The FEI Nations Cup originally booked to run March 3-8, 2015, in Wellington, Florida, will now be held at the HITS showgrounds in Ocala, Florida, due to the termination of a sponsorship agreement and conflict between sponsors.
Equestrian Sport Productions, usual host of the event at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, will still host a $100,000 FEI Nations Cup competition on Feb. 27 during the eighth week of the Winter Equestrian Festival, but it will not be a qualifier for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup series final, due to the Winter Equestrian Festival’s longtime commitment to main sponsor Rolex and the Furusiyya Nations Cup series now association with Longines.
FEI have a sponsorship agreement with Longines as part of the Furusiyya Nations Cup series. Equestrian Sport Productions have been associated with Rolex as one of their main sponsors. For the last couple of years, the FEI have allowed ESP to run their Nations Cup event just with the Furusiyya title, and not including Longines.
However, for 2015 season, Longines was able to activate their sponsorship contract with the FEI. ESP were unable to fulfill that part of the contract and therefore the Florida leg of the Furusiyya Nations Cup series has been moved to the HITS location in Ocala, Florida.
The $200,000 CSIO Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup will take place on Feb. 13th at the HITS Ocala showgrounds, along with a $150,000 Grand Prix on Feb. 15, during Week 5 of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. The official decision to change venues took place in October, but it came as no surprise. The FEI put the Furusiyya series qualifier up for bid, and HITS outbid several interested organizers.
Source: HITS/Equestrian Sport Productions/Chronicle of the Horse