Horses at the Pan American Games live and compete at a brand-new facility, the Campo Ecuestre Palmarejo

By Charlene Strickland

August 13, 2003 - Located northwest of Santo Domingo, away from city and the main Pan-Am stadium, the riding club is set in a lush tropical landscape. The terrain for arenas is sand, with the grounds bulldozed flat for the practice and show arenas. A clubhouse is on a grassy hill above the show arena, and barns are across the access road.

The six 24-stall barns are spacious and well-ventilated, with high ceilings. "The barns have large, airy, 16 by 16-foot stalls," said Chief Steward of dressage, Veronica Holt of Colorado. Huge fans at each gable end keep air moving, and some nations also brought portable fans for stalls and barn aisles. Despite the tropical heat, the barns are relatively cool.

The site also features barns for feed storage, dormitories for grooms, and a veterinary clinic. A cushion of rock footing covers all the dirt between buildings, to eliminate the mud that results from frequent tropical downpours.
Jack Snyder, DVM, said, "The rock footing is soft on the ground, and the horses have good traction." From University of California, Davis, Snyder is Chief of the Veterinary Hospital of the Pan-American Games.

Three practice arenas are adjacent to the warmup arena. Rock walls enclose the warmup and show arenas, and the show arena is uphill from the practice and warmup arenas.