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The Winter Season gets underway with the opening of the Winter Equestrian Festival

January 8, 2026

Can you believe it — 2009 marks the 30th season of WEF and the 10th year that HunterJumperNews will be covering the complete series of shows.

To celebrate, Equestrian Sports Productions Mark Bellisimo has opted for free admission to the show grounds for the first two weeks of the competition.

On opening day, Bellisimo was asked about the economy’s effect on the season, and while it was noted that some horses would not be returning, Bellisimo said that there were approximately 300 new entries that could help make up for a decline in visitors.

Congratulations to Canada’s Eric Lamaze who was in great demand on opening day. In the recently released Rolex/FEI Jumper Rankings, Lamaze has climbed to number 1. Claiming the Olympic title helped but Lamaze feels that the real reason for his success was that “I have committed myself to competing against the best in the world, which has meant spending a lot of time in Europe” It is nice to see a Canadian in first place.

In addition to WEF, the Jacksonville National is underway at Green Cove Springs as is the Aiken Winter Classic in South Carolina. HITS Thermal is scheduled to open on January 20th and HITS Ocala has a Pre-Circuit event starting January 14th.

It looks like it is once again “feast time” for those of you longing for action and HJN will be there keeping you informed of what is happening across the US, Canada and Europe.

Have a great Winter Season.

Written by HJN Editor · Filed Under Editorial 
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