Over 100 riders of all ages representing 25 countries will descend on Rome for the 16th leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour which was officially launched by Government and Olympic officials at the spectacular Stadio Dei Marmi venue, on Tuesday 3rd September.
The world’s best riders will be in the Italian capital for the LGCT Grand Prix and the GCL team showdown at a critical juncture in the 2019 season. The atmosphere in Rome is set to be sizzling and there will be free admission every day for the traditionally enthusiastic spectators.
Speaking at a special pre-event press conference Daniele Frongia, Councillor for Sport and Major Events in the Municipality of Rome, said:
It is a great event for our City. This is high level sport and we are proud to host this event. It will be a great festive occasion for Rome and we would like to thank the organisers.”
The event takes place next to the dramatic Olympic Stadium and Giovanni Malagò, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), said:
This is Rome’s five star event. I am happy that Rome supports and believes in sporting exhibitions like this one in which competition is at its highest level.”
LGCT Sport Director Marco Danese explained that the event will include top-level 5* competitions featuring the star riders and horses in the world today and also 2* competitions for national and amateur riders supporting the talent of the future. Of the LGCT and GCL championship series he said:
Many top riders will be present so it is impossible to forecast a possible winner as the technical level is very high and all the riders will fight for the win.”
The beautiful showground in the Eternal City is an amphitheatre ringed by classical marble statues and a total of 193 horses will be at the venue taking part in the different competitions with an overall prize fund of €850,000. There will be plenty of family fun with special evening entertainment, dog agility shows and the lively shopping village.
Eleonora Di Giuseppe, Italian co-organiser of the LGCT event in Rome said:
All the public can access the venue free of charge. This could not have happened without the help of CONI, the City of Rome and Italian Parliamentary institutions. There will be events like the Future Champions for younger riders and people of all ages who want to better their riding skills.”
Among the top athletes at the event will be home heroes including Alberto Zorzi and Emanuele Gaudiano against a stellar International field.
All the action will be streamed live on GCTV with the first 5* competitions featuring Olympic and World Champions starting on Friday 6th September.
Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.
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