellogg - Sadrian - Drug Abuse Treatment Association (DATA) - Anne Kursinksi
Nickie Wiingaard, Susannah Wise

Murray and Teri Kessler - Resource Depot - Reed Kessler
Murray Kessler, Teri Kessler

Robert and Lisa Lourie - Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options (JAFCO) - Shane Sweetnam
Julia Lourie/Kaitlin Campbell, Kaely Tomeu

Richard and Sara Mershad - Caridad Center - Ken Smith
Ricky Mershad, Gabriela Mershad

Gustavo and Carolina Mirabal - Wheels for Kids - Pablo Barrios
Luis Fernando Larrazabal, Mark Bluman

Lucy Mitchell-Innes & David Nash/Thomas and Laura Gammino - Danny and Ron's Rescue - Chris Ewanouski
Jessica Donatelli, Lucy Mitchell-Innes

Caroline Moran - Urban League of Palm Beach County - Bob Kraut
Shawn Casady, Bobby Kraut

Ricky Moyer and Cathleen Rooney - Norton Museum of Art - Debbie Stephens
Alliy Moyer, Arly Golombek

Dr. Betsee Parker - Kids Cancer Foundation - Ken Berkley
Victoria Colvin

Pasmore Stables/Pin Oak Farm - YWCA of Palm Beach County - Nick Skelton
Catherine Pasmore, Sophie Simpson

B.G. and Suzanne Porter - South Florida Science Museum - Ragan Roberts
Wilton Porter, Lucas Porter

Cara Raether - Partners International Women - Cara Raether
Shannon Spencer, Lydia Ulrich

Roger and Jennifer Smith - Children's Foundation for Equine Assisted Therapy - Jennifer Hannan
William Coleman, Chloe Reid

The Stein Family - Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - Molly Ashe-Cawley
Alexis Stein, Olivia Jack

Maura Thatcher - Oasis Compassion Agency - Maggie Jayne
Madeline Thatcher, Kelsey Thatcher

Tom and Jeannie Tisbo - Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper (H. O. W.) - Jeffrey Welles
Lauren Tisbo, Nicole Chrighton

Christian Woschenko/Diane Rodich - American Red Cross - Kate Levy
Christian Woschenko, Mireya Godoy

Andrew and Carlene Ziegler - George Snow Scholarship Fund - Eric Lamaze
Caitlin Ziegler, Andrew Ziegler

FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments®
February 19th 6pm
Palm Beach International Equestrian Center
3401 Equestrian Club Road, Wellington, FL
Casual and fine dining, live band, children's carnival, shopping and entertainment
Parking $20 per car
General Admission tickets - SOLD OUT
For VIP box tickets contact Annette Goyette [email protected]
For International Club Tables - Kiki Umla 561-422-2823
(all ticket proceeds go to the charities)

For more information on the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival or the 2011 FTI Great Charity Challenge presented by Fidelity Investments® please visit www.equestriansport.com
Palm Beach International Equestrian Center
3401 Equestrian Club Lane, Wellington, Florida 33414
561-793-5867

Media Contact:
Heather Buchanan [email protected]
Clara Belden [email protected] 561-793-5867