It wasn’t exactly how I’d hoped to experience the World Equestrian Games (WEG) but not too shabby, either.
I spent years striving to make the U.S. para-dressage team. If you follow my blog, you read all about my trials and tribulations, so I won’t revisit them here. By now, you may already know that the U.S. Para-dressage team was amazingly successful at WEG. There are lots of articles, interviews, and pictures about those incredible athletes, both horse and rider. They have changed the face of U.S. para-equestrian sports far into the future and all Americans (not just paras) should be proud of their accomplishments.
Knowing the odds of making a team are always slight, last year I bought four Dressage and four Para-Dressage full session tickets. If I’d made the team, my children would have used them. Since I didn’t make the team, I used them.
I rented a house in Tryon about 15 minutes from the facility and hunkered down to watch the best of the best for both weeks, hurricane be darned. Luckily, I also fell into tickets for reining, jumping, cross country, marathon and cones driving. It was all horses – all the time. The very first day, I quietly held my breath transfixed by Grand Prix dressage in the morning, then hooted and hollered for Reining in the afternoon.
Every day, I was amazed at the physical and mental strength of the athletes and their mounts. Every day, I witnessed rides that induced goosebumps, learning a new respect and interest in other FEI equestrian sports, so much so, that I attended the 3* CIC Horse Trials in Aiken, SC this past weekend, walking the cross-country course with Boyd Martin (a top U.S. eventer) on Friday, then blocked out a November weekend for the Katydid Combined Driving Event, also in Aiken!
Throughout the two weeks of WEG, I was captivated as each horse glided over its next jump or as each 4-in-hand team splashed through water obstacles, close enough to touch as they rounded the turn. I walked each course, multiple times, calculating how each rider might make the approach or when each horse would need to be brave and sure-footed and honest. It was all mesmerizing – every single event.
By now, you know that the facility wasn’t ready. And the hurricane didn’t help. But remember, they only had 16 months after winning the bid once Canada pulled out. The locals kept asking me what I thought. I told them that within 2 years, Tryon will be a world class equestrian facility in gorgeous mountains dotted with wineries and breweries, cute restaurants and bistros, fabulous accommodations, and some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.
As for me, I’m training hard to move up in able-bodied dressage, with a Silver medal as my next big goal. And, recently, my world view further expanded by saying “Yes” to opportunities that include fox hunting, steeplechase, and polo. All horses – all the time. Works for me.
