Three days of competition, culminating in an important Grand Prix on the third evening (9:00pm). Forty five riders will be representing thirteen nations: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Libya, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. Among the riders, five of the top ten riders on the FEI/Gandini computer ranking list: Sweden’s Rölf-Goran Bengtsson (3rd), Dutch rider Gerco Schröder (5th), Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum (6th), Swiss rider Markus Fuchs (9th), and British legend Nick Skelton (10th). The show offers a full €338,000 in prize money, €200,000 of which in the “Challenge Vincenzo Muccioli” Grand Prix alone. This weekend (July 21-23, 2006), these will be the ingredients of an incredible CSI, held in the equestrian center of Europe’s largest drug rehabilitation facility.
“After the success of last year’s European Championship, hosted and organized by the community, the CSI has clearly grown.”, explained Giacomo Muccioli, President of the Organizational Committee. He goes on to add, “We have entered the elite category of five star events, those which are characterized by the highest level of competition and prize money”.
The first ever auction of the community’s colts and fillies will take place on Sunday, July 23 at 10:00am. Progeny of some important sport horses will be on hand, including three offspring of Weihaiwej: a mare which became as famous for her blue eyes as for her impressive results in competition (individual and team gold medals at 1994’s World Championships at the Hague).
Ettore Pasculli, well known Italian movie director, will also be filming a made for television movie during the show: “The Secret Friend”. This film deals with three important themes: solidarity, disabilities, and doping.
RAI (Italian National Television) will cover the event with live and taped broadcasts (from Friday, July 21 to Monday, July 24) on Rai 3’s sports programming and Rai Sport Sat. The Grand Prix will be aired on such international broadcasters as XPtv (Germany), Equidia (France), and Horse TV (United States).
San Patrignano Press Office
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