The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 at HITS Ocala Garnered 620,000 International Television Viewers

Saugerties, NY- In 2015, the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit hosted theFurusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 event for the first time in the heart of horse country at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, Florida.

The debut of the internationally acclaimed team event, a qualifier for the FEI Nations Cup™ Finals in Europe, drew an impressive amount of attention, shining a spotlight on the sport of show jumping in the western hemisphere, and fulfilling an integral part of HITS, Inc.’s mission of expanding and improving the sport in North America.

The event in Ocala hosted the only 2015 FEI Nations Cup™ qualifier in the North and Central America and Caribbean division, comprised of Canada, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States. The event paved the way for other North and Central American countries in the division to host FEI Nations Cup™ events on their soil, like the qualifier in Valle de Bravo, Mexico this year.

According to the official Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 season report, created by Repucom and commissioned by the FEI, not only did the 2015 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ in Ocala capture top honors in the audience department in its own division, but of all the 2015 qualifiers hosted in FEI’s Europe Division 2—which included qualifiers held in Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Poland and Hungary, FEI Nations Cup™ Ocala achieved the second highest cumulative audience of these events, 620,000 TV viewers, from across the globe.

FEI Nations Cup™ Ocala was internationally highlighted on 14 TV channels, in Australia, France, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pan Europe, Portugal, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Additional coverage of the FEI Nations Cup™ Ocala included 53 hours of broadcast time on 56 different programs.

2015 hosted 16 FEI Nations Cup™ qualifiers across the globe: five in the FEI Europe Division 2, 10 in FEI Europe Division 1 and one in the North American and Caribbean Division: Ocala, Florida.

Qualifiers in FEI Europe Division 2 included Lummen, Belgium; Linz-Ebelsberg, Austria; Lisbon, Portugal; Sopot, Poland; and Budapest, Hungary. FEI Europe Division 1 qualifiers in 2015 included Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; La Baule, France; Rome, Italy; St. Gallen, Switzerland; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Falsterbo, Sweden; Bratislava, Slovakia; Hickstead, Belgium; Dublin, Ireland; and Gijon, Spain.

According to the FEI’s 2015 report, the United States produced a cumulative audience of 3.87 million, which is the total amount of people that witnessed coverage from the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™, all qualifiers included, on U.S. specific channels. Out of the 16 FEI Nations Cup™ qualifiers held in 2015 across the world, over half a million viewers in the United States came from the qualifier in Ocala.

The Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 returned to HITS Ocala in February 2016 for the second time, filling the grandstand and grass berm in Ocala Horse Properties Stadium to capacity with an additional international live stream on FEI TV. The 2016 data is not yet calculated, but with a healthy figure in 2015, the future is looking bright for HITS, Inc., and the spread of these globally high-caliber events across North America.

source: horsesdaily

image: Team Ireland winning the 2015 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ at HITS Ocala.  (Photo: ESI Photography)