Torrance Fleischmann and Finvarra "back in the day." Photo: Virginia Hill/Flickr/Creative Commons License.
After a recent survey revealed that 97 percent of online forum users would like to see the long format return to upper-level eventing, organizers of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event met with officials and representatives from the sport’s governing bodies in Lexington yesterday to approve bringing back the long format for the 2015 event.
For USEA President Diane Pitts, it boiled down to a matter of democracy. “We here at the USEA are deeply committed to listening to our constituents, and an overwhelming majority of our members wanted to see the long format return to Rolex. We are thrilled to be a part of making this dream a reality.”
Online forum user “BeginnerNoviceOrBust” has been vocal in leading the public outcry to return the sport to its roots. “Eventing was better back in the day,” she says, then revises her statement slightly: “Except for the dressage. The dressage was pretty bad.”
When asked to specify what she meant by “back in the day,” she clarified her statement: “When did that movie Sylvester come out? I think it was around then. Probably the ’80s.”
The ’80s were, truly, a golden era for U.S. eventing when no dream seemed too big. “If a rogue bronco ridden by a cowgirl could pull off Rolex as their very first event, anything was possible,” forum user “BeginnerNoviceOrBust” explained.
The Americans took home a team gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, a feat that we have yet to repeat since, and getting it done was the name of the game, with legends like Ginny Leng, Lucinda Green and Ian Stark dominating eventing’s upper echelons. Dressage seemed like a blip on the radar when you had endless miles of roads and tracks, steeplechase and cross country looming in front of you.
Team USA coach David O’Connor agreed: “I’m always talking about the future of American eventing, but it’s important to honor the past,” he said. “If we’re going to bring back the long format, let’s bring back the rest of it as well.” Though he did clarify he would make an exception for Bruce Davidson’s hair: “That’s probably not ever coming back. Some things are just lost to history, I guess.”
Since yesterday’s decision, organizers of the nation’s premier four-star event have begun announcing major changes that will take place in returning the competition to its golden era. First, event organizers broke the news to presenting sponsor Rolex that it had been replaced by iconographic ’80s watch brand, Swatch.
“Swatch watches were the ultimate ’80s fashion accessory,” says Rolex Swatch president and CEO Stewart Wicht, “and also they speak more specifically to the eventing demographic. A Swatch watch is an affordable timepiece, and they’ll coordinate perfectly with cross-country colors, so there are some great opportunities for rider sponsorship there as well.”
Land Rover was another casualty of the event’s paradigm shift and has been replaced by the more eventer budget-friendly Yugo. We can’t wait to see how the Yugo fares on this year’s obstacle course!
In addition to the format and sponsor changes, the sport’s rulebooks have been revised to more closely resemble what they looked like in the ’80s, long before the dawn of frangible pins; required helmet chinstraps; or mandatory retirement after fall of horse, rider or both.
No worries — leg up! Photo: Virginia Hill/Flickr/Creative Commons License.
Despite having been given less than a month’s notice regarding the format change, riders entered in this year’s event have responded positively to the news.
Lauren Kieffer, last year’s top-placed American finisher, says, “I think the ’80s thing is pretty cool. Veronica can really pull off some bright neon colors and accessories. At first I was a little upset because air vests don’t come in day-glo colors, but then I remembered that in the ’80s safety vests hadn’t even been invented yet, so I’m in the clear.”
Defending Rolex champion William Fox-Pitt was slightly less enthusiastic. “I’m pretty sure I can get a decent ‘stache going in a month, but growing a mullet doesn’t just happen overnight. I wish they’d given us a little more notice.”
William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Best of luck to this year’s competitors. Happy April Fool’s, and Go Eventing!
