February 24, 2016- The Omaha Equestrian Foundation (OEF) has announced the Organizing Committee, Judges and Course Designer for the International Omaha, taking place May 5-7, 2016, that will also officiate the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping and FEI World Cup™ Dressage Finals. In addition, the OEF announced prize money of $130,000 for the FEI International Omaha Grand Prix Jumping, $40,000 for the FEI Mutual of Omaha Speed Derby, $30,000 for FEI Grand Prix dressage competitions and $90,500 for national competitions.
Chairman of the Organizing Committee is Lisa Roskens, who is joined by Mike West, CEO of the OEF, and Patty Lavelle, Director of Marketing and Events for the OEF. Director of Sport is Jon Garner, John McQueen is Director of Sport Operations, while Anthony D’Ambrosio is Director of Jumping. Thomas Baur is Director of Dressage and will be assisted by Monica Fitzgerald, Manager of Dressage.
“The credentials of this Organizing Committee are outstanding,” said Chairman Lisa Roskens. “We are delighted to have such highly experienced and enthusiastic individuals on our team for the fifth annual International Omaha, and confident they will help lay the groundwork for an exceptional FEI World Cup™ Finals in Omaha.”
The Course Designer is Alan Wade. President of the Jumping Ground Jury is David Distler, who will be joined by Colleen Hoffman, Foreign Judge, and Charlotte Skinner-Robson, Ground Jury Member. Linda Allen is President of the Appeals Committee.
The Dressage Ground Jury Members include Gary Rockwell, Janet Foy, Cara Whitman, Lee Tubman and Cesar Torrente.
Marty Bauman has been retained as Chief Press Officer and Director of Equestrian Marketing; his Classic Communications will oversee public relations and equestrian marketing for the event. Robyn Eden is the Local Public Relations Chair, while Jennie Lee of Great Big Events is Event Producer. Mike Klug is the Director of Hospitality and VIPs, and Jane Rips is the Hospitality Manager of the event.
Additionally, Cesar Hirsch, a former international competitor and FEI Judge who has been Chief Steward at many international competitions around the world, will be Chief Steward of Jumping. He is joined by fellow Jumping Stewards Lindy Esau, Susan Adey, Monica Gomez and Amelia Gomez.
The Chief Steward of Dressage is Elisabeth Williams, who was elected chair of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) High Performance Dressage Committee in 2015 and is a Level 3 FEI Steward General for Dressage. Williams is joined by Dressage Stewards Walter Bagley, Lisa Goretta and Anne Sushko. The official USEF Steward is Robin Serfass, who is also an FEI Jumping Steward.
