Las Vegas is known for a lot of things, but did you know that Sin City plays host to the AON/USHJA National Championships and the Las Vegas National CSI3*? Equestrians from all over the country have flocked to the city of bright lights and unusual sights for a week of indoor competition unlike any other at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center. South Point is a state-of-the-art facility which boasts eleven restaurants, a 64-lane bowling alley, a 16-screen movie theater, and more. Oh, AND you can watch the horse show on closed-circuit tv from the comfort of your room! Basically, this show is the bomb dot com (did I just age myself horribly?) and is not one you want to miss out on.
I mean, just look at these amenities!
And, of course, the facility isn’t the only spectacular thing about this week. The show itself is packed with tons of fun around every corner. I’ve outlined your must-see classes here on JN just for you! You can take a look at the full schedule here.
Thursday
- The top 25 qualifying riders from across the nation will face off in the $30,000 Markel Insurance 1.45 Jumper Series Final on Thursday afternoon. This is a Table II, Sec 2(a) battle royale which will show us tons of up-and-coming talent from all over the United States.
- In order to qualify for the World Cup class later in the week, riders must participate in the $36,000 CSI3* 1.50m Las Vegas National Jumper Speed Classic on Thursday. The top 40 finishers will be allowed to move on to the showdown on Saturday. We anticipate tons of quick trips and tight turns, so fasten your seatbelts- this is gonna get good.
Friday
- The Las Vegas National features one of the $25,000 InIt2WinIt Speed Stake classes which serve as qualifiers for the year-end finals in Omaha, Nebraska. This class is always a fun one to watch!
- Don’t forget to tune in for the $25,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby on Friday as well. I love watching the derby rounds as they always offer up something a little tricky for their competitors.
Saturday
- The pinnacle of the weekend’s competition, the $100,000 CSI3*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup class kicks off at 7:45PM local time.
- Round 1 of the WCE Medal Finals will have kicked off on Friday, but Saturday’s schedule features rounds two and three which will ultimately lead to the crowning of the class victor.
And the best part? USEF members can watch all of the action live HERE! You can bet I will be live-streaming today’s show on my second screen as I attempt to get some work done for the day….
Ohhhh how convenient. A perfect distraction from all the work I need to do today….
Want to follow along with live results? You can check them out on the Longines website, and of course follow along with JN!
Go Jumping!