Rebecca Farm again chosen as World Cup qualifier

Rebecca Farm near Kalispell announced Monday that it will once again host the HSBC FEI World Cup qualifying competition as part of The Event at Rebecca Farm July 22-25, 2010.

Over the last eight years, Rebecca Farm has built a reputation for creating courses of the highest quality and The Event is the biggest of its kind in the United States with more than 450 competitors, 350 volunteers and 15,000 spectators.

While Poland will again host the finals in 2010, Rebecca Farm has expressed interest in applying to host the World Cup Final in 2011, a historic possibility since the World Cup Final never has been held outside Europe.

“The Event at Rebecca Farm is truly world class,” said Jim Wolf, executive director of sports programs for the U.S. Equestrian Federation. “The facilities, the footing, and outstanding organization combine to create a premier World Cup qualifier.”

 The sport of eventing is an equestrian triathlon with historic ties meant to replicate what a horse and rider would go through in the cavalry.

Over four days, the equestrian triathlon tests horse and rider in the disciplines of dressage, cross country, and show jumping.

As part of the FEI Global Education Program that has been designed to expand and raise the quality and experience of eventing officials worldwide, Rebecca Farm next summer will host officials from Ireland and Australia.

Capt. Mark Phillips, one of the leading designers in the world for equestrian courses, again will return to Rebecca Farm.

Last year’s competition was dedicated to the late Jack Le Goff, the mastermind behind the Eventing World Cup concept 10 years ago.

In his name, Rebecca and Jerome Broussard and Cindy and Larry Lippon created and seeded a fund to help U.S. riders meet the financial challenges of traveling to the final in Poland.

“It’s wonderful to look forward to again hosting a qualifier in the New Year,” Rebecca Broussard said in a news release. “We love helping riders in the West compete on the world stage and look forward to the historic possibilities of bringing the world’s best to Kalispell in the future.”

 For more information on The Event and Rebecca Farm, visit www.rebeccafarm.org.