For Immediate Release
Wellington, FL, USA – June 14, 2012 – Wellington, along with four other cities, has been confirmed as a bidder for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG). The world championships of international equestrian disciplines is held once every four years as one of the world’s major sporting events. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) confirmed Wellington along with Rabat, Morocco; Bromont, Canada; Budapest, Hungary; and Vienna, Austria.
“We are honored and delighted to be selected as a bidder,” said Michael Stone, President of Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP), the management company of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC). “We will seek meetings with the Village of Wellington and other local entities to discuss the candidacy, along with the United States Equestrian Federation.”
As the facility organizers, ESP submitted Wellington as the host city for the 2018 FEI WEG. Wellington is home to the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, already one of the world’s largest equestrian facilities and site of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival.
Stone noted, “The FEI put a lot of effort into ensuring the viability of the bid before moving it on to the candidacy status. This is very gratifying for ESP as the organizers.”
The FEI World Equestrian Games™ are held every four years, in the middle of the Olympic cycle. The seven FEI disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining – are all included on the competition schedule.
The inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games™ were hosted in Stockholm (SWE) in 1990. Since then the Games have been staged in The Hague (NED) in 1994, Rome (ITA) in 1998, Jerez (ESP) in 2002, and Aachen (GER) in 2006. The first Games to be staged outside Europe were the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) 2010. The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 will be held in Caen (FRA).
The World Equestrian Games bring about a half-million spectators and 5,500 volunteers to watch about 650 athletes and 750 horses competing for world championships in dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, jumping, reining, vaulting and para-dressage. Approximately 1,600 media representatives from around the world cover the event.
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