[ FEATURED ] let the games begin
World Equestrian Games The Tryon International Equestrian Center Catapults to the Top of the World’s Premier Horse Parks When the news first flashed in late July 2016 that the FEI World Equestrian Games 2018 were pulling out of Canada for financial reasons, Michael Stone knew what would come next. Stone, the right hand of the man who presides over the Tryon International Equestrian Center, even counted out loud how long it would take for the phone to ring: 5,4,3,2,1. Bingo! “We have to go for it,” said Mark Bellissimo, who heads the different partnerships that own not only the Tryon International Equestrian Center but the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Florida and the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colorado, three of the world’s largest equestrian venues.
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“I told him he was crazy, that it was an enormous project, and that 18 months is a very short time to prepare for something this big,” recalled Stone, who knows a thing or two about hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games as the former secretary general of the international organization. Stone has played a role in every set of games since their inception in Stockholm in 1990, but this would be the most challenging of all.
“It’s a truly spectacular venue, and almost all the necessary infrastructure for
They could do this, Bellissimo urged, in his persuasive, yet soft-spoken way. He hammered back with facts. Tryon already had 1,200 stalls in permanent wooden barns complete with rubber floor mats and fans for each horse, far more than what would be needed for the anticipated 950 horses that would come to the Games. The center features 12 competition rings, one of the largest indoor arenas in North America, restaurants, shops, and a stadium with seating for 7,000, not to mention, a massive jumbotron to capture every move. Its cross-country course has already proven ready for major eventing competitions. It was easy to reach, located within an hour of Charlotte, 30 minutes from Asheville, and 40 minutes from Spartanburg and Greenville.
At the time, the Tryon International Equestrian center, our eight disciplines nestled on 1,600 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, had less than two years of operation under its is already in place.” belt. Local residents and international equestrians were still in disbelief that Bellissimo and his partners had been able to turn rolling hills, once thick with trees, into an equestrian center that rivals any of the world’s finest horse parks. To do so, they had to move more than three And then there was the resort draw for the WEG spectators. Since opening, million cubic yards of earth. But the skyline was still filled with cranes. Tractors Bellissimo and his partners have turned Tryon into a “lifestyle destination still pawed the red clay earth to finish the massive indoor arena and to make way resort,” appealing to the whole family, not just equestrians. To that end, they for a luxury hotel and other buildings. have added the 17-room Lodge on Lake Lure to provide swimming and boating. They opened the Cleghorn Golf & Country Club, which boasts an 18-hole Sure, hosting WEG was on their minds for the future, but not so soon. course, designed by George Cobb, the mastermind behind the Par 3 course at Augusta National, a swimming pool, and the Cleghorn Gun Club about Bellissimo was determined. He saw an opening to bring something even 10 minutes from the park that is designed by Rick Hemingway and Heyward bigger than the equestrian center to this mountainous pocket of western North Cunningham, two nationally renowned sporting clay course designers. Carolina off of U.S. Route 74. He wanted to go for it, not just for the glory All of these factors would surely win over the FEI, Bellissimo argued. of hosting what the equestrian sport sees as the equivalent of its own Olympic Games, but to ignite the economically depressed area, an area still feeling the “Alright then, let’s pull it off,” Stone recalled telling Bellissimo, launching the impact of the collapse of the textile industry. most challenging 18 months of his career. 10
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— MOVING MOUNTAINS — Within hours, the duo had mapped out a strategy with US Equestrian, the governing body of the equestrian sport in the United States, to convince the FEI that Tryon would be a sure bet for the 2018 World Equestrian Games™. There was one challenge: Rolex crowns the Tryon International Equestrian Center with one of its larger than life clocks rimmed in gold. Bellissimo had to convince Rolex, the main sponsor of Tryon, to let them temporarily remove their branding and allow corporate rival, Longines, the chief corporate sponsor of the FEI, to take over. Bellissimo flew to Geneva to meet with Rolex executives to explain what the games would mean for the region. They agreed. “Many didn’t think that we would get WEG because Rolex is our sponsor,” Bellissimo said. “One of the great gestures of corporate citizenship was Rolex allowing us to rebrand the venue as Longines during WEG. It was important to them, as it is to us, to have a long term impact on the community.”
The Shalin Lu Performance Art Center overlooking Rockport Harbor. Credit: Robert Benson Photography.
But the most compelling argument for having the games at Tryon came down to people, Bellissimo said. “We have an amazing team—many of them local— people who know how to put on a high-profile equestrian event.”
“The Tryon team submitted a really impressive bid, and we have every confidence in the organizing committee,” said FEI President Ingmar de Vos, explaining at the time how Tryon beat out the competition. “It’s a truly spectacular venue, and almost all the necessary infrastructure for our eight disciplines is already in place” Competition was stiff to replace Canada. Much was at stake--the 2014 WEG in Normandy, France drew some 500,000 people to see the eight featured equestrian disciplines, generating more than $400 million for the region over 14 days. More than 360 million watched it on television. “The Tryon team submitted a really impressive bid, and we have every confidence in the organizing committee,” said FEI President Ingmar de Vos, explaining at the time how Tryon beat out the competition. “It’s a truly spectacular venue, and almost all the necessary infrastructure for our eight disciplines is already in place.” With the winning bid in hand, Bellissimo and Stone had to figure out how to prepare for what is anticipated to be one of the largest sporting events in the United States in 2018. WEG will also be the most televised equestrian event in history under a contract reached with NBC Sports Group. They plan to broadcast more than 60 hours of coverage across NBC, NBCSN, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA.
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