Will’s Blog: Behind the Scenes at the 2010 World Equestrian Games

Will Connell’s blog from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, offered a behind-the-scenes view of the British team’s preparations. He opened by apologising that the entry would be shorter than usual, having spent the morning sorting out transport for the team before meeting colleagues for breakfast.

Conditions on the ground were warm, with temperatures reaching into the nineties, which he noted was fine for the beach but less so for working horses. He reported that the British horses were arriving at the venue: the endurance horses and one reining horse had come through post-arrival quarantine and looked well after light exercise, while the dressage horses had reached post-arrival quarantine and were said to have travelled well. Two dressage grooms were with the horses and two were at the venue, having settled into their accommodation after relocating to avoid mouse droppings in one of the RVs.

Settling in at the venue

Connell described the work going into preparing the stables, with farriers hanging drapes, raising flags and installing fans, each horse in the wooden barns being given a fan to help keep it cool. He noted that the farriers and Sarah would be on bicycle duty, wrapping the ten team bicycles in red, white and blue tape for easy identification and pumping up the tyres.

He paid a light-hearted tribute to the hard-working Equestrian Team GBR staff, joking about their efforts before turning to arrivals. Richard Waygood, the dressage Chef d’Equipe, and equine physiotherapist Vicky Spalding had arrived the previous night, as had Jenny Hall, a former team vet for eventing and by then veterinary manager for London 2012, who had flown with the dressage horses from Liege to Cincinnati.

Logistics and the build-up to competition

Connell raised the difficulty caused by a sudden, unannounced change to vehicle access at the venue, which created additional headaches for the teams as they delivered supplies and stocked up on water and other essentials. He noted that things were beginning to settle down and that the organising committee was working hard to get everything ready. The venue was looking impressive, with the cross-country course described as a swathe of green through an otherwise brown park, although he cautioned that the endurance race would benefit from some rain.

He also visited the International Supporters Pavilion, where Rosemary Barlow would help the United States Equestrian Federation run a hospitality facility for owners and the families and friends of athletes, and reported that it was looking great. He closed with the daily orders that go to all of Equestrian Team GBR and an American proverb of the day: “Every pea helps to fill the pod.”