Tryon International Equestrian Center Gearing Up To Host 2018 World Equestrian Games

Make plans to join the world in western North Carolina for the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon 2018 from Sept. 11 through Sept. 23. Showcasing eight FEI equestrian disciplines — reining, vaulting, dressage, para-dressage, driving, eventing, jumping and endurance — the games will be held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center at the Tryon Resort in Mill Spring, N.C.

The inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games were hosted in Stockholm, Sweden in 1990.

Since then, the games have been staged in The Hague in the Netherlands in 1994; Rome, Italy in 1998; Jerez, Spain in 2002; and Aachen, Germany in 2006.

The first games to be organized outside Europe were held in Lexington, Ky., in 2010, where 57 countries were represented by 800 human athletes and their horses. The games returned to Europe for the 2014 edition in Normandy, France.

The 2018 World Equestrian Games has the potential to be the largest sporting event in North Carolina history with 500,000 attendees expected over the 13-day event next September.

The Tryon International Equestrian Center is busy preparing for a daily attendance of 40,000 to 50,000 people. The 2014 games in Normandy delivered more than $400 million in economic impact, and attracted 984 athletes, 1,234 horses, 74 nations, 1,900 accredited media from 52 countries, and 575,000 spectators.

The global competition is being held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, a sister venue to Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington.

PBIEC CEO and Managing Partner Mark Bellissimo is also founder and CEO of the Tryon facility. The 1,600-acre equestrian lifestyle destination is a spring, summer and fall haven for eastern and northeastern American equestrian competitors and enthusiasts, and a year-round destination for connoisseurs of diverse cuisine and family entertainment.

The venue currently provides outstanding facilities for hunter/jumper, dressage and eventing competitions, and will host all eight FEI disciplines following the 2018 World Equestrian Games.

With onsite shops, dining, entertainment and plans for more — including the current development of a 50-acre Tryon Village — non-equestrian visitors are equally marveled by the Tryon Resort experience.

From carousel to competition, the mission of the Tryon International Equestrian Center is to celebrate the magic of the horse, grow equestrian sport and increase access to this majestic animal. The 2018 World Equestrian Games builds on this mission with a theme of, “Celebrate the Horse, Celebrate the Sport.”

“The love of the horse is universal and profound,” Bellissimo said. “The games are an incredible stage to show the world how important and valuable this creature is and celebrate our relationship with them.”

The legacy of horse and rider penetrates all of human history. Nearly every facet of life is connected to this extraordinary creature. As partners, horses have discovered with us, transported us, sustained us, worked with us and protected us. As friends, they have mourned with us, healed us, loved us, entertained us, trusted us and comforted us. As athletes, horses have competed with us, won with us and celebrated victory with us. This message is portrayed beautifully in the film “#together” that is featured on the Tryon2018.com web site.

Complementing the unparalleled opportunity to watch the world’s top riders and horses compete is the chance to discover the distinct culture and adventures within the Carolinas region.

The Tryon International Equestrian Center is centrally located within an hour of some of the United States’ top destinations, including Asheville and Charlotte in North Carolina, and Greenville in South Carolina. World Equestrian Games attendees are encouraged to plan excursions to experience the collection of small towns and dynamic cities that surround the venue.

So, make plans to join the global community of horse enthusiasts as we celebrate the horse and celebrate equestrian sport together!

Tickets to the 2018 World Equestrian Games are on sale and can be purchased at www.tryon2018.com, where information about corporate hospitality, accommodations, competition schedules, media credentials and volunteer opportunities can also be found.

Michael Stone: The Man Behind WEF And WEG

Another successful Winter Equestrian Festival has concluded its run in Wellington. Once again, past and future Olympians from numerous countries — along with riders from many different skill levels — competed for 12 weeks in front of tens of thousands of spectators.

On the other side of the grounds from the International Arena, where the world’s best show jumpers and hunter riders competed for almost $10 million in prize money, is Michael Stone’s office, located at the end of the hall in the administration building.

Stone joined Mark Bellissimo’s Equestrian Sport Productions 11 years ago. He is the man behind the scenes who makes it all happen. Prize money has quadrupled over that time, and so has the number of horses competing in the largest and longest running horse show in the world.

Bellissimo knows how important Stone is to the continued success of WEF. As president, Stone is involved in every aspect of the business, from operations to scheduling and special events. Stone deals with many additional topics, including licensing and planning while monitoring and handling issues with international entries. He also has meetings with the different managers and regular phone conferences, talking to foreign federations, and organizing visits from their presidents. Every day is different, and that appeals to the 61-year-old Stone, who was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland.

“We have very different styles, but they are extremely complementary,” said Bellissimo, who is CEO and the public face of the company. “He is very disciplined in managing within very complicated environments. He has been critical to the vision, but in many ways, he prefers to be behind the scenes and just make things happen — a great team player who is respected by all. I get a tremendous amount of credit, but it wouldn’t have happened without Michael’s leadership and management. There is no ego there, if the team wins, we all win, and I think that attitude pervades our organization.” 

Olympian Shane Sweetnam has known fellow Irishman Stone for more than a decade.

“He’s done a great job; he’s made a big difference in the structure,” Sweetnam said. “He’s got a relaxed attitude. I think that helps the people around him so they don’t feel flustered. They have a lot of projects going on, not just in Wellington, and he seems to handle it with ease.”

Bellissimo and Stone work very closely together. As with most relationships, there were a few bumps that had to be smoothed out.

“Whenever Mark gets an idea, he calls; it could be five o’clock in the morning or 10 at night,” Stone said. “Over the years, he realized I don’t like being called early in the morning or late at night. So now, he generally waits or sends an e-mail. He knows I’m open to try anything, and I’ll try to find a way to make it happen. Being together for 10 years, I think he values my opinions.”

Bellissimo called Stone the consummate team player.

“He is calm and steady in a storm and is able to distill complex strategies into ‘feet on the ground’ operating plans whose elements are effectively communicated to and executed by the team,” Bellissimo said. “He is extremely well-respected within our organization, locally, nationally and internationally. Another great attribute is that he will roll up his sleeves to get the job done, whatever it takes. I still remember he and I unloading a truck at 2 a.m. in the morning before opening day of WEF in 2008. Together with Vaneli Bojkova, Paul Regal and David Burton Jr., there is no better team to have your back.”

However, their relationship almost didn’t get off the ground.  

Bellissimo didn’t know Stone before he hired him to help turn around WEF, which was losing money at the time. While looking for strong candidates, Stone’s name came up from several respected sources. Stone had been working in high-profile equestrian jobs throughout his adult life. He had just left as secretary general of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), which is the sport’s world governing body.

Stone left the FEI on a Wednesday, and Bellissimo called on Friday. Stone didn’t want to take the call but was talked into it by his girlfriend. It changed his life.

“I hired him on the call,” Bellissimo said. “Everything I heard about him was that he was humble, intelligent, principled, hard-working, respected by his peers, and he knew the industry better than anyone… Katherine [Bellissimo] and I wanted the best person for the job. He was it. It was the best decision we ever made, as together we charted a course that reshaped Wellington, and even equestrian sport in this country, as the largest show organizers in the world in terms of overall revenues, number of international competitions and horses competing.”

Under Stone’s leadership, Equestrian Sport Productions’ business has quadrupled over the last decade as a result of Bellissimo and his partnership investing more than $300 million in acquiring and developing land, licenses, building and upgrading what is now more than 900 acres of property that directly employs nearly 1,000 employees during the season. Its economic impact on Palm Beach County exceeds $200 million per year, Bellissimo noted.

In addition to the world-famous WEF, the firm now operates the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, the International Polo Club Palm Beach and the Wanderers Club. At WEF, they have added innovative special events, such as the Great Charity Challenge, Saturday Night Lights, an Under 25 series for rising stars and the popular Battle of the Sexes, as well as family entertainment and vendors to create a world-renowned equestrian wonderland.

Stone said one of the biggest changes in the last 10 years is the scale and size of the show.

“Revenue-wise, we have grown over 400 percent, and it’s a much more intense show now because of the amount of effort to make it an entertainment value,” Stone said. “Saturday nights have grown to such an extent it’s unbelievable the crowds we’re getting.”

Creating the successful Saturday Night Lights series is one of his proudest accomplishments so far during his tenure.

“Mark and I looked at it,” Stone said. “The former management of WEF used to charge people to come here. It was a customer prevention strategy. The major jumping event was on Sunday afternoon, competing against polo and general family activities.”

Their solution was to make general admission to spectators free, charge a nominal fee for parking, and market the event to families and schools.

“The first year, we got a lot of grief from people, such as riders asking why we’re doing it at night,” said Stone, who admitted that there were more empty seats than spectators at the beginning of the changeover. “But we proved them wrong. We’re one of the very few shows in the U.S. that get massive crowds that watch Grand Prix events. And that’s at all our venues, not just WEF.”

That would include the affiliated Equestrian Sport Productions shows in Parker, Colorado and Tryon, North Carolina, the site of this year’s prestigious World Equestrian Games. It is expected to be the largest attended sporting event in the United States in 2018, attracting more than 500,000 attendees, according to Bellissimo.

Stone and his team are in Tryon to oversee final preparations for the games, which are held every four years, halfway between the Summer Olympics. This year’s competition will be held Sept. 11 through Sept. 23, and will include eight equestrian disciplines. More than 55 countries are expected to participate.

Stone spent much of this time this winter working on WEG, organizing the event, including accommodations, transportation and the food operation.

He has produced intricate timelines for each discipline, while also working with the numerous world and national federations, as well as the USDA regarding the quarantine of horses coming into the country.

“There are so many extra layers,” Stone said. “Usually there are five FEI stewards for 200 horses. For WEG, there are 11 stewards for each discipline. And we have to build a veterinarian hospital. We will have 60 or 70 vets. Each team comes with a manager, a vet, a farrier, grooms and physios. And every country comes with a president and a secretary general.”

But the massive undertaking doesn’t faze Stone. “I like the challenge of organizing, and the WEG is a huge challenge,” he said.

Stone believes that the games this fall will be one of Equestrian Sport Productions’ greatest achievements, but won’t make that pronouncement until it’s over. There are plenty of other high points, including putting together the first horse show at Central Park in New York City. There were logistical issues and a small time frame to get everything in place and ready for live TV.

“Everyone said it was impossible, but that’s never a good word to use with Mark,” Stone said. “Impossible only takes a little bit longer.”

That’s the attitude that has allowed WEF to flourish. In Stone’s office, he shows off a framed golf tee flag from the Masters in Augusta, a trip which he said should be on everyone’s bucket list. On Stone’s bucket list is to watch his favorite tennis player, Roger Federer, play in a major championship, like Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. His walls are covered with equestrian photos, but it’s a photo from a local rugby team that energizes Stone.

“My favorite sport is rugby,” said Stone, who has traveled to watch some of the premier teams compete. “I used to play. We helped the Wellington Wizards when they started up.”

When Stone joined Equestrian Sport Productions, he was simply coordinating a horse show.

“It has evolved into doing a lot of different things — dealing with village issues, organizing permits for special events, planning and zoning, building codes,” he said. “Every morning is different. There were a lot of things that I had no idea about. But the best thing about my job is that I work with a fantastic group of people. There isn’t a day that we don’t have a laugh about something. It’s an enjoyable environment to work in. Mark is very big on family. We’re all part of the family.”

Kerrigan Gluch Rides P.R.E. Horses To Success On Dressage Circuit

In the early 1980s, the P.R.E. — which stands for Pura Raza Española or Pure Spanish Horse — started to be introduced in the international dressage world.

The great Alvaro Domecq catapulted the breed into the high competitive scenery. Very few people bet on the Iberian horses back then, since the international dressage world was dominated by Warmbloods. Three decades later, thanks to the investment of breeders and owners, the P.R.E. has the respect of the judges, and the United States is now home to the second-largest population of P.R.E. horses in the world.

Today, there are a growing number of young, talented riders who choose P.R.E. horses for dressage competition, which means that the Spanish horse is among the future stars of American dressage. One of these riders is Kerrigan Gluch.

“I have found the P.R.E. horses to be super-sensitive,” Gluch said. “Their personalities are very prominent. With each horse, you can tell their personalities very quickly, and that makes it much easier to adjust to a new horse. The Spanish horses are still new to international dressage, so I think when you ride a horse that is still new to the judge’s eye, it makes you ride much more correctly and accurately in order to get the scores that are needed.”

Gluch met Kimberly Van Kampen, owner of Hampton Green Farm and a major supporter of P.R.E breeding, through Lendon Grey’s Dressage for Kids program.

“I participated in Dressage for Kids for many years,” Gluch said. “Through those clinics, I attended Robert Dover HorseMastership Week the first time it was held, seven years ago in Wellington.”

Students in the program rode horses provided by local sponsors, and Van Kampen provided HGF Camaron IX for Gluch to ride during the Robert Dover event.

“I just happened to ride her horse,” Gluch recalled. “I’m originally from Michigan, and she has a farm in Michigan. I started as a working student at age 15, and it just kind of developed from there.”

Gluch spent the summer there working with Van Kampen and her team. She helped prepare several of Hampton Green Farm’s horses for the next winter season and returned with Van Kampen to Hampton Green Farm in Wellington.

Since then, Gluch has been advancing up the levels in dressage on Van Kampen’s P.R.E. horses.

She found success in 2015 at the North American Junior & Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC), when she became reserve champion with Vaquero HGF in the Young Rider Division.

After a successful 2016 season in Wellington, Gluch was selected for the European Tour, including the CDI in Compiègne, France and the Festival of Champions in Hagen, Germany. Then 19 years old, Gluch and 2007 P.R.E. stallion Vaquero HGF concluded the 2016 USEF Young Rider Euro Tour in the ribbons at the Young Riders Nations Cup in Hagen, capping the six-week tour of Europe.

The Hagen CDIOY, known as the PSI Future Champions show, brings together teams of Young Riders and other youth levels from all over Europe in both dressage and show jumping.

The United States Young Rider team finished fifth overall, with Gluch and Vaquero the leading pair for the American team. In the Young Rider individual class, they finished sixth, and a respectable 10th in both the team and freestyle tests — distinguishing themselves among the best in Europe for their age group.

At the end of 2016, Gluch and HGF Brio capped their first year together at the U25 Grand Prix, finishing third overall behind Anna Buffini in the USEF Brentina Cup Finals (U25) at the Festival of Champions.

The final week of the 2017 Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington kicked off with the first FEI Nations Cup CDIO-U25. It was a red, white and blue victory day, as the USA “A” Team bested the competition in the FEI Intermediate II 16-25* CDIO. Along with teammates Anna Buffini and Sierra Keasler, Gluch took the win with the blue medal.

Gluch, now 22, was back in action during the 2018 AGDF. During Week 7, she was the best of the five entrants in the U25 Grand Prix Freestyle, coming tantalizingly close to 70 percent aboard Hampton Green Farm’s 14-year-old stallion Bolero CXLVIII with a score of 69.95 percent. Earlier in the season, when Danish Olympic rider Andreas Helgstrand gave a master class for spectators featuring P.R.E. horses, Gluch joined Danish team member Mikala Münter as a test rider.

Gluch spends about nine months out of the year in Wellington, with the rest of the time either at Hampton Green Farm in Michigan or on the road at horse shows.

“I would love to go to Europe to represent the U.S. again,” she said of her future plans. “I think going to Europe is so eye-opening as someone coming up the ranks, because everyone in Europe is so good, and it makes you realize what you have to do to be internationally competitive.”

Daniel Bluman’s Horsemanship Skills Lead To International Victories

With six horses currently competing at the Grand Prix level in show jumping, Daniel Bluman has slowly and steadily worked his way to the top through great horsemanship and care.

Already in 2018, Bluman, 28, accomplished two huge CSI Grand Prix triumphs and one national Grand Prix in Wellington on three different horses all within two weeks.

In February, Bluman first captured the $205,000 NetJets CSI4* Grand Prix aboard his Olympic partner Sancha LS, and a week later, he won the $384,000 Fidelity Investments CSI5* Grand Prix riding Landriano Z, owned by Over the Top Stables LLC. That same week, he also topped a national show.

The two-time Olympian for his native Colombia holds dual citizenship with Israel and recently switched flags in his efforts to qualify an Israeli show jumping team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. But first, he hopes to represent Israel aboard Landriano Z at the FEI World Equestrian Games this September in Tryon, N.C.

Thrilled to be standing at the top of the winner’s podium, Bluman’s hard work and dedication are paying off this winter. “When I’ve won a Grand Prix, there’s always a cool story behind getting there. My first Grand Prix was followed by two more weeks of wins,” he said. “I can tell you that this is the first time in my life that has happened.”

Born in Medellin, Colombia, Bluman showed a passion for horses early on. His parents were not riders, although his cousins, Ilan and Marky Bluman, introduced him to riding and fueled his passion for the sport. His family later moved to South Florida, within an hour’s drive of Wellington.

“I started working with horses at a young age because my older cousins were riding and showing,” he recalled. “I realized I was good at it, and competitive. Because of that, it pushed me to continue to do it.”

Bluman’s grandfather was a Holocaust survivor who moved to Colombia after the war. His father became an entrepreneur and his mother, a psychologist and social worker. His parents set high standards for Daniel and his brother Steven. As a young man, Bluman was mentored by them, and many others along the way. “I have been fortunate to have met a lot of great people who helped my career,” he said.

He rode with some of the sport’s greats, such as Canadian Eric Lamaze and later Brazilian Nelson Pessoa, whom he trained with in Belgium. The opportunity gave him a chance to compete at some of the world’s most prestigious competitions. He competed at his first Olympics at the age of 22, representing Colombia in London in 2012, and then again at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“When I was 20, I met Eric Lamaze, and that was a turning point in my career,” Bluman recalled. “Sancha and Eric Lamaze came at the same time.”

The two riders, one up-and-coming, one an established champion, hit it off.

“He offered to guide me and took my career to a whole different level,” Bluman said of Lamaze. “Then Nelson Pessoa closed the circle. He taught me everything that anyone can know about horses, and I share a passion for the horse and its care. That is something that really changed me. Nelson and I come from similar realities. He came from a family that didn’t come from horses. He is in love with horses, every aspect of them.”

In 2015, Daniel and Ilan Bluman created Bluman Equestrian, with farms in Brewster, N.Y., and Wellington, in collaboration with the owners of Over the Top Stables.

Working with his wife Ariel and cousin Ilan, Bluman hopes to compete in Tokyo on what would be Israel’s first Olympic show jumping team with Mexican Alberto Michán, who has also changed his nationality to Israeli, and Wellington-based Israeli Danielle Goldstein.

One of the great things Bluman has emulated is excellent horse care, building a great relationship with each horse and not over jumping his horses.

“Every horse that we have here has its own personality, its own way and its own program,” Bluman said during a tour of his barn. “I am a believer in giving each horse the time to develop a good relationship with the rider and to give the rider enough time to develop a relationship with the horse, and the same with the team. Once all of those things happen, and the puzzle comes together, then the results start happening.”

Bluman is careful picking when competition opportunities during Wellington’s 12-week winter series. “I try to keep the horses I have going here in Wellington fresh,” he said. “There are a lot of competitions. You have to be careful to not over-jump your horses. You don’t want your horse tired at the end of the season.”

He is thrilled by his current successes and the chance to train so many horses to the top level in one season.

“I think we have a group of horses at the moment that we have been working hard to improve,” Bluman said. “I have been trying to learn as much as I can in order to get better every day for many years already. Things are falling into place. When that happens, you have great moments because of the timing.”

But don’t expect Bluman to be out partying after a big win.

“My celebration when winning the Grand Prix has been to come to the barn the next day and work with my horses,” he said. “That is what I do. I do it because I love it.”

Changing his nationality with the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) to ride permanently for Israel was not an easy decision.

“I am very proud to be Colombian, and I am proud to be Jewish and from an Israeli family,” Bluman said. “I just felt it was the right time. I grew up most of my life in Florida and Colombia in a Jewish family. I have also lived in Belgium. I’ve lived in many places. My culture, and the way I do things, are due to that Israeli sentiment from my family. It is something I carry very dear to my heart.”

After riding for Columbia in Rio, he felt it was time for a new chapter. “I got married to a woman who represents Israel. It’s time. It’s the right decision, and only amazing things have happened since,” he said.

With all the success, Bluman keeps a tight ship.

“I use the Wellington season in a different way now. I keep my young horses in Europe. I have a program there running year-round with a very good friend of mine, almost like family. His name is Camilo Robayo. We grew up together in Colombia, and we’ve been together a very long time,” he explained. “I only bring the A team to Wellington to prepare for the big competitions.”

Once WEF ends, Bluman will be off to Europe to prepare for the World Equestrian Games.

“I am a big believer that in order to be at the top of your game, you have to compete in Europe,” he said. “I will be in Europe in May, and then I will go to Calgary because I love Calgary to prepare my horses for the championships there. Then I’ll make my way back to Europe for July and August. That should be the proper preparation for WEG in September.”

The FEI requires that the top teams qualify from this year’s WEG for the 2020 Olympics.

“Every athlete in the sport looks forward to WEG and the Olympics,” Bluman said. “I have a good group of horses, and I will try to be as prepared as I can. This year we have Landriano Z aimed for WEG. I think he’s as good a horse as you can have for a championship like this one. We aim to qualify a team for 2020. Team is what we are aiming for, and we are hoping we are going to get there.”

It’s the horses and the daily interaction with them that drive Bluman.

“It means everything. It’s the only thing that is important,” he explained. “My philosophy and strategy is only added over that interaction and relationship I have with each horse. I absolutely love my horses, and I love what we do.”

To keep up with show jumper Daniel Bluman, visit www.blumanequestrian.com.