Predictor Game

FEI WEG 2018:
Preparations
in Full Swing

27 June 2018

How Mark Bellissimo's dreams are becoming a reality at Tryon International Equestrian Center ahead of FEI WEG 2018...

It’s one of sport’s great events and it’s now just over two months away… yes, the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) is getting ever closer.

 

For those who can’t quite wait until WEG gets under way on September 11 to see the magnificent Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in all its glory, the Equestrian World cameras recently visited the venue for the successful test events.

 

Equestrian World also caught up with American tycoon and TIEC chief executive Mark Bellissimo, whose vision of creating one of the world’s leading equestrian centres will be realised when the sport’s stars travel to North Carolina in September…

"WEG 2018 has
created a lot of
opportunities
for us"

Incredibly, plans for what has become the 1,600-acre TIEC site are based on sketches by Mark as he sat on a hill overlooking the landscape just a few short years ago.

Mark says that the staging of WEG 2018 has helped to accelerate the development of the venue, and the Equestrian World video shows how stands and a new indoor centre are almost complete.

 

Mark says: “We perhaps anticipated that we might bid for WEG 2022 or 2026, but did not think 2018 was possible. It’s created a lot of opportunities for us an organisation. What Tryon 2018 did is accelerate the process.

The venue, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, has 1,200 permanent stables, 12 arenas including a floodlit international arena with a potential spectator seating capacity of up to 12,000 and VIP seating for up to 1,500, a covered arena with 5,000 seats and a world-class cross-country course. It is surrounded by hundreds of miles of equestrian trails for Endurance.

 

“What I sketched out is pretty much how it is now, which is very interesting!” says Mark. “People have joked about what I saw on that day! Since then we’ve moved about four million cubic yards of earth!”

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