The Rolex Central Park Horse Show (RCPHS) will welcome back top dressage riders to Wollman Rink for competition in the U.S. Open Dressage on 23 - 24 September 2016. In a very special appearance, Olympic gold medalists Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro will perform a freestyle demonstration on Saturday evening.
This is the second time that the organizers announce the coming of Dujardin and Valegro to the Rolex Central Park Horse Show. However in 2015 they could not live up to their promise as Dujardin withdrew Valegro from appearing there in order to spare him after competing at the 2015 European Championships in Aachen. Dujardin rode the demonstration on a loaner horse, Evi Strasser's Renaissance Tyme.
At the 2016 Rolex Central Park Horse Show the U.S. Dressage Team, which won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, will be honored in a ceremony to celebrate their accomplishment on Friday evening 23 September. The Rolex Central Park Horse Show runs September 21-25, 2016, in Wollman Rink in New York City’s Central Park.
“We can’t wait to see Charlotte and Valegro perform under the New York City skyline at the Rolex Central Park Horse Show,” said show organizer Mark Bellissimo. “They have millions of fans around the world, and our spectators will not be disappointed by seeing this stunning pair in action in the world’s greatest city.”
Global superstars Charlotte Dujardin OBE of Great Britain and her incredible partner Valegro will perform a freestyle test on Saturday evening. This may be the last chance to see this dynamic duo perform live together in the United States.
At their home Olympic Games in London, Dujardin and Valegro captured the team and individual gold medals. This past month, they repeated their individual gold medal performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and helped Great Britain to a team silver medal. The pair has won a silver, a bronze, and five gold medals at the European Championships, won two individual gold and team silver medals at the World Equestrian Games, won the World Cup Finals twice, and landed the World Individual Dressage Ranking number one spot.
For the first time the Central Park Horse Show will feature a CDI division as in previous years dressage demonstration competitions were held there. On Friday 23 September the CDI Grand Prix will be held and on Saturday evening 24 September there is a $50,000 CDI Grand Prix Freestyle.
Riders expected to compete at the 2016 CDI New York include Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén (SWE), Judy Reynolds (IRL), Evi Strasser (CAN), Inna Logutenkova (UKR), Mikala Gundersen (DEN), Karen Pavicic (CAN), Brittany Fraser (CAN), and Charlotte Jorst (USA) amongst others.
Photo © Astrid Appels
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