Liz Gregg/FEI Photo
The panel of the Friday press conference: (left to right) are FEI WEG Press Officer Jennifer Wood, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez, U.S. Equestrian President Murray Kessler, FEI WEG CEO Mark Bellissimo, and FEI WEG President and Sport Director Michael Stone.
Held every four years in the middle of the Olympic cycle, the 2018 FEI WEG will be held September 11-23 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in Mill Spring, N.C.
Since its inception in 1990, the FEI WEG has been held in these locations:
1990 Stockholm, Sweden
1994 The Hague, Netherlands
1998 Rome, Italy
2002 Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
2006 Aachen, Germany
2010 Lexington, Ky.
2014 Normandy, France
2018 Mill Spring, N.C. (Tryon International Equestrian Center)
The FEI World Equestrian Games is the world championship event for eight equestrian disciplines - Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining, and is the most prestigious equestrian event in the world. More than 500,000 people are expected to attend the 13-day event.
Members of the FEI WEG organizing committee, Mark Bellissimo, CEO, and Michael Stone, President and Sports Director; alongside FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez, and U.S. Equestrian President Murray Kessler attended the official kickoff for the competition.
"We are thrilled to launch the brand and rally enthusiasm for the 2018 Games," said Bellissimo. "The promo video is only a taste of the action and entertainment fans can expect when they come to Tryon in September 2018."
"It's truly great to be part of today's launch and the start of the countdown to the 2018 Games in Tryon," FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said. "We couldn't ask for a better venue to host our flagship event and we are already working closely with Mark Bellissimo and his excellent team to produce absolutely top sport next year."
FEI WEG President and Sport Director Michael Stone noted, "We have assembled a team of some of the best organizers in the world for each discipline. We organize most of these disciplines already at our events, so we have people who know how to run top-level FEI events. We are on target for our organization and planning for the sport in all eight disciplines."
Facts about the 2018 WEG, as well as the test event dates, FEI WEG schedule, and ticketing information will become available in June.