CBS Sports, a division of CBS Broadcasting, Inc., will televise the inaugural Las Vegas World Invitational (LVWI), the world’s richest equestrian show jumping event, on a tape-delayed basis currently starting at 2 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, December 31.

“We are proud to be a partner with CBS Sports in our first event, and we feel the network has provided an excellent time slot for our 90-minute show leading into the national telecast of the Denver Broncos – San Diego Chargers NFL game on New Year’s Eve," said LVWI Chairman David R. Shriner. "We will produce an extreme equestrian show jumping program for millions of American sports fans that has never before been seen on television."

The inaugural LVWI, the first CSI five-star event (CSI*****) ever held in the United States, will feature the world’s 25 best show jumping riders who competed October 14-15 at the Thomas & Mack Arena in four events over two days for $1 million in prize money, the largest purse in the history of Grand Prix competition. Only 10 CSI five-star events are held annually in the world.

“We will shoot all four events from production angles that will provide American fans an entirely new look at an extreme Olympic-caliber sport that combines the power, speed and grace of both human and equine athletes,” Shriner said.

International show jumping champions from the United States, Europe and South America battled it out, including Rodrigo Pessoa, a Brussels, Belgium-based Brazilian, who is one of the world’s top-ranked riders; Meredith Michaels Beerbaum, an American from Encino, CA, who is now Germany’s top rider, and Georgina Bloomberg, from New York, NY, a 2005 Budweiser World Cup finalist.


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