For the first time in the history of the equestrian sport, four World Cup Finals will be taking place at the same time, and under one roof, in Leipzig. Show jumping and dressage riders, vaulters and drivers from all over the world will make the PARTNER PFERD, from April 27th to May 1st, into the horse sport event of the year 2011. Three halls will accommodate 750 horses, more as 250 exhibitors in the vendors’ area, 2 large arenas, warm-up rings, a ring for specialty performances and ten thousand spectators.
A total of 50 competitions are included in the programme of the World Cup Event – alongside the FEI World Cup Finals there is also a CSI3*, the Super Final of the European Youngster Cup and the Finals for various national series. There are also show programmes such as the Leipzig Night of Horses on Thursday evening, to celebrate the opening of the event, and shows on Friday and Saturday evening. A total of four million Euros is necessary to realize the project. The prize money alone comes to a total of 1.6 million Euros.
An event of this scale is possible in Leipzig due to the close dovetail connections between long-time sponsors and with the support of the city of Leipzig and the free-state Saxony. The PARTNER PFERD, with four FEI World Cup Finals, is considered a joint mission. Show organizer Volker Wulff: “The event is of great importance to the city of Leipzig and the free-state Saxony. One aspect is the enormous publicity effect it brings to the region. During the event, and for days afterwards, there will be a worldwide distribution of reports coming out of and also over Leipzig. Naturally the print contacts will at least parallel the television contacts with the public. But the monetary aspect also makes such an event noticeable in a very positive manner. As has been proven, it is normally possible to take the event budget, with is just over four million Euros, and multiply it by three to reach the total revenue which is generated through the event in the close environment – so, in this case, approximately 12 million Euros. This means that an event of this scale makes a considerable contribution to an increase in economic activity.
The new facility of the Leipzig Exhibition, which was opened in 1996, offers a state-of-the-art infrastructure – Hall 1 has accommodated the main arena for the past 14 years as well as a section of the vendors in the surrounding area. Hall 3 offers a second arena, special performance ring, exhibits and further warm-up rings. 750 stalls for the horses and the extra amenities such as wash rack will be constructed in Hall 5. Each Hall has a size of 21,000 m2 . The location allows for an uncomplicated arrival while it lies close to the highway and also offers a large parking area and a close-lying tramway connection.
The PARTNER PFERD initially took place in 1998 as a national indoor show in Hall 1 and already wooed 13,000 spectators. Since that date, the event has developed positively and, in 2002, the first year as an international event, hosted the FEI World Cup Final Jumping with 76,000 spectators. In 2008 the FEI World Cup Four-in-Hand Driving took place in Leipzig for the first time. The spectator count has increased from 13,000 in 1998 to over 60,000 in 2010.
Tickets
The interest in tickets has been extremely high since the ticket sales for the PARTNER PFERD 2011 began in January 2010. The regular tickets for the World Cup Sunday have been sold out since December, but special arrangements are still possible. Exhibition tickets are also still available which allow access to the complete grounds without seating. Big screens are going to be installed in Hall 1 and 3 for public viewing so that as many visitors as possible will be able to experience the FEI World Cup.
From Thursday to Sunday the programme of the PARTNER PFERD includes World Cup relevant competitions each day. The decision in the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage and the FEI World Cup Vaulting will take place Saturday and the Finals of the Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping and FEI World Cup Driving will be on Sunday.
-- Partner Pferd Leipzig press release
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