Fair Hill International
T e Fair Hill Natural Resources Manage- ment Area in Elkton is the location of the 23rd Dansko Fair Hill In- ternational Festival in the Country where the world’s top event riders
compete in the CCI** and CCI*** Fall Cham- pionships. T is year’s event, combined with the East Coast Young Event Horse Champion- ships, will be held on October 12-16. With the 2012 Olympics just around the corner, specta- tors are sure to catch a glimpse of some Olym- pic hopefuls from the U.S. and abroad.
A Brief History T e land on which the
FHI is run each year was originally owned by William duPont, Jr. who began amassing 7,600 acres of land on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border in 1925. T rough the years, duPont built an equestrian paradise com- plete with a steeplechase course. In 1965, duPont died and nine years later, the state of Maryland purchased 5,633 acres to create the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area.
In 1989, the Ches-
terlands T ree-Day- Event, a CCI*** event formerly
lo-
cated in Unionville, Pennsylvania,
was
looking for a new home. Organizers Elkins Wetherill and John Ryan met up with Trish Gilbert, and the Founders Commit- tee was formed to create a new eventing venue at Fair Hill. T e fi rst event was held in Octo- ber 1989 and was won by Karen Lende, better known today as U.S.
Olympian
Karen O’Connor, aboard Nos Ecus. Eventually, FHI
Where will the FHI ducks be located this year? (pictured: 2010 CCI*** winner Hannah Sue Burnett)
weekend became more than just a three-day event, adding a mix of vendors, food and family entertain- ment. Combined driving was added at one point but sadly left the loca- tion in 2008. T at
year, FHI added the USEF Fall CCI** Champi- onship to the schedule, allowing both two-star and three-star competitors to compete over the
Fair Hill Breeds Course Designers & Builders
When the Founder’s Committee set out to build an international three-star event course at Fair Hill, they looked overseas to England’s Michael Tucker to design the fi rst cross- country course. Tucker blended the obstacles, water complexes and galloping lanes with the natural contours of the land. T e course he produced in 1989 exceeded expectations. Tucker continued to design the course un- til 1999 when he passed the reins to Derek di Grazia, who had won the 1991 FHI aboard Our Busby. Di Grazia had retired from ac- tively competing at the upper levels and was making a name for himself as a course designer based in California.
Having been given the chance to design his fi rst FHI course, di Grazia rose to the occasion with much success. Soon his courses could be seen around the country and this year, di Grazia designed the CCI**** course at the Rolex Kentucky T ree-day Event.
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580
Two of FHI’s course builders have also gone on to building at venues even bigger than Fair Hill. Mick Costello, who got his start at FHI, is now the offi cial course builder for Rolex. Eric Bull, who has been the jump builder at FHI for 12 years, is building jumps for some of the top events in the county and in 2007, went to Rio De Janeiro to build the course for the Pan American Games.
What: Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in the Country When: October 12-16, 2011 Where: Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area (Elkton) For tickets, see “Spectator Events” under Horsin’ Around Maryland on
equiery.com
now famous FHI land. T e fi rst two-star at FHI was won by Kelly Prather with Balinakill Glory. To read more about Wil- liam duPont, Jr. and Fair Hill,
visit T e Equiery’s
archives on
equiery.com. Click on “foxhunting” and then scroll to the article
called “Fair Hill: From Foxhunter Paradise to International Equestrian Center.”
Competition Schedule Highlights T e offi cial start to the competition is
Wednesday, October 13 when the fi rst horse inspection takes place in the William duPont, Jr. Arena at 1 p.m. T at evening the Fair Hill Saloon opens for the second year in a row in the VIP Tent. T e Saloon is a welcome party, hoe- down style, featuring a buff et and a Calcutta Auction of teams. T e dressage phase of the three-day as well as
the YEH competition starts at 8 a.m. on T urs- day, October 14. As of press time, the CCI rid- ers will compete in the William duPont, Jr. Arena while the YEH riders will be around the corner near the VIP parking. On Friday, spectators can watch more CCI
dressage throughout the day in the main arena or cross the road to watch the fi nal round of the YEH championships, located in the Saw Mill Field. Award presentations for the YEH horses will be during the lunch break in the main arena. Saturday is cross-country day with the CCI**
riders in the morning and the CCI*** riders in the afternoon. T e fi nal horse inspections take place in the main arena starting at 9 a.m. T e CCI** show jumping will begin at 10 a.m. with riders com- peting in reverse order of standings. After the CCI** awards presentation, the course will be reset for the CCI*** riders, who will compete in the afternoon.
Did Someone Say “Tailgate?”
Yes, you did read that correctly. FHI is start- ing a new tradition in 2011 by opening up part of the cross-country course for tailgating. Tailgating spaces will be located in the middle of the course with a view of some of the big complexes. “You’ll see riders galloping by as they jump the sunken road, circle around to the farmyard and water obstacles and eventu- ally pass by on their way to the fi nish line,” explained FHI co-president Trish Gilbert. Passes include one spot on the course (see
Four-star course designer Derek di Grazia (left) and international jump builder Eric Bull (right) got their start at Fair Hill.
Fair Hill Map) and six admission tickets. Spaces are very limited and must be ordered in advance.
continued... OCTOBER 2011 | THE EQUIERY | 15
840096-111011
Katherine O. Rizzo
Katherine O. Rizzo
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