Wellington, FL – April 13, 2004 – Bob Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Network (BET) and owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats and WNBA Charlotte Sting, was decidedly pleased with the inaugural Charlotte Jumper Classic CSI****, held April 9 –11, 2004, in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Charlotte Coliseum. Johnson has announced that his goal is to increase the purse from this year’s $260,000 to $1-million.

“For a first time effort to put on a grand prix event, this was absolutely an excellent event and an excellent introduction of grand prix jumping to Charlotte,” Johnson said, following the $150,000 Grand Prix of Charlotte for the Charlotte Bobcats Cup, the finale event on Easter Sunday to this year’s three-day show. “We had tremendous support from our sponsors, our fans, and the riders were extremely pleased with the way they were treated. The facility was great, Jeffrey Osborne was a great concert Saturday night, so all in all I think we’re on to something big here.”

Johnson noted that the primary impetus for launching the horse show was his daughter, Paige Johnson, 18, of The Plains, Virginia, but that he also saw the event as a way to contribute to charity and the community. “My daughter rides, so when you’re the father of a daughter who rides and you get a chance to put on a horse show that you both love and at the same time raise funds for needy children through the Bobcats Charitable Fund, you can’t ask for a better combination of things to do,” said Johnson. He pointed out that the four-star horse show was also a way for him to bring a special event to Charlotte that families could enjoy, and to his knowledge, the people of Charlotte had not experienced an event of this caliber in more than 20 years.

Johnson announced at a pre-show party held at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte on April 9 that he intended to increase the prize money of the show to a million dollars. Following the awards ceremonies at the finale of the show on April 11, he re-confirmed that announcement. “That’s my goal. My goal is to make this the preeminent jumper show in the country,” said Johnson. “With the fact that we’re getting our new downtown arena next year, we will have the entire basketball season to promo the event in front of all of the basketball fans next year. We’re going to keep building and building, and a million dollar event in a Jumper Classic like this is not out of the question.” Johnson’s basketball teams will be playing in front of an average of 8,000 basketball fans, 41 times a year. He plans to run promos for the Charlotte Jumper Classic on the Jumbo-Tron at all of those games.

At this year’s event, Johnson created a unique format that included entertainers, from daily exhibitions by Mexican charro Jerry Diaz and charra Staci Diaz, to concerts by Stewart Scher, Sibyl Lee-English, and R&B star Jeffrey Osborne. Family entertainment geared for children featured face painting and balloon sculptures by The Good News Clown, Pony Rides, a Petting Zoo, and a visit from the Easter Bunny. According to Johnson, this line-up was a preview of the entertainment and activities he plans to introduce to the Charlotte Jumper Classic.

“We plan to do more, not only with the performing entertainment but we also want to figure out ways to integrate our basketball team in here,” said Johnson. “We may have some shoot-around next time with our basketball players and some of the riders. We’re going to keep coming up with things like that. We’ll try to figure out ways to bring the NASCAR guys into this. We’ll make this a broad sports event and entertainment event for Charlotte and for the kids. Eventually we’ll have on the grounds rides and balloons so families can come and stroll the grounds.” Johnson cited The Hampton Classic, one of this country’s premier hunter/jumper shows that includes an extensive area for boutique vendors as well as a children’s fair segment, as an example of where the Charlotte Jumper Classic is headed. “That’s what we’re looking for and I think we can do it,” said Johnson.

For Charlotte Jumper Classic CSI**** information, log on to www.charlottejumperclassic.com