August 21, 2006

HorsesDaily Behind the Scenes for the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games

Follow the US Eventing WEG Shortlist Updates with Torri Nahorniak from USEF

We Have Made It - Let the Games Begin!

Well, we have made it!!! The horses all loaded at 4:30am for the journey. I was in one of the lorries with Max, Colby, and Doretta. We all got some sleep before the ferry ride from England to France. It was quite the experience. Just the size of the ports and the ferries are huge. The sea was a bit rough and a few of us got a bit queasy, but everyone made it with breakfast. From there we had another 5 or so hours and then we were in Aachen.

After a brief, accidental detour we made it to the show grounds and the chaos hit. There were so many horses, vehicles, and people it was very overwhelming. Mark's advice to everyone was just work on the things you can control and deal the best you can with the things you can't. And at an event this size there are plenty of things you can't control.

The most important thing is the horses all made the trip in good shape and are now all settled into their stalls. The equipment truck also made it and all of our stuff is now taking up quite a bit of space in the stable we were assigned. I must say that we pack more stuff (tempted to use another word, but it might get screened out by some servers) than several other countries put together. No one can say we aren't well equipped for the job at hand. The riders all rode around for a bit today to get settled in and get their bearings and they will school tomorrow. The competitor's briefing and cross-country course walk are on Wednesday. The word is the course is a definite 4 star.

Accomodations here are good. The grooms elected to stay in the grooms accomodations and they are overall pretty good. This will let them stay close to the horses and make it much easier for them to do late night checks, feed early, etc. The hotel provided by the organizer for the rest of us is very nice. Compared to the beds we had in England we have all gone to heaven. I have managed to find my way around again and have found the Walmart and the bank. Two very important things while here as we always seem to need something and no one seems to take a credit card so cash is king. The shopping looks to be quite spectacular so if anyone has any requests from their people here definitely let them know. There are plenty of things to choose from.

Anyway, off we go and I'll catch everyone up day to day.