It’s possible to get more than one horse qualified. Beezie is listed in the programme as having Danny Boy, Onlight and Judgement. Many of the other riders were listed as riding more than one mount, and several did.
I realize that, but I know they were not coming until Danny Boy was qualified, which didn’t happen until shortly before the event. Before that, they didn’t have a horse qualified or at least they weren’t coming as I said before, Judgement is on vacation.
[QUOTE=workl8;4040303]
Out of curiosity does anyone know how much they charge for seats in Europe for similar events? The nosebleed tickets sold from $45 to $65 per person and went up from there to $1000 per person for the VIP series. Did it ever occur to anyone that perhaps the price was prohibitive?[/QUOTE]
I would love to see all the World Cup events! But Vegas does gouge the public, with the economy the way it is many I felt could not pay the ticket prices plus spend a night or three in a high priced hotel. MHO of the lack of full seats.
Yes, the tickets are far cheaper in Europe, I have been to only two overseas and both had better ticket prices. To the tune of only $25.00 a day!!! You figure it out. Aachen was about $33.00 a day, Brabant was only $25.00 per day; and each day was FULL of riding. All three days had dressage, all three Grand Prix rides, the Special and the GrandPrix were ridden and both venues started out with 60 riders. SIXTY. Here we only saw 15 riders, and frankly the day with the young horse rides and the pas du deux was a filler day. I was pissed there was no Special. WTF??? Plus the day they have warmup is a frigging joke. You can watch horses ride a warm up for free in Europe. AT $75.00 per day I have had it with the prices.
Oh, well, sour grapes I suppose, but I’ll be happy to go back to Europe myself after this Vegas show. I can get a flight for about the same price from the East Coast, and the hotels cost less most of the time. Vegas is Been-There_Done-That for me. I am thinking all the powers that be are saying the same thing. 
If you would get a venue that was less expensive, show us three days of MANY rides, and then accent the top 15 for two days it would be a much better World Cup in the USA. We ought to combine the Young Rider competition, a USA championship of some kind, and top it off with the WC. We would be far better off. JMHO 
Back to KHP…
that would be a great place to have it, when the WC comes back to the US (which it will, someday)…
If KHP can have the WEG, it can certainly host the World Cup.
Have to say I find this thread very interesting… a few days ago on another thread I mentioned that the WC was not returning to LV. I was soundly thrashed for even imagining such a thing.
feel free to bring it to Reliant Stadium in Houston 
the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is held there each spring so they know how to deal with equines (and bovines, caprines, ovines,…)
Well, as I understand it, the US has been paying, far more than any other venue, for the “privilege” of hosting WC Finals. They’ve (LVE) even gone so far as to subsidize other venues, in the interest of keeping WC alive. But I guess, if they’re not bleeding, it’s not enough for either you, or the WC committee or the FEI. :rolleyes:
Enjoy your stay in Wonderland. 
Must not have been much of a vacation for Judgement, since both he and Onlight were qualified.
But don’t let any little old facts get in the way of your fantasy, okay? 
And now I am reminded why I love the Ignore function.
[QUOTE=Cooper;4040793]
I was also disappointed to have only two days of competition. We bought the 4 day package, and two of those days weren’t even competition! That was really the only thing I thought was a a rip off. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the young horse stuff and thought the Pas de Deux was fun, but it wasn’t worth $85!!![/QUOTE]
I went to Las Vegas to watch the WC and I was confused about that too…I thought there was supposed to be dressage competition on Friday not just exhibitions…I live in Florida and arrived on Wednesday night, so to fly all that way and pay all that money to see about 4 hours of dressage was a bit disappointing.
I think Toronto or maybe Miami would be neat places to host the WC…not sure if Miami would be too hot…but it is a lot easier to get to from Europe and there are tons of things to do. The Thomas & Mack center was beautiful, but it would be better to have an arena that has some space for the horses to warm up around the outside of the dressage ring. And talk about tight for the show jumpers!!
NYC is a logistical nightmare for horses, believe me. Getting the rigs, horses and equipment in and out was awful, both at the Garden and Pier 57.
Syracuse could probably work, though it’s not exactly a bustling hot spot. The big show in the fall is well run and well attended, and some top jumper riders go there every year, from both North America and Europe. The show ring and the schooling ring have plenty of space. Would it draw a big crowd for the World Cup? Hard to say.
When I went to the World Cup in Gothenburg some years ago, it was JAMMED with people. I mean wall-to-wall, standing room only, floor to rafter people, watching and cheering and really into it. That was for just jumpers, no dressage.
I haven’t seen him with my own eyes, but it was reported that Judgement stayed at the farm in New York this winter. I think John Madden even said that in his excellent Chronicle column about conserving your horses.
OK, I am glad I wasn’t the only one who was surprised there was no competition on Friday. After the young horse/Pas de deux stuff I was just settling into my seat to watch some great riding, and the announcer says “See you all on Saturday!” and I was like HUH???
[QUOTE=ESG;4042478]
Must not have been much of a vacation for Judgement, since both he and Onlight were qualified.
But don’t let any little old facts get in the way of your fantasy, okay? :D[/QUOTE]
Judgement spent the winter in Cazenovia. He didn’t go to a WC qualifier this winter. That is a fact. If he had any points, they must have come from last fall. Qualified or not, he was most certainly not in competitive condition.
TORONTO TORONTO TORONTO!
Or…CALGARY CALGARY CALGARY
ESG-- just wondering, but have you been to any of the big indoor shows in Europe? I’ve personally never been to Las Vegas, but from my experiences in Europe, and from what I’ve heard from the riders who have been to Las Vegas, it just doesn’t stack up, really. If LVE needs to pay the FEI to have the WC in Las Vegas, well, then, I think there must be a good reason for it. LVE alone is not “keeping the WC alive.”
I do not know how people can complain about hotel prices in LV. No one was forced to stay at the Luxor, Ventian, etc. heck there is a Motel 6 right by the airport! We stayed at the Southpoint for $100 per day. :yes:
I also think an indoor arena is a lot better than risk the ever questionable weather (either in the US or Europe).
If people did not know that Friday was not competition why did they not check the schedule posted on the WC website? Come on. Geesh!
I can certainly understand the argument about holding the WC on the east coast, but come on guys :no: Give us west coast people a chance, once in a while, to have something of this caliber closer by…
2014 would be fine for the next time in LV! All you east coast guys can fly to Europe in the mean time…:winkgrin:
World Cup requires it to be in covered arena. Maybe because of the time of year it is held. Of course, now that Del Mar has finished its roof and turned its main arena into an indoor (being used for the first time this week!), perhaps it’s a viable World Cup venue again.
As for the hotels near the airport in Las Vegas, I can tell you from personal experience that the phrase “airport hotel” here means, “if you open the window the planes will fly through your room.”
One time we ended up staying in the $100 hotel in Las Vegas and it was horrible: drunks everywhere, banging headboards on walls all night long, noise from highway and from the planes was super loud, no shuttle service, our sheets were questionable clean with some faded out spots, concierge service was terrible… never again… some times it’s not worth it to save money on some things.
However, Las Vegas hotels are much cheaper than California’s hotels
Halle-freakin-llujah!
I’ll be there in the fancy seats!
It’s not a definite return to Vegas.
"FEI First Vice-President, Sven Holmberg, said “it’s really not good for world events to be held too often in Europe” and then Las Vegas World Cup Show Jumping Manager Robert Ridland announced a strong bid to bring the 2014 Finals back to the U.S. city which has injected such energy, showmanship and excitement into the series which has become so popular over the last 31 years.
“This show is too good to give it up,” he pointed out. No one disagrees about that, and Holmberg added that the U.S. 2014 bid would be “very well received.”
[QUOTE=Arizona DQ;4043861]
f people did not know that Friday was not competition why did they not check the schedule posted on the WC website? Come on. Geesh![/QUOTE]
I would say that whether intentional or unintentional, that the schedule does not do a good job of making clear which sessions will have the World Cup horses and riders and which sessions do not. You have to dig a little to realize, for example, that the Grand Prix of Las Vegas won’t have Meredith and Shutterfly competing.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;4040254]
Maybe they should rename the event the Western European or EU Cup. The United States is almost as big in size and population as all of the countries that have hosted the cup put together.[/QUOTE]
Yes, but in terms of dressage or show jumping population per capita, the numbers are much more in Europe’s favor. Besides, just like the Olympics, the venue should rotate among ALL countries who participate, not just the big ones.
Btw, by your reasoning, maybe the US should consider renaming the World Series?
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