sport horse snippets
Central Park: Not Your Typical Horse Show Venue by Amber Heintzberger
F
or four days last September, Trump Wollman Rink in New York City’s Central Park was transformed into a
horse show unlike any other. The invita- tional Central Park Horse Show presented by Rolex and produced by The Chronicle of the Horse featured Grand Prix show jump- ing on Thursday, the “NYC vs. The World” Pro-Am Speed Challenge on Friday night, a Grand Prix Dressage challenge on Saturday and polo on Sunday. While these events attracted a “horsey”
audience and a fair share of celebrities, week- end afternoons also featured “matinees” with family-friendly exhibitions and demonstra- tions to showcase equestrian sport to the general public, including curious city dwellers and tourists passing by as they explored the park. Visitors were treated to displays of Shet- land pony races, polo exhibitions, vaulting, US Pony Club games and more. The idea started two years ago as Mark Bellissimo and
Donald Trump were hanging out at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. The pair began to discuss organizing a licensed horse show in New York City. Recognizing the huge media marketing opportunity that came along with hosting a show in the nation’s largest city, they set out to do what many thought impossible. Once they were able to obtain approval from the U.S. Equestrian Federation and secured Rolex as a sponsor, they never looked back. Georgina Bloomberg, professional show jumper and
daughter of the former mayor of New York city, also got on board and has been active in promoting the show in her “backyard”—in the same venue where she learned to ice skate as a child. It was a heartwarming moment when she won Thursday night’s Grand Prix in front of her home crowd. On Friday night Georgina was back in the arena for the
NYC vs. The World Pro-Am Speed Challenge, presented by Donald Trump, which pitted top New York-area riders, also including Brianne Goutal and Jessica Springsteen, against some of the best show jumpers in the world. "We've actually given away hundreds of tickets so that
people feel a part of it and it's not such an elite event in the park," Mark Bellissimo says. The show also benefitted sev- eral area charities and Mark presented oversized checks in the amount of $25,000 each to the Police Athletic League NYC and the City Parks Foundation, and $10,000 each to
84 January/February 2015
Gallop NYC, NYC Parks Mounted Auxiliary and the New York City Po- lice Foundation. On Saturday
night, spectators were treated to a Broadway-in- spired “Wizard of Oz” themed vault- ing demonstration from the Wood- side Vaulters, who represented the U.S. at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy last summer. The dressage
competition fea- tured a special performance by Steffen Peters and Ravel, who was brought out of retirement for the occasion (Steffen assured everyone that this was a one-time event) as well as a retirement ceremony for Jan Ebeling’s famous part- ner Rafalca.
TOP: Trump Arena at Central Park, NYC. BOTTOM: Germany’s Isabell Werth and El Santo NW win the Grand Prix Dressage Freestyle.
Photos by Amber Heintzberger
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