Wellington, FL - February 28, 2013 - The annual WEF Sport Horse Auction featuring horses from VDL Stud will be held tonight, Thursday, February 28, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Seventeen horses will be presented and available for purchase through the live auction at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival show grounds. Last year was the inaugural WEF Sport Horse Auction, which had more than $1.5 million in sales, and was produced by Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP). Horses from that auction are now showing successfully in North America.     

Gates open at 6 pm. For those who can't make it to Wellington, the auction will be live streamed at www.shownet.biz for free.

To register as a bidder for the auction, please contact Melanie Peterson at 561-870-6587 or melaniepeterson@equestriansport.com.

Equestrian Sport Productions invites you to this unique opportunity to view and acquire the next generation of champions. Please join in an exciting evening that is sure to raise the bar on horse sport auctions in North America. Horse photos, videos, and the online program can be found at www.wefsporthorseauction.com.

For more information please contact the ESP main office at 561-793-6587. The Stadium is located at 13500 South Shore Blvd, Wellington, FL. For more information on Equestrian Sport Productions, please visit www.equestriansport.com.

AUCTION RING ORDER OF GO

Don't Miss the Chance to Support Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center!

In addition to the live horse auction, Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center will be auctioning off a scholarship to participate in their program with fantastic horses such as Hidden Creek's Jones. Hidden Creek's Jones was retired from his career as the show jumping partner of Margie Engle in 2009. During his time with Margie, he was the 2003 AGA Horse of the Year accumulating the most show jumping points. Jones came to Vinceremos expecting to continue that career but instead was introduced to therapeutic riding, a much different role. He acclimated to his new role very quickly. Jones may spend part of the day turned out with the geldings around the lake, or being painted in the aisle way by a group of riders learning the names of the parts of his body. But, the highlight of his day is when the riders arrive, it's time to really go to work.

Jones sees 16 riders a week for lessons, he is part of the volunteer riding program, a part of the Special Olympic team of horses that compete three times a year. You may have seen him in Ring 6 last Saturday where he participated in the Special Olympic County Equestrian Games. He plays on the Vinceremos polo team, has been lent to the Paralympic Dressage Team from Finland, he is an extraordinary animal and his riders are extraordinary too.

The rider benefits from participating in the Vinceremos riding program include building self esteem, confidence and independence. The social environment of the barn builds friendships and camaraderie, the riders teach our volunteers that disabled doesn't mean unable. That these individuals have aspirations and goals, a sense of humor and a passion for life.

Jones' riders have many types of disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, Down's Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. These physical and cognitive challenges come with financial challenges too.

Tonight we are hoping that you will want to support Jones in his second career by funding scholarships that guarantee that his riders will always be able to participate regardless of their ability to pay. Jones partners with 16 riders a week, 640 riders over 40 weeks of the year at a cost of $50 each lesson for a total cost of $32,000 a year. We hope that you will want to guarantee that Jones and his riders can continue their partnership by making a contribution tonight to support these scholarships.