For me, this was definitely a weekend of mixing business with pleasure; the kids and I spent as much time as possible on the beach about a 45 minute drive east of the (Alice in) Wonderland that is Wellyworld. Really 45 minutes is NOT that far, when you imagine how far most people traveled to get to Palm Beach. So to a certain COTH staffer who spends plenty of time at the World Equestrian Festival and has yet to feel sand in her toes, I urge you to make the trip next weekend because you’ll really feel like you had a proper holiday.
Props to Hannah Sue Burnett for her beautiful rendition of the US National Anthem to start off Saturday night, it was wonderful. Hannah did remark later that she was quite nervous as it was the first time she’s sung The Star Spangled Banner in public. Her first choice karaoke would be the Dixie Chicks’ “Landslide”.
Also, I couldn’t possibly go any further without mentioning announcer John Kyle, who did a fabulous job of not only commentating, but asked some pertinent questions, gave us some interesting background facts. Talking about doing cross country jumps under the lights, John prompted fellow commentator Leslie Law to tell us about training for the Athens Olympics. It was the first time the UK horses had show-jumped under lights, so they duly arranged a special team schooling session one evening, hoping to jump about 9pm, completely forgetting that in England in the summer it doesn’t get really dark before 11pm. Of course by then everyone had fallen asleep, so the Brits went to Athens never having jumped under lights before (!), and basically filled in all the gaps and patched everything together seamlessly. Luckily for all the Red Hills competitors and spectators, John Kyle doesn’t have to fly straight home to England; he’ll be gracing us with his presence in Tallahassee before rushing back to resume duties as Major John Kyle, Deputy Governor of HM Palace and Fortress, The Tower of London. John really did do an amazing job, rousing the crowd, and the competitors, and I can’t imagine it without his skill, wit ,and experience.
David O Connor designed a very clever course; plenty for the eventers to do, some great gallops across the arena, and certainly enough to keep the polo players and show-jumpers occupied. Perhaps it was because we were lucky enough to be watching riders at the very top of their game, but on the whole, they all handled it really well. The polo players, as one, seem to have immobile lower legs, and although they may have looked slightly long in the stirrup, they never budged!
Bruce Davidson’s amazing ride:
Laura Kraut, for me, was the best show jumper on course. Katie Prudent, who took home the Jumper MVP prize, looked equally at ease over the solid fences. Georgina Bloomberg was a last minute scratch which meant that Marilyn Little-Meredith was substituted for Team Triple Crown, and as John Kyle said, she was probably a bit of a ringer as their jumper because she has successfully competed her ride Udonna up to Intermediate level and is campaigning for Fair Hill in the fall, as is well documented on Eventing Nation [From Grand Prix Show Jumping to Eventing].
Dominic State, the polo player for Team Haygain, rode one of Will Faudree’s horse, and Will came into the International Tent to watch nervously but they were both great! Will Faudree of course rode a beautiful and fast round, as well as being the first rider to clear the Hermes joker fence at 4’7″. Will was ultimately the Eventing MVP.
Surprisingly a few of the eventers had problems at the “cross country” fences, and a lot of the event horses were suspicious of the relatively small bank, maybe because it was sand, or in the middle of an arena? I’m not sure. Clark Montgomery posted a beautiful round with just one rail down to start the evening off. Watching him is like a masterclass, such a treat, I’d say he was one of the most stylish all night. There were definitely some riders that had their blood up, and looked like they were out hunting, or perhaps steeplechasing!
It was nice to see Burger, or Destination Known, back with Alison Springer, what a nice-jumping horse he is, and he looked thrilled to be back in the limelight.
There was a great atmosphere; not only did the horses have to contend with jumping show-jumps and cross country fences under the lights, they were also accompanied by loud music most of the time and rain which fell intermittently, so there was a lot going on. I had a little time to wander the show grounds before the Derby X started, and although I’ve been to Wellington a few times now, it never ceases to amaze me. It’s been a few years since I visited, and as usual I’m left gobsmacked – it’s bigger (12 rings?), even more ostentatious – Sushi, safari’s, a nightclub? It truly is a village, but one with a law unto itself.
I was sorry to miss the Nations Cup on Friday night, but enjoyed, as always, Erin Gilmore’s account of it on her Sidelines blog [The Way It Should Be]. Within that story is another very good reason to visit the Kentucky Horse Park this summer. Margie Engle, who helped the US Team to their wonderful win, rode Indigo, a horse she bought from Australia with her winnings from the Hagyard Grand Prix series [Kentucky Spring Horse Shows Announces Sponsors For The 2011 Spring Show Series] when she was leading rider in 2009, and was presented with her check at the Betsy, the first show-jumping competition to be held in the Alltech Arena. The classes are held in the new outdoor stadium in the evenings during the summer and are great fun to watch, and as you can tell, draw terrific riders.
Pablo Barrios, who cleared 7ft 3 inches last night (that’s a foot taller than EN John!) to take the Puissance is also a regular in Lexington during the summer, so they must be something right!
Personally, I was very happy to finally meet Jacob Phoenix in person, eventer Jessica Phoenix’s beautiful son. Jessie rode a great round for Canada, you could see her beaming grin from anywhere you were sitting in the arena the whole way round; I miss our regular updates as part of the 2010 radio show spotlight riders series, but I’m glad that she’s got Exploring and Exponential back in action and headed to Rolex, and I promise to keep you updated. Also aiming for Rolex is another of my 2010 radio show favorites, Missy Ransehousen on BG, or Critical Decision, and I hope to catch up with her soon and bring you some news, but in the meantime, she and Becca Hart are scheduled to be guests on Robert Dover’s radio show a week on Tuesday, March 15th. [Dover’s World]
I could go on and on all day, but sadly we must start heading for Kentucky, snow and a winter weather advisory – back to real life. We really enjoyed our mini-break, and hope you enjoyed reading about it, thanks for joining us. See you at Red Hills.
