The Alltech World Equestrian Games are galloping towards us, I was reminded last week, with less than thirty days to the opening ceremony. The official press release I received announced that there are 162 riders nominated for Endurance, representing 32 countries in total.
That’s a full field. Granted, it will be narrowed down a little by September 20th, the day on which final entries will be announced – but not by all that much. 156 horses started at the WEG in Aachen in 2006.
The rules allow each country a team of 5, with the 3 top performances counting for the team effort. To have a team, you must have at least three horse and rider pairs. All team riders participating will be competing for individual placement as well, while some nations will only have individual riders.
Many countries have already announced their final teams: Australia, Belgium, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain and South Africa, among others. Because of the distances they will be traveling and the requirement for the horses to be in Kentucky for a quarantine period, with the first international horses arriving September 16th, there is not a lot of reason for continued suspense.
The Canadians have listed their nominations as team and alternates. The United States, however, is taking full advantage of being on their home continent by waiting until the last minute to make final team selections and their nominations are unranked. This will allow Chef d’Equipe Becky Hart to make strategic choices based not only on current horse condition and rider teamwork, but possibly even weighted by the expected weather on September 26th, race day. She is holding her cards very close.
Of course, the home team needs to stack the deck as much as possible because there will be intense competition as well as the pressure of expectations in a race where many view them as underdogs.
The United Arab Emirates, who won the team competition at the World Endurance Championships in Terengganu, Malaysia in 2008, will undoubtedly be arriving with a full house of royals and horses to match. For the Kentucky Cup, they prepared their horses in England and took the top 3 places in the 120 km (75 mile) race, as well as 5th and 6th.
Bahrain, who finished third in Malaysia, will be sending a team to Kentucky as well. The individual medal in Malaysia went to Spanish rider Maria Alvarez Ponton with Nobby, and she is expected to be in Kentucky.
The French team won the team medal at the 2006 Games in Aachen along with second and third in the individual trials. Other European countries also have strong teams, and there are no foregone conclusions. Many riders have been preparing since Aachen for this day, and for every one who makes the list, there are countless others who must go back and begin planning for the next time – 2014 in Normandie, France.
Not every rider is based in the country they are riding for. Some are representing their countries of origin but are long-term residents of the United States.
Others are here temporarily to train, leasing American horses rather than try to bring horses from their own soil, like the Nambibian team members who were riding Darolyn Bulter’s horses in Brothers, Oregon.
Darolyn Butler may have to wave a lot of different flags. Her daughter Ceci Bulter Stasciuk is shortlisted for the US team. She also is responsible for encouraging at least one more rider to qualify for the FEI WEG – Texas resident Cecilia Strahle Engquist, who will be representing Sweden.
Although Sweden has a growing presence in endurance, the Swedish Equestrian Federation decided they would not be able to support a full team. Still, they will also be sending Maria Hagman Eriksson and Cecilia will benefit from having the support of their chef d’equipe.
Another U.S. based rider is the sole representative of Lithuania – Alisija Zabavska-Granger – and while her country does not have anything to provide other than moral support and their flag, she’ll be riding an American horse that she thinks has great potential.
They both qualify as true underdogs — but that doesn’t mean they won’t be riding competitively on September 26th. I’ll be bringing you both their stories in the coming weeks – they both overcame considerable obstacles just to get a chance at the games, and both rode in the Kentucky Cup, so they know what they’ll be up against.
For the rest of us
For the spectators, who will be able to view the rider’s progress on the majority of the six 10-25 mile loops only via electronic tracking provided by AT&T Wireless, the major adrenaline rush will undoubtedly be the 7 a.m. start.
Since the track travels over private properties, no spectators are allowed out along the course. As far as I know, there will be no helmet cams or Goodyear blimp shots either – endurance racing doesn’t attract the same audience as the Kentucky Derby – but with NBC providing television coverage of the WEG, we can hope that there might be some video availablel.
Some riders may elect to hang back to avoid the mass start at 7 a.m., though the clock will start ticking regardless. However, there are strategic advantages to being near the front. Depending on the weather, the 100 mile/160 KM course, comprised of 6 loops traveling out of the horse park over area farms, could take quite a beating with so many hooves. Hours will separate the front runners from the last riders by the end of the day, so many riders will not have a choice but to deal with whatever the fates offer.
The pictures from the Kentucky Cup, show only part of what made the day so challenging – after rain soaked the course all day, not only were water crossings full, the footing became so slippery that the distance was shortened to 75 miles. Those who rode there are very conscious of the impact the footing and chill had on their horses.
Even if you don’t have the stamina to watch riders return for the vet check after each of the six loops, which will take all place in the stadium, the now discounted $25 dollar admission price (that’s really $30.74 after Ticketmaster fees) would allow you to watch the start of a lifetime!
Coffee and bright colors are recommended (by me – they make for better pictures!).
If, like so many people, you’ll just be following from afar, NBC holds exclusive video rights to the event – so no shaky iphone video, sorry.
According the WEG website:
“The three days of coverage will be on NBC the three Sundays of the event: one hour on opening Sunday, September 26 at 12 p.m. ET; three hours on October 3 at 1 p.m. ET (immediately following live coverage of the Ryder Cup golf tournament); and two hours on October 10 at 4 p.m. ET.
NBC’s programming will include coverage of the world championships in each of the eight equestrian disciplines of the Games, as well as coverage of opening and closing ceremonies. Additionally, NBC Sports holds the digital rights for the event, making it available on multiple platforms, including mobile and live streaming on NBCSports.com.”
(Note those broadcast times are Eastern Standard Time.)
photos courtesy the Alltech World Equestrian Games media center
note:edited to correct some numbers