This past weekend the Longines Los Angeles Masters took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This event which was created by EEM World is “a unique global event concept created to bring Equestrian Show Jumping to the forefront of the international sporting and social scenes.” This was the first time that The Masters Grand Slam which includes events in both Paris and Hong Kong came to LA. The Masters’ competition offered class formats that were designed specifically with grabbing the attention of both equestrian aficionados and those that are new to the sport in mind. The most prolific riders and Show Jumping horses in the world competed for prize money that equaled one million dollars during the four day competition.
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The Prestige Village “showcased ephemeral boutiques by well-known brands gathering luxury, fashion, cuisine, food, wines & champagne…who [all] share the same passion for horses and equestrianism.” Within The Prestige Village there were some pretty amazing pieces of art that were curated by Shirley Yablonsky, the Director of the Opera Gallery. My two favorite pieces were a 13 foot horse sculpture made out of over 3000 coat hangers created by David Mach and a huge horse head made from a Formula One Peugeot engine created by Pierre Matter. Both pieces showed off the power and beauty that horses possess. Yablonsky stated that “when you think about horses you think not just of their immense power and exceptional beauty, but also of their great spirit.” Shirley’s main goal while curating for this event was to “celebrate the beauty and power of horses and the creative interpretation by major contemporary artists.” From what I experienced Shirley and the Opera Gallery achieved that goal and then some.
Opening day of the Longines Los Angeles Masters saw France’s Patrice Delaveau take home the LA Times Trophy. Once competition was completed for the day The Prestige Village played host to a spectactular gala! There were 600 plus people in attendance. Those spotted included the likes of Jessica Springsteen, Georgina Bloomberg, Sebastian Roche, Kerry Condon, Lucas McGarvey, Clémence Faivre, and Judith Hill.
Throughout the weekend there were many great moments, one awesome one was the Charity Pro-Am ‘Style & Competition’ which was “a unique team competition composed of one professional rider and one amateur rider, riding for charity. Each team chose a costume to dress up in as they rode to a music selection complimenting their costume’s theme.” The charities represented in this event were Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship, Andre Agassi Foundation, Children for Tomorrow, JustWorld International, AMADE Mondiale, Mustard Seed Ranch, Jump, Baby2Baby, Compton Jr. Posse, Thrive Animal Rescue, and Autism Speaks. 2008 Olympic Team Gold medalist Laura Kraut and Hannah Selleck, daughter of Tom Selleck, walked away with the victory and were crowned the Charity Pro Am Style & Competition winners.
The inaugural Longines Los Angeles Masters came to a close Sunday afternoon with eighteen-year-old Belgian rider, Jos Verlooy, taking the top prize in the Longines Grand Prix. Verlooy won the competition with a time of 38.11 seconds. With the victory Verlooy took home $475,000 in prize money.
Noteworthy attendees over the course of the 4 day event included but wasn’t limited to Bill and Melinda Gates, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Paige Johnson, and Wilmer Valderrama.
The first annual Longines Los Angeles Masters was a complete success, I’m happy I was able to experience it firsthand! I can’t lie, I’m already looking forward to next year. In the mean time I will definitely be following the Masters Grand Slam as it travels to Paris in December, and Hong Kong in February!
Images: Getty