Wellington, FL - The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach got off to an auspicious start on Thursday, when all 15 horses presented at the FEI horse inspection were accepted as fit and ready to compete in the WDM Palm Beach CDI5*, which will begin with the Grand Prix test at 2 pm on Friday at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Centre. The World Dressage Masters presented by Axel Johnson Group is the world's richest and most prestigious dressage series, with prize money totalling €100,000 ($130,000) at each individual event.
The list of entries for the WDM Palm Beach includes several of the world's top ranked dressage horses and riders. Defending 2011 WDM Palm Beach champions Steffen Peters of the US and Ravel will attempt to repeat their record breaking performances of last year. Among their stiffest rivals is Great Britain's Charlotte Dujardin, who was a member of Britain's gold medalist team at the 2011 European Championships riding the young but incredibly talented 10 year old gelding Valegro.
The WDM Palm Beach is a completely sold out event with 1,700 spectators filling the Jim Brandon Center to capacity over the next two days of competition. Live streaming video will bring the action to fans around the world. In addition to their live stream broadcast at www.internationalpoloclub.com, IPC has created a smartphone application that will be available at the Jim Brandon Center. The application will provide live stream video of the competition, as well as up-to-the-minute information about the competitors and results. USEF Network will provide live streaming coverage at www.usefnetwork.com. For the first time ever, the USEF live feed will run on smart phones as well as tablet devices and computers. Eurosport will also broadcast a feature on the WDM Palm Beach on the February 22nd episode of Wednesday Selection.