October 13, 2005 – Las Vegas, Nevada –
CBS Sports, a division of CBS Broadcasting,
Inc., will televise the inaugural Las Vegas World Invitational, the
world’s richest equestrian show jumping event, on a tape-delayed basis currently starting at 2 p.m. (EST), Saturday, December 31, it was announced today by David R. Shriner, LVWI chairman.
“We are proud to be a partner with CBS Sports in our first event and we feel the network has provided an excellent time slot for our 90-minute show leading into the national telecast of the Denver Broncos – San Diego Chargers NFL game on New Year’s Eve. We will produce an extreme equestrian show jumping program for millions of American sports fans that has never before been seen on television,” Shriner said.
The inaugural LVWI, the first CSI five-star event (CSI 5*) ever held in the United States, will feature the world’s 25 best show jumping riders competing October 14-15 at the Thomas & Mack Arena in four events over two days for $1 million in prize money, the largest purse in the history of Grand Prix competition. Only 10 CSI five-star events are held annually in the world.
“We will shoot all four events from production angles that will provide American fans an entirely new look at an extreme Olympic-caliber sport that combines the power, speed and grace of both human and equine athletes,” Shriner said.
International show jumping champions from the United States, Europe and South America will match riding talents. Some riders who will compete include Rodrigo Pessoa, a Brussels, Belgium-based Brazilian, who is one of the world’s top-ranked riders; Meredith Michaels Beerbaum, an American from Encino, CA, who is now Germany’s top rider, and Georgina Bloomberg, from New York, NY, a 2005 Budweiser World Cup finalist.
The Las Vegas Hilton is a sponsor and host hotel for the LVWI. The Hilton’s race and sports SuperBook® has set odds and is accepting wagers on the competition, a first for an international show jumping event in the U.S.
