MILL SPRING – Slides, spins, rollbacks and cowboy hats are a little change in the typical venue of Tryon horse country. This May the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) will host some of the top Reining horses in the US as they try for a spot at the World Equestrian Games (WEG).

TIEC is hosting the 28th annual Carolina Classic Derby May 8-13, 2018. This will be the first Reining event at the Pea Ridge facility. The event includes the Selection Trials for the Reining USA Team members who will compete in the games in September and the $15,000 CRI3* WEG Reining Test Event.

Quarter Horse and Western riding enthusiasts will also enjoy double slate of National Reining Horse Association ancillary classes, American Quarter Horse Association classes and USA Reining classes. Other classes included during the Carolina Classic event are the Carolina Classic Open and Non Pro Derbies and Atlantic Breeders Incentive Derby.

“After 27 years of producing the Carolina Classic Derby, I am proud to see the event move to another level,” said Mike Hancock, longtime producer of the Carolina Classic Derby. “The facility at Tryon is spectacular! I know the management team will do an outstanding job producing an event that will be exciting and fun-filled for the exhibitors. It is good to see that our history of Southern hospitality will continue!”

Mark Bellissimo, Co-Founder and CEO of Tryon International Equestrian Center, said, “We are incredibly honored to be the new host of the Carolina Classic and expand our footprint to welcome Western disciplines to Tryon International Equestrian Center. With the addition of our covered arena, we look forward to delivering world-class reining competitions at our venue year-round and are very proud to launch our reining program with such a distinguished show and its impressive team.”