Master of Ceremonies Robert Dover, a six-time dressage Olympian, kicked off the American Equestrians Got Talent live auditions on Feb. 6 at Romeo’s Italian Restaurant.
The equestrian community of Wellington left aside their horse duties and enjoyed a wonderful night. A total of eight talented competitors were in the first round of the competition.
They were reviewed by Wellington’s very own celebrity judges: Ashley Holzer, a Grand Prix dressage rider; Kimberly Van Kampen, founder of Discover Dressage; Roxanne Stein, former WPTV anchor and current Wellington Chamber of Commerce president; and Chip McKenney, founder of the Gay Polo League.
The top five moved on to a second round, as determined by the judges. Nadège Nightingale, Chelsea Hellman, Alyssa Marie Coon, Monica Canedo and Brandon Olavarria progressed to the second phase. The final top three — Hellman, Olavarria and Canedo — were awarded with golden tickets, which send the contestants on to the $10,000 Grand Finale, set for Sunday, March 17 at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival VIP tent.
The next AEGT audition is set for Wednesday, March 6, also at Romeo’s, located at 13889 Wellington Trace in the Wellington Marketplace. For more info., e-mail aegtusa@gmail.com. Walk-in performers may be accepted as time permits.
American Equestrians Got Talent was founded by Dover. In its fourth year, AEGT is the largest equestrian fundraising talent show in Wellington. This contest is supported by Discover Dressage, which supports the USEF Emerging Athlete Program for dressage. For ticket information, contact Patty Scott at (917) 318-0425 or pjscott@mac.com, or visit www.aegtusa.com.
