All photos by Susan J Stickle Photography from the 2022 Challenge of the Americas
You may not be able to personally paint Wellington pink on March 10 at the Challenge of the Americas (COTA), but you can join us for the free livestream AND vote for your favorite team.
The event has been showcasing Grand Prix dressage quadrilles set to music for more than 20 years to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through their partner, Play for P.I.N.K. It features some of the top international competitors from the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel as they maneuver their horses in precise patterns set to a musical theme.
Don’t forget to wear pink when the General Admission gates open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 10 at the Global Dressage Festival showgrounds at the corner of South Shore Boulevard and Pierson Road in Wellington. Grab some food and beverages available for purchase and enjoy pre-show entertainment by local singer, Michael Boone. General Admission ticket holders will have an ideal vantage point in the grandstands to see jumping minis, a pas de deux, a Grease-inspired quadrille, and the headline event: the musical Grand Prix Quadrille Team Challenge. Five teams made up of six horses and their riders will pull out the stops with intricate choreography and colorful costumes in themed musical quadrilles created to delight the crowd and impress the world-class judges.
If you can’t attend in person, you can watch via livestream. Go to challengeoftheamericas.com to find the livestream link. The link opens at 6 p.m. on March 10, with the exhibitions set to begin at 6:30 followed by the Grand Prix Quadrille Challenge.
You can also support your favorite team and our fight to end breast cancer by logging onto https://cota2023.afrogs.org. Scroll to find the pink button to vote for your favorite team. One vote for $5 and five votes for $20 will help researchers find a cure for breast cancer. In 2022, you broke the internet with your generous support, but we’ve upped our game and our bandwidth to be certain your votes are counted in 2023.
COTA has evolved since its origins in 2002. Created by Mary Ross to honor her mother who died of breast cancer, the event grew from an afternoon luncheon featuring three horse-and-rider combinations to an international event with 36 riders and their mounts. Its success and continued growth is due not only to its partnership with the top-rated breast cancer organization in the U.S., but to its uniquely entertaining format.
The Challenge of the America’s mission is to #Challengebreastcancer through the BCRF and its partner, Play for P.I.N.K., a grassroots organization committed to raising funds for research through sporting and lifestyle events. The BCRF is dedicated to its mission to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the world’s most promising research. It is the highest-rated breast cancer organization and the largest private funder of breast cancer research in the U.S. That research is saving lives, improving outcomes and uncovering new approaches to this complex, challenging disease.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide–surpassing lung cancer for the first time in 2020–and the most common cancer diagnosed in American women. It knows no boundaries and doesn’t discriminate. It is a leading cause of cancer death in less developed countries and the second leading cause of cancer death in American women. There are few people who have not been directly or indirectly affected by the disease, and we are tickled pink to join in the fight to find a cure.
General Admission tickets for the Challenge of the Americas are available at the door for $20 and children 12 and under are free. VIP tickets, available on the website at challengeoftheamericas.com, provide the same top-notch entertainment with the bonus of enjoying the Challenge Gala featuring dinner and dancing under the tents at the showgrounds.
Proudly wear pink (even in front of your laptop!) and join the Challenge of the Americas for an exciting evening of horses and family fun as we #challengebreastcancer and help find a cure in our lifetime.
