DeRosa Daily - The 2007 Las Vegas World Cup Journey Begins

Socializing In Las Vegas

Later that night we were off to a Welcome reception at the Mix at Mandalay Bay. Traffic was way more horrendous than I had anticipated and I had to abandon my quest to get back to my hotel to change. I was ½ hour late when I arrived but the room was already packed with little room to move. A combination of riders, officials, staff, family and friends were gathered for the draw of the horses, thank yous to all those involved and a quick overview about how it is anticipated that Las Vegas will continue to grow and prosper. When I heard that hotels in Vegas are always 90% full compared to 65% for the rest of the country it was clear how much of a tourist attraction Las Vegas is. I just hope that think about how to deal with the traffic as this City continues to grow.

Beezie Madden and Marcus Ehning were the two riders who did the draw for the show jumpers while Isabelle Werth and Steffen Peters did the honors for the dressage riders. Karen Healey handled the draw for the World Cup Team Hunter Challenge which takes place on Saturday afternoon after the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

It was Marcus Ehning’s birthday and so the ceremony begin with the room singing Happy Birthday to Marcus, who won the 2003 World Cup in Las Vegas on Anka 191 and was 3rd in 2005 on Gitania 8.

Once the presentations were over people stayed on to enjoy the camaraderie, hors d’oeuvres and wonderful view of the city.

Eventually the evening ended and I headed back to the South Point hotel where I am staying, glad that this hotel isn’t quite as large and overwhelming as some of the other hotels. But in Vegas you just can’t get away from that Casino feeling because no matter where you walk people are dropping coins or chips in hopes of that elusive win. While some of our guests are joining in on the fun you can be sure that the riders are gearing up for their attempt to win this year’s World Cup. And I’ll be here along with our team to bring you some of the color as the days unfold for the 2007 Rolex World Cup.

Feel free to email me (dderosa1@optonline.net) with your questions or comments. It’s always nice to hear from the Horsesdaily readers.