The 2016 Furusiyya Nations Cup Series kicked off yesterday in Al Ain (UAE) on the second leg is today at HITS Ocala (USA) , and this year the team at Wordley Martin is truly coming together for their home country of New Zealand. Craig Martin will be acting as Chef d’Equipe to the New Zealand team consisting of business partner Sharn Wordley aboard Barnetta, Kirk Webby on Caillou, Luke Dee on Auckland De L’Enclos and Claudia Hay aboard Europ Sport Centavos.
The Ocala leg of the FEI Nations Cup™ is a qualifier for the Americas, Canada, El Salvador, Mexico and USA.
Sharn, a veteran competitor for the New Zealand, will be aboard Barnetta, owned by George Strawbridge and the horse that he piloted to second place this past summer at the Central Park Horse Show!
Today’s FEI Furusiyya Nations Cup™ is sponsored by our friends at Edge Brewing Barcelona, and we truly appreciate all the efforts they have made in rallying donations for Horses N Heroes of Marion County through this week’s kick off party thrown in conjunction with Ocala Horse Properties, HITS Ocala & the Adena Country Club. Proceeds of the sale of Nations Cup tickets are also going towards supporting Horses N Heroes, a wonderful non-profit that helps teach girls a feeling of self worth and responsibility through their interaction with horses.
Wordley Martin is also proud to announce that we will be working in conjunction with Joe Watkins of Longwood Farm South to build the girls at Horses N Heroes a new arena! Stay tuned for more updates on that project.
FEI Nations Cup Facts and Figures:
The FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping series celebrates 107 years of team competition in 2016.
The forthcoming season comprises 19 qualifiers in as many countries.
A total of 46 nations will compete in the qualifying rounds.
The defending Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping champions are Team Belgium.
Qualifying events will take place in Europe Division 1 & Europe Division 2, North America and the Middle East. Qualification of teams from South America, Africa and Asia/Australasia will be established through the Longines Rankings.
There will be eight qualifying legs in Europe Division 1 and seven in Europe Division 2, three in North America and a single event in the Middle East.
The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping Final will once again take place at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona (ESP), venue for the Jumping events during the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.
A total of 18 teams, plus the home team if not qualified, will compete at the Final which will take place from 22 to 25 September 2016.
A total of 11 nations will compete at the season-opener which takes place in Al Ain (UAE) on Thursday 18 February 2016. Only Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will be competing for qualifying points at this event.
A total of eight nations will compete at the second leg which takes place the following day, Friday 19 February 2016, in Ocala (USA). Only Canada, El Salvador, Mexico and USA will be competing for qualifying points at this event.
The 10 teams qualified for Europe Division 1 this season are Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
Watchmakers, Longines, are the official timekeepers for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping series.
Furusiyya finalised a 16 million Euro four-year sponsorship package with the FEI in November 2012.
For further information on the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping series check out this link
“Furusiyya” (Arabic: فروسيه) this single Arabic word conveys so much, embracing the idea of horsemanship, chivalry, and equestrian knowledge in general. The term is a derivation of faris, or horseman and faras, a horse.
Source: Louise Parkes/FEI