Bring On the World
July 24, 2009
Experiencing the CRI4* Kentucky Cup – a preview to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
The new indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, first used for the Kentucky Cup Reining, the first test event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. (Megan Arszman)
For residents of Lexington, Kentucky, it’s been a long time coming. Drive around town, and you’ll see countdown clocks and billboards all touting that “The World is Coming!” Now it’s down to a matter of a little more than 400 days until the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games hit the Bluegrass State.
For months, entering the Kentucky Horse Park has been a matter of battling construction traffic, cones and hard hats. Mixed with sounds of horses nickering and spectators cheering are truck beeps, cement mixers and jackhammers. While that’s still the norm in some parts of the park, that has dulled a bit, and the roar of approving applause has opened the gem of the Bluegrass: the $45 million indoor facility, the complementary centerpiece to the park’s new outdoor stadium which opened this spring with the Rolex Three Day Event in April.
The building still has that “new arena smell” to it. There’s fresh green paint on the walls, barely trodden dirt and new plastic stadium seats waiting to host fans. One barn has been completed with the stalls now being broken in with their first scraps of hay, splashes of water, and manure piles gracing the floor. The other two barns are still in the process of being built, but the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation pushed to have the first barn completed for the Kentucky Cup. Unlike the older barns on the grounds, these are all indoor and attach to the indoor arena for optimal all weather exhibition.
It’s hard to find someone not smiling at the facility. Kentucky Cup volunteers have quickly learned the ins and outs of the arena. The people in the media center are ready and willing to show the press what they have to look forward to next year, including a quick tutorial on the sport of reining for the many non-equine media outlets that have requested credentials.
Simple questions like “So there’s no ‘g’ in reining?” to “How do those horses change direction so quickly?” are answered by anyone who knows – whether it’s a volunteer or a representative of another equine publication.
And with the appearance of the CRI4* Kentucky Cup July 21-24, 2009, the first reining test event for the WEG, it feels like the world is finally on its way. Reiners from the United States, Canada and Mexico were on hand to compete during the week as teams and individuals.
Canadian rider Lisa Coulter radiated excitement for the new facility and the upcoming WEG.
“I’m excited to compete in the new arena,” Lisa said. “It feels very European with the shape and the audience placement. I was the first to ride my horse (Hollywood Aces) into the arena, and he loves it. All the horses feel real comfortable with placement of the walls, chairs, and the people above you.
“We wondered why they made (the arena) like this,” she added. “It’s not like in Oklahoma City where it’s more oval shaped, it’s smaller and like an egg. I think the European feel will play into an advantage for the Europeans. I’m glad I got the chance to ride in here.”
In the first day of team competition on Tuesday, Team U.S.A. member Aaron Ralston had the distinction of being the first to ride his horse, Double My Whiskey, into the arena for judging.
Team U.S.A. – Aaron, Shawn Flarida and Smart Spook, Dell Hendricks and Starbucks Sidekick, and Tom McCutcheon and Darlins Not Painted – won the gold with a cumulative score of 659.5.
Team Canada earned a 641: Lisa, Dave Young on Angels Mark, Francois Gauthier on Smartys Lil Image, and Jason Grimshaw on Chics Sonata. Team Mexico brought home the bronze for Alberto Hawa and Grab Your Guns, Jorge Ramirez and Jalapeno Peppy, Ruben Pacheco and Footworks Special, and Jose Vazquez on Juiced Up Doc.
Read more about the competition at www.alltechfeigames.com. It’s also the Journal’s Top Story at aqha.com/showing.
–contributed by Megan Arszman, Journal special contributor
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