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Sidelines Equestrian
Triathlon Presented By Outback Steakhouse Features Dressage, Show Jumping
and Polo on March 4
WELLINGTON, FL (February
12, 2002)-The second annual Sidelines Triathlon
Presented by Outback Steakhouse will be held on Monday, March 4, 2002,
starting at 1pm, at Outback Polo on Southfields Road in West Palm Beach,
Florida. "It's the perfect event for Sidelines to do because Sidelines
covers
dressage, show jumping, and polo," said Samantha Charles, publisher
of
Sidelines magazine and organizer of the event. The triathlon is a benefit
for
Paul Rizzo, a polo player with inoperable cancer.
The Sidelines Equestrian
Triathlon features top riders in three disciplines
who compete against each other in four teams of three riders. All perform
in
disciplines not their own. In Phase 1, the jumpers and polo players ride
a
dressage test to music. In Phase 2 the polo players and dressage riders
jump
a course. And in Phase 3, each team plays a chukker of polo, though the
polo
player is not allowed to score.
Scheduled to compete
are dressage riders Susan Dutta, Bent Jensen, Jan Brons,
and Olympian Michelle Gibson; show jumpers Chris Kappler, Chris Cawley,
Olympian Laura Kraut, and Olympic Alternate Todd Minikus; and 10-goal
polo
players Adolfo Cambiaso and Eduardo Heguy; the highest rated woman in
polo,
Sunny Hale; and Ruben Gracida.
To date, sponsors
of the triathlon are Sidelines, Outback Steakhouse,
Cosequin, and Horseware Products of Ireland. Polo Gear will supply shirts
with logos to the riders. Tim Gannon, a polo player and one of the three
founding members of Outback Steakhouse and Carabas restaurant chains,
donated
his private polo club for the inaugural event, and will host the triathlon
again this year. Gannon will also provide the barbecue - ticket-holders
will
be served Outback Steakhouse cuisine as part of the $25 admission price.
The team that accumulates
the highest number of total points after all three
phases wins. The trophy presentation is fashioned after the Olympics and
the
teams win Gold, Silver, Bronze and Pewter medals. All the riders receive
a
gift basket with products from the sponsors. The 'Best Horse' in each
discipline receives a custom-made monogrammed blanket sponsored by Horseware
Products of Ireland.
After the awards ceremony,
lessons with all the riders are auctioned off.
Spectators will also have the opportunity to purchase balloons at the
event
for $20 each, which contain gift certificates from local merchants. All
the
proceeds from the ticket sales, lesson auction, and balloons will be donated
to Paul Rizzo of Meadowbrook, Long Island, New York. At last year's event,
more than $25,000 was raised to benefit cancer victim Joanna Monaco.
Tickets are available
from the Exhibitor's Center at Cosequin Winter
Equestrian Festival, Van Dell Jewelry, The Tackeria and Sidelines.
For more information,
contact Samantha Charles at 561-793-6229.
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