Classic Eventing Nation

McLain Ward of the United States on Clinta. Photo FEI/Martin Dokoupil.

What were the chances that after three rounds of jumping there would be a tie for the gold medal position? In fact, it’s the first time that such a result has occurred at the World Equestrian Games, culminating in a jump-off for gold. The jump-off itself was so close that it literally came down to the final round — and McLain Ward and the stunning Clinta delivered. Catch the full recap, and watch the winning round, complete with thunderous roar from the thrilled home crowd. [U.S. Show Jumping Team Takes WEG Gold On Home Turf]

Turn up your volume for this one. It’s well worth it.

History was also made in Para-Dressage, in which the Netherlands became the first team to dethrone the British since the sport’s recognition. It came down to less than one percentage point, and the Dutch edged out the reigning Brits with consistent performances across the board. Para-dressage competition concludes tomorrow with the freestyle championship. [The Netherlands ends Great Britain’s unbeaten para dressage run: ‘We will come back stronger’]

The USA has set the bar high on the first day of combined driving, led by the legendary Chester Weber in driven dressage. Weber currently sits second in the individual standings with a score of 35.10, and teammate Misdee Wrigley-Miller is fourth with a 42.00; USA’s James Fairclough held the drop score. This summary article from the FEI does a great job of explaining just why driven dressage is a tougher challenge than it looks: combine the traditional challenge of dressage with the task of pulling a carriage while working in unison with a total of four horses, and driven dressage is in fact not a casual drive in the park! [USA Drive to the Top]

Don’t miss these gorgeous images from today’s show jumping team final! [Show Jumping at #Tryon2018: Day 2 Photo Gallery]

What does it mean to be chef d’equipe? Rob Ehrens of the Netherlands shares his thoughts and his strategies that have helped pilot the Dutch team to the highest highs as well as the lowest lows. From communication to scheduling, Ehrens details how he drew his road map to the WEG in a fascinating look at one of the more critical roles for a world championship team. [It’s Business As Usual: Rob Ehrens Discusses His Role As Show Jumping Chef d’Equipe For The Netherlands]

Three disciplines, one pint-sized recap to get you all caught up on the day’s events. Biz Stamm of Horse Nation is your bartender this evening for WEG Happy Hour!

Janika Sprunger of Switzerland on Bacardi VDL. Photo FEI/Martin Dokoupil.

Rails were dropping like it was hot (and it was) in day 2 of show jumping.

Alan Wade’s challenging track produced just a handful of clear rounds, really shaking up the leaderboard. Speed round winner Steve Guerdat picked up four faults dropping him down to eighth position while Italian rider, Lorenzo de Luca, rode a fast double clear to move from ninth to first. Veteran U.S. team rider McLain Ward left all the rails up and only picked up a single time penalty to move into second place. His teammate, WEG rookie Adrienne Sternlicht, also had a successful round, picking up just one time fault, putting her in 12th position and taking the U.S. team from fourth to second!

The Swiss team remains in first place, though less than one fault separates them and the U.S. promising to make tomorrow a real nail-biter! With a full day of jumping ahead us tomorrow, it’s still anyone’s game in the team competition.  Get caught up on WEG show jumping results here for the individual competition and here for the team competition. Also be sure to check in with our sister site, Jumper Nation, for even more coverage of show jumping at WEG 2018!

The grade II, IV, and V para dressage riders started off the team competition. Stinna Tange Kaastrup from the Netherlands and her gelding, Horsebo Smarties, stole the world’s heart after winning the grade II individual competition and she stole the show again today landing on top of the grade II team riders. In addition to Stinna, several of the other powerhouses from the individual tests were also forces to be reckoned with in the team competition, including Sophie Wells of Great Britain and Sanne Voets of the Netherlands. With grade I and grade IIIs still to go tomorrow it will be interesting to see how shake out, but there is no doubt that the Dutch team is looking strong! Check out the results for the para dressage team competition here.

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Ongelooflijk! Demantur N.O.P. danst naar 76,55% in de team test en zet daarmee TeamNL op kop in de tussenstand van het landenklassement! #nowords #proud #worldchampions #teamtest #teamNL #winner #overthemoon #worldequestriangames2018 #tryon2018 #paradressage #zodoenwedat #teamSV

A post shared by Sanne Voets (@sanne_voets) on Sep 20, 2018 at 5:05pm PDT

Para is all about the love! I got seriously emotional listening to the Wednesday 2018 WEG Show on Horse Radio Network.  The riders have so much love for their horses, and the gratitude they have for their mounts is something all equestrians should take to heart. It was also lovely to hear how supportive they are, not just their fellow teammates, but the other competitors as well. You can check out these awesome interviews with U.S. para riders and stay up to date with everything WEG by checking in with our friends over at Horse Radio Network. (Also be sure to tune in for the Horse Nation segment every Monday on HRN’s Horses in the Morning.)

Italian vaulters sambaed their way to gold in the pas de deux. The Austrian team was looking to defend their world title, but they were beat out by the Italians and their energetic, samba-based routine. The Germans were dominant in the other three vaulting events, taking the top spots in all but the male individual competition where French vaulter, Lambert Leclezio is in the lead. He has three Germans hot on his trail and hungry for gold, however.

Remember to never WEG and drive and be sure to always choose a WEGsignated driver.

Go Riding!

Delivering feed to the British horses in stabling at WEG. Photo courtesy of KER.

What goes into feeding all of the horses during the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games? Kentucky Equine Research is the Official Equine Nutritionist of Tryon, and they coordinated getting familiar feeds from around the world to the horses competing.

Now that WEG is in full swing, KER’s focus has shifted to getting the feed delivered to all the horses in stabling. In week one, the KER crew delivered 1,093 bags of finished feed and 107 bags of grains. Of the grains, whole oats and rolled oats are the most popular, while steam-crimped oats are less popular. KER has also delivered cracked corn, flax seed, rolled barley, sugar beet pulp shreds and wheat bran.

KER has also delivered 2,945 bales of hay. Competitors have been offered two cuttings of timothy hay, as well as alfalfa and orchard grass. The timothy hay has by far been the most popular, with a nearly 50-50 split between the first- and second-cutting varieties.

With high heat and humidity in North Carolina, demand has increases for electrolytes. KER offers powder and paste versions of their electrolyte products, as well as traditional salt blocks. In week one KER distributed 233 tubes of electrolyte paste, plus 73 packs of electrolyte powder (typically a 20-serving supply for a single horse) and several larger containers of electrolyte powder for larger teams. Five-pound white salt blocks were requested by 86 athletes.

KER received 1,300 treat orders in week one. These deliveries included:

• 137 bushel boxes of apples (40 pounds each)
• 253 bags of apples (5 pounds each)
• 453 large bags of carrots (25 pounds each)
• 441 small bags of carrots (5 pounds each)
• And 15 REALLY big bags of carrots — 50 pounds each!

That’s 21,025 pounds of treats for the horses at Tryon, or 10.5 tons.

The KER crew working in the stables is a mix of full-time employees, research interns and volunteers. Thank you to the KER crew for working hard to make sure the horses at WEG have all the feed and treats they need.

The KER interns even got a front-row seat to watch the show jumping finale at WEG on Monday:

The KER interns, from left: Vera, Kenyan, Shannon and Julia. Not pictured are Caroline, Emma and Ciara, who also helped in week one. Photo courtesy of KER.

KER is blogging behind the scenes on the process of feeding all the horses at WEG. Click here to read the latest news.