Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence


			FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 21, 2003 OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNING EQUESTRIANS, FAMILY FUN FOR ALL AGES AT 6th ANNUAL NEW ALBANY CLASSIC, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 (COLUMBUS) - With record breaking ticket sales of more than 16,000, the sixth annual New Albany Classic Invitational Grand Prix and Family Day on Sunday, September 21, offered families a day of exciting equestrian competition, live entertainment and activities. The Classic ran from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the home of Les and Abigail Wexner in New Albany, Ohio. The Classic is sponsored by Bank One Private Client Services. All proceeds benefit the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence. The New Albany Classic's highlights included: $50,000 purse Grand Prix jumping event with 25 of North America's top professional riders National and local entertainment headlined by Jack Hanna's Animal Adventure, members of The Ohio State University Marching Band, OSU Cheerleaders and Brutus Buckeye, the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, The Broadway Kids and Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Company, a hilarious show of big balloons and blow-ups Clowns, jugglers, face and hair painting, boomerang demonstrations, and street performers Exciting carnival rides, antique carriage rides, animal petting zoo Educational and fun activities by COSI on Wheels, the Wexner Center for the Arts, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, BalletMet, the King Arts Complex and Columbus Children's Theatre The Classic Silent Auction with donated items, including dinners, vacations, concerts, jewelry, sports memorabilia, a concert piano, luxury car and more. Local celebrities signed autographs and posed for pictures at the Hometown Heroes Tent from noon - 2 p.m. including: the Columbus Crew's Brian McBride, OSU's Archie Griffin, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Director Emeritus Jack Hanna, Chris and Stefanie Spielman, Katie Smith, Channel 10's Andrea Cambern and Dave Kaylor, and others. The New Albany Classic is one of the most prestigious events on the professional showjumping circuit, and Central Ohio's only Grand Prix competition, with 25 of North America's most accomplished equestrians competing in a USA Equestrian, Inc.-sanctioned event. Grand Prix jumping is the most demanding of the jumping disciplines and is one of the few sports where men and women compete equally. Many of the riders are former Olympians and included all four members of the Gold Medal winning American team from the August 2003 Pan American Games. In addition to a share of the $50,000 purse, the first place winner also received a two year lease on a new Volkswagen Touareg SUV courtesy of Midwestern Auto Group. Entertainment on the Classic stage was from 10:45 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. and the sixth annual New Albany Invitational Grand Prix began at 2:30 p.m. with a welcoming ceremony and competition following at 3 p.m. The Classic Stage, hosted by WBNS 10-TV's Angela Pace and Mike Davis, featured live national and local entertainment throughout the day. Performers included: The Broadway Kids, young stage performers with six hit albums The Ohio State University Cheerleaders, members of the Marching Band and Brutus Buckeye Columbus Zoo and Aquarium Director Emeritus Jack Hanna and his animal friends Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Company, a hilarious show of big balloons and blow-ups The Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra with 100 outstanding student-musicians "Thanks to the community's support of The New Albany Classic, we are truly making progress toward our goal of breaking the cycle of violence in our community," said Coalition Founder and Board Chair Abigail S. Wexner. "Over the last six years, through our partnerships and initiatives we have raised awareness about family violence, trained thousands in our community to identify and respond to family violence and dramatically increased the services available for family violence victims." Other Classic sponsors include: Limited Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Columbus Dispatch, Crown Eurocars, Huntington Bank, Nationwide, and Barbara Trueman and Family. More details can be found at www.thenewalbanyclassic.com. Founded in 1998 by Abigail S. Wexner, the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence is comprised of leaders from businesses and organizations in Central Ohio committed to reforming our systems to stop the cycle of violence in our community. The Coalition focuses its work on five touchpoints - where the victims and societal institutions intersect - with task forces working to create systemic change. These task forces are: Business Community/Public Education, Faith Community, Health Care, Legal System and Victim Services. To learn more, go to www.thecolumbuscoalition.org.