Each of these horses will perform their dressage tests on Friday morning and then negotiate the demanding show jumping course in the afternoon. Then, on Saturday, they’ll gallop over more than 30 jumps on the cross-country course designed by Ian Stark of Great Britain. Stark, a former Olympic medalist, has designed the Galway Downs course to great acclaim since 2007.
The CIC3* dressage begins at 10:50 a.m. and runs until 1:10 p.m. Their show jumping then runs from 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. For the complete competition schedule, go to www.galwaydowns.com and click on the “Event Info/Schedule” tab at the top.
The Galway Downs event will continue on Sunday, with the more than 300 horses in the five national divisions competing on either the show jumping or cross-country courses.
Talented local musicians will be playing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, headlined by Tony Suraci’s “The Highwayman Show” on Saturday night and climaxed by Teenage singing sensation Jillian Calkins on Sunday afternoon, following the conclusion of show jumping. The kids will also enjoy an Easter Egg Hunt at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
During Saturday’s cross-country phase, from noon to 4:00 p.m., Kenny Marquez will play his wide-ranging rock collection on one section of the course, while Low Volts, the one-man band of Tim Lowman, will play on another section. They’ll be providing the musical entertainment at two of the three “oases” arranged around the course, each of which will offer local gourmet food and local wine and beer for fans to enjoy as they appreciate the athletic performances of the horses and riders galloping past.
Tacky Little Hat Shop will kick off the musical performances with their experimental folk/indie music on Friday, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Sisters Annie Preston and Enya Preston formed Tacky Little Hat Shop in the summer of 2008, playing acoustic guitar, banjo, keyboard, and accordion.
For the complete musical line-up and to buy tickets visit the Galway Downs website (www.galwaydowns.com).
The CIC3* division of the Galway Downs International Horse Trials is one of 15 member events of the Adequan/USEA Gold Cup/PRO Tour Series for 2013. Riders in each of these events aim for top prize money and prizes while seeking to qualify for the series final at the American Eventing Championships, where the purse is $40,000.