Stadium Jumping, Inc., the management company for the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), is pleased to announce that FTI Consulting of Annapolis, MD, is sponsoring the $200,000 FTI Rider Challenge. The FTI Rider Challenge will be held during the 2006 WEF, from January 25 to March 12 at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, FL.

The FTI Rider Challenge will be a rider bonus pool for $200,000 in which the riders will receive points based on the number of riders in the seven Thursday and seven Sunday grand prix events that are all part of WEF in Wellington. During the Thursday grand prix events, riders must declare the horse with which they would like to be scored. During the Sunday grand prix events, the riders are only allowed to ride one horse, which will accumulate points based on their performance.

First place in a grand prix will be awarded one additional point more than the number of riders in that particular competition. Second place will be awarded two points less than the number of riders, and third place will be awarded three points less than the number of riders. Each placing will subsequently be given a score based on this formula and the order in which they finish the competition.

In the event of a tie for the final results, the rider that has won the most events will take the purse. The rider with the most points accumulated at the end of WEF in Wellington will be awarded $100,000. Second place will be given $50,000, third place will receive $30,000, and $20,000 will be given to fourth place.

Dennis Shaughnessy, the Chairman of the Board for FTI Consulting, recounted how the company got involved with the Winter Equestrian Festival for this exciting new show jumping series. “FTI Consulting was looking for equestrian events to be affiliated with to expand recognition of our brand name in a high-end sport,” he revealed.

Shaughnessy said the FTI Rider Challenge was modeled after the Schwab Cup Golf Championship. “My own equine company has sponsored shows before at Lake Placid and the Hampton Classic. FTI Consulting wanted to do something linked to the whole Winter Equestrian Festival, not just one show, which would attract leading riders from around the world. We want to build interest through the final weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit, both in the equestrian community and the media,” he conveyed.

Shaughnessy also has a vested interest in the equestrian industry. His wife and daughter both compete at the Winter Equestrian Festival, and they own Shamrock Ventures, a family owned equine company. Jeffrey Welles, a member of this summer’s U.S. team at the Samsung Super League in Europe, rides their prospective grand prix horses.

FTI is a premier provider of problem-solving consulting and technology services to major corporations, financial institutions and law firms when confronting critical issues that shape their future and the future of their clients, such as financial and operational improvement, major litigation, mergers and acquisitions and regulatory issues.

The Winter Equestrian Festival is a seven-week hunter/jumper and three-week dressage horse show circuit produced by Eugene R. Mische and Stadium Jumping, Inc. It is the largest and longest consecutively running sporting event in the world. It is also the largest equestrian event and major contributor to Palm Beach County’s $553+ million equestrian industry.

For more information on FTI Consulting, please visit their website at www.fticonsulting.com.

For more information on the Winter Equestrian Festival, please visit www.stadiumjumping.com, or call (561) 793-JUMP.


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