*By Jacqueline Corba*
The world's top equestrians gathered in New York over the weekend for the inaugural Riders Masters Cup, a team competition featuring five riders representing the United States and five riders from Europe.
"To do it here was a dream come true," said Georgina Bloomberg, a professional equestrian on Team USA. "Anytime you can do a competition in our home city ー it's really amazing for us." Bloomberg, 35, was born in New York and is the younger daughter of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The hometown advantage didn't ultimately help the Americans, who lost 8-7. Unlike other events in the three-city, international Longines Masters series, the Rider Cup is a team competition . Bloomberg said the final result was disappointing, but she said the national team format of the competition helps make equestrian more accessible to spectators, and can help grow the sport's appeal.
"You see great access to riders there," said Bloomberg. "You won't see better competition than the masters."
The four-day Longines Masters of New York event took place at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, about 30 miles from Manhattan.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/georgina-bloomberg-on-equestrian-as-a-spectator-sport).
In a sign of how attitudes around gambling have changed as laws around it have softened, the NFL announced its first-ever partnership with a gambling company, naming Caesars as the league's official casino sponsor. Chris Holdren, chief marketing officer for Caesars, told Cheddar that the sponsorship represents the beginning of a relationship that could eventually become one where the NFL is directly endorsing sports betting.
Bull riding isn't just for the rodeo, anymore. It's coming to a major city near you ー and streaming online ー thanks largely to the efforts of Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders (PBR). And PBR CEO Sean Gleason told Cheddarthe organization has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to keep its momentum going.
The markets opened up sharply higher on Friday after Thursday's big sell-off. The turnaround was due in large part to investor optimism over the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks but also the December jobs report. The U.S. economy added 314,000 jobs last month, topping the 184,000 jobs expected. Plus, Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason and bull rider Tanner Bryne stopped by to chat about growing bull riding in the U.S. in an ever-changing media landscape.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Fitness and beauty booking tool Mindbody is planning to make a play for the next big thing in wellness ー on-demand video, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told Cheddar on Thursday. "You can expect us to be playing in that space because we think that the on-demand and streaming video revolution hitting the fitness space is a big breakthrough," Stollmeyer said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
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There's a new mixed-martial arts league on the block. The Professional Fighters League ー or PFL ー is wrapping up its inaugural season with a championship match on New Year's Eve. According to Peter Murrary, the CEO of the league, the match's purse, $1 million, is a major draw for athletes ー money talks, and can mark achievement.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Dec. 28, 2018.
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