Thursday, our performance went wonderfully (and trust me, you will notice a trend here). And we even got a pleasant surprise: instead of having to perform for an hour straight (our Sound of Music routine was half an hour), we would get two extra half hour slots Friday and Saturday. That definitely made life easier!
My week would be full of great people, and my parents were no exception. They drove down from Wisconsin to watch us for a couple days, and while neither of them are horse people, they had a great time. My dad, an architect and "jack of all trades," was thrilled to look at the buildings and the grounds. He had a great viewpoint from Ingrid's (illegal) electric bike.
Well, we thought it would be illegal at first. Before we arrived at WEG, we were given a long list (think dozens of pages) of rules, regulations, and prohibited items. Essentially, any form of transportation besides your own two feet was not allowed. And in some cases, these rules were ENFORCED! WEG's facebook told us every day that umbrellas still were not allowed. (Who cares about scoring? I need to be reminded about UMBRELLAS!) And one international competitor was handcuffed for trying to get into the international barn without proper identification...poor guy.
That being said, not all rules were enforced. You could bring in food and water no problem. And you could definitely ride bikes, and if you are lucky enough to be friends with Ingrid and Carlo, you could ride electric bikes! My dad loved these things; we basically lost him for an entire afternoon. Every once in a while, we'd see him zipping around, wind in his hair, and he'd update us on something new and exciting; did you know the roofs on those buildings are new? They laid this sod last fall. By Thursday, he had it all figured out; I have no doubt that if we had stayed for another few days, he would have gotten access anywhere. He was hanging out with people from the international barn. One helpful chap even told him that he couldn't get into the barn with the ID he had on, but all he had to do was go to this trailer, get his picture taken, and receive a special armband and he was in. Honestly, how cool is my dad?
Thursday night, while the exhaustion was beginning to hit us, we wanted to experience Lexington, and this was our chance. So Stevie, Brenda, Ingrid, Carlo, Carlo's friend, Franz, and I went out. And man, Lexington was hopping! I'm not sure if it's always like that, but there were people everywhere, some sort of outdoor festival, and lots of places with live music and dancing. Of course, by that point all we wanted to do was sit down and eat, and we found a great place to do that, too. After contemplating going to a club, our fatigue won and we went back to our respective sleeping areas.
For me, you might remember that was a hotel room with eight people total. Besides Stevie and I, the other girls were teenagers, and here's a shout-out to them: HOW has got some great youth! They were studious, polite, got along with each other, and had a wonderful time. I really can't say enough good stuff about these girls, and I'm so glad I had a chance to spend time with them.
Next up: Freestyle Friday!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Parking, party buses, and mad golf cart rides
So, did you follow our Sound of Music performance? It went wonderfully each and every time we did it - and it got better each time!
Our horses, while maybe not thrilled to be hanging out in stalls all week, were well-behaved and settled in nicely as the week went on. However, there was lots going on outside of our Haflinger Heaven.
To give you an idea of what the WEG grounds were like, imagine perhaps a space the size of a small town. This was our venue. It was literally miles of walking to get anywhere - good thing we brought nice walking shoes! It was a hike to get just about anywhere - to the shopping, to the competition venues, to the Equine Village (where we performed), to the food, to the bathrooms, to the parking...the list goes on. The Kentucky Horse Park is a big place, and while it did take awhile to get from place to place, the good news was that the venue was never crowded to the point of claustrophobia.
There were events going on constantly. The shopping was open all day, competitions were held every day of WEG, and the Equine Village always had something fun to watch. Apart from our act, there were world-class clinicians teaching audiences, drill teams, demonstrations, and other performers. I have to say, among all those different entertainers, I think we had the best costumes :) (And possibly the cutest horses, too!)
One difficulty was that it was hard to get from place to place due to inadequate maps and directions. Many people did not even know that the Equine Village even existed, let alone how to get to it. There were volunteers everywhere, who were usually woefully uninformed.
But let me tell you about those volunteers: they were the nicest people I have ever met. Every single one of them, and there were thousands. Even if they didn't have the answer or were asking you to do something unpleasant, they were so friendly, it was impossible not to like them. It didn't matter where they were working, they made life great.
Possibly the best people working there were the parking attendants. They are an interesting bunch, and we studied them scientifically with these results:
Kate, Clare, and I returned to WEG after dinner Wednesday night to feed, water, and muck before retiring for the night. After being redirected to several parking lots, we finally parked the truck and started to make the miles-long trek to the barn. A kind volunteer pointed us in the direction of the shuttle when we were overtaken by a golf cart.
"Do you vant a ride?" called one of the girls in the cart. Um, was that even a question? I plopped next to the two ladies in the cart while Kate and Clare climbed in the back. And we were off.
Turns out, they were Swedish eventing grooms who were as excited to be at WEG as we were. When they weren't chattering in Swedish, they made race car driving noises while urging our 8mph top speed golf cart onward as though it were a Formula One vehicle. They also regaled us with other golf cart adventures, like how they piled sixteen people onto the poor sucker and it reared and nearly threw them all off. When they dropped us off at our spot, we were thrilled - we were officially hanging out with international competitors - how cool was that??
And it just got better from there. After we cared for the critters, we began walking back to the car when a big white van pulled up behind us. "Come on in!" called the driver, a middle-aged black man driving a "Grooms Shuttle." We hopped on immediately, and as we entered, he clarified: "Come on into the Party Bus! I'm Ray, the Party Animal!"
Indeed he was. He turned up the jams and began rocking out in the driver's seat, alternating dancing in his chair and asking me questions about how much I party. Obviously, I don't party as much as Ray, who insisted that I party with him. "We party all the time here, this is the Party Bus, yo!" He partied us to our car and we kept the party going back to the hotel, thus ending our first full WEG day.
If this was WEG, this was awesome.
Our horses, while maybe not thrilled to be hanging out in stalls all week, were well-behaved and settled in nicely as the week went on. However, there was lots going on outside of our Haflinger Heaven.
To give you an idea of what the WEG grounds were like, imagine perhaps a space the size of a small town. This was our venue. It was literally miles of walking to get anywhere - good thing we brought nice walking shoes! It was a hike to get just about anywhere - to the shopping, to the competition venues, to the Equine Village (where we performed), to the food, to the bathrooms, to the parking...the list goes on. The Kentucky Horse Park is a big place, and while it did take awhile to get from place to place, the good news was that the venue was never crowded to the point of claustrophobia.
There were events going on constantly. The shopping was open all day, competitions were held every day of WEG, and the Equine Village always had something fun to watch. Apart from our act, there were world-class clinicians teaching audiences, drill teams, demonstrations, and other performers. I have to say, among all those different entertainers, I think we had the best costumes :) (And possibly the cutest horses, too!)
One difficulty was that it was hard to get from place to place due to inadequate maps and directions. Many people did not even know that the Equine Village even existed, let alone how to get to it. There were volunteers everywhere, who were usually woefully uninformed.
But let me tell you about those volunteers: they were the nicest people I have ever met. Every single one of them, and there were thousands. Even if they didn't have the answer or were asking you to do something unpleasant, they were so friendly, it was impossible not to like them. It didn't matter where they were working, they made life great.
Possibly the best people working there were the parking attendants. They are an interesting bunch, and we studied them scientifically with these results:
- They travel in herds, preferably in unneeded positions. For example, it usually took thirty of them to help each car make its way to the designated parking spot. Entertaining? Of course. Necessary? Not quite.
- Flag-waving styles can be classified into about twenty different groups (see Brenda for full list of styles). These include, but are not limited to: the golfer (big swings), the cheerleader (moves flag in spastic fashion), the Statue of Liberty (stands stationary with arm raised), the windshield wiper (self-explanatory), the windmill (you can picture it), etc, etc. Do not underestimate the creativity of these people.
- Which leads me to my next point: they are the most enthusiastic people you will ever see directing you to your part of the field. They danced, they ran, they hollered, and generally just made an organized ruckus, which we absolutely loved.
- And they are just as enthusiastic with the naughty cars, those rebel autos that decided they did not need a pack of two dozen parking attendants to gently guide them to their pre-determined spot. This pisses off the parking police, and you will hear about it.
Kate, Clare, and I returned to WEG after dinner Wednesday night to feed, water, and muck before retiring for the night. After being redirected to several parking lots, we finally parked the truck and started to make the miles-long trek to the barn. A kind volunteer pointed us in the direction of the shuttle when we were overtaken by a golf cart.
"Do you vant a ride?" called one of the girls in the cart. Um, was that even a question? I plopped next to the two ladies in the cart while Kate and Clare climbed in the back. And we were off.
Turns out, they were Swedish eventing grooms who were as excited to be at WEG as we were. When they weren't chattering in Swedish, they made race car driving noises while urging our 8mph top speed golf cart onward as though it were a Formula One vehicle. They also regaled us with other golf cart adventures, like how they piled sixteen people onto the poor sucker and it reared and nearly threw them all off. When they dropped us off at our spot, we were thrilled - we were officially hanging out with international competitors - how cool was that??
And it just got better from there. After we cared for the critters, we began walking back to the car when a big white van pulled up behind us. "Come on in!" called the driver, a middle-aged black man driving a "Grooms Shuttle." We hopped on immediately, and as we entered, he clarified: "Come on into the Party Bus! I'm Ray, the Party Animal!"
Indeed he was. He turned up the jams and began rocking out in the driver's seat, alternating dancing in his chair and asking me questions about how much I party. Obviously, I don't party as much as Ray, who insisted that I party with him. "We party all the time here, this is the Party Bus, yo!" He partied us to our car and we kept the party going back to the hotel, thus ending our first full WEG day.
If this was WEG, this was awesome.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Our Sound of Music
Starting from the beginning, I'm going to bring you through HOW's version of the Sound of Music.
The show begins with yours truly as Maria, along with Ingrid's mare, Vanessa. I jump over beautiful canvasses painted by Brenda, which hang over regular jumps. Song: The hills are alive.
Then in come the nuns, holy as ever in their black and white habits and wimples. Lori drives Brenda's mare, Melissa, while Suzanne and Pat inspire piety as passengers. Song: How do you solve a problem like Maria?
Next up is another Maria, played by Stevie, who rides Malti. They show off their dressage moves in a beautiful handmade costume. Song: I have confidence.
My favorite part comes next. Twins Katie and Elisa ride their geldings, Mat and Abend, while they play Rolf and Liesl. Their routine is absolutely darling and ends with the riders holding hands as they leave the performing space. Song: Sixteen, going on seventeen.
Then Stefanie comes in, riding Brenda's mare, Maltessa. Dressed in quite possibly the most wonderful costume, Stefanie is the girl in the white dress with the blue satin sash (and on a cream-colored pony, no less). Song: My favorite things.
Now comes an entire wagon full of beauty, as Adele drives her pair, T-Bird and Showman. Ashley is beside Adele, conducting the Von Trapp children in the back of the vehicle: Clare, Emma, Maddy, Isabelle, Sofia, and Greta, five of whom are vaulters. While Adele and Ashley sport dirndls, the children wear their green and yellow "drapes" and sing along, as does the audience! Song: Do re mi.
Hali and Brenda's mare, Cameo, enter next. Hali is remarkably happy for a lonely goatherder, as is Cameo, who wears a jaunty cap and pants. They demonstrate some pleasure riding very well. Song: Lonely goatherder.
Next in is Peter, driving his trustworthy gelding, Honor. Decked to the nines in his formal wear, Peter drives Jasmyne and Hanna (masquerading as a boy) as the bride and groom. Song: How do you solve a problem like Maria (reprise).
After Peter finishes his drive, the classic song, Edelweiss, plays, and the six riders congregate and perform a sweet, well-choreographed drill team. The riders finish as the song ends with a salute, and then get out of the way!
They have to hustle, as Dave is in next, hauling the Nazis who are after the Von Trapp family. His standard Nazis are Margaret, Kirk, Howard, and Kate, who generally have to give up looking tough to hang on to the edge of the wagon for fear of being launched out. Dave's pair, Mark and Marty, gallop fiercely around the arena. Song: instrumental scary music with sirens.
Meanwhile, the Von Trapp children have leaped out of their wagon and stripped off their clothes. Luckily, they all remembered to put on their custom-made unitards underneath their costumes, styled to match their costumes. I get off Vanessa and Pat F. gets on her, and we prepare to re-enter the arena. Song: Climb every mountain.
Now comes the grand finale: Laura trots in with Liebste, Ingrid's mare, and I'm close on her heels. The vaulters skip in (in unison) and begin their routine, which generally pleases the audience to no end. Song: Sound of Music medley.
And there you have it: our Sound of Music. Words cannot do it justice, but look forward to pictures, video, and lots more behind-the-scenes details from WEG!
The show begins with yours truly as Maria, along with Ingrid's mare, Vanessa. I jump over beautiful canvasses painted by Brenda, which hang over regular jumps. Song: The hills are alive.
Then in come the nuns, holy as ever in their black and white habits and wimples. Lori drives Brenda's mare, Melissa, while Suzanne and Pat inspire piety as passengers. Song: How do you solve a problem like Maria?
Next up is another Maria, played by Stevie, who rides Malti. They show off their dressage moves in a beautiful handmade costume. Song: I have confidence.
My favorite part comes next. Twins Katie and Elisa ride their geldings, Mat and Abend, while they play Rolf and Liesl. Their routine is absolutely darling and ends with the riders holding hands as they leave the performing space. Song: Sixteen, going on seventeen.
Then Stefanie comes in, riding Brenda's mare, Maltessa. Dressed in quite possibly the most wonderful costume, Stefanie is the girl in the white dress with the blue satin sash (and on a cream-colored pony, no less). Song: My favorite things.
Now comes an entire wagon full of beauty, as Adele drives her pair, T-Bird and Showman. Ashley is beside Adele, conducting the Von Trapp children in the back of the vehicle: Clare, Emma, Maddy, Isabelle, Sofia, and Greta, five of whom are vaulters. While Adele and Ashley sport dirndls, the children wear their green and yellow "drapes" and sing along, as does the audience! Song: Do re mi.
Hali and Brenda's mare, Cameo, enter next. Hali is remarkably happy for a lonely goatherder, as is Cameo, who wears a jaunty cap and pants. They demonstrate some pleasure riding very well. Song: Lonely goatherder.
Next in is Peter, driving his trustworthy gelding, Honor. Decked to the nines in his formal wear, Peter drives Jasmyne and Hanna (masquerading as a boy) as the bride and groom. Song: How do you solve a problem like Maria (reprise).
After Peter finishes his drive, the classic song, Edelweiss, plays, and the six riders congregate and perform a sweet, well-choreographed drill team. The riders finish as the song ends with a salute, and then get out of the way!
They have to hustle, as Dave is in next, hauling the Nazis who are after the Von Trapp family. His standard Nazis are Margaret, Kirk, Howard, and Kate, who generally have to give up looking tough to hang on to the edge of the wagon for fear of being launched out. Dave's pair, Mark and Marty, gallop fiercely around the arena. Song: instrumental scary music with sirens.
Meanwhile, the Von Trapp children have leaped out of their wagon and stripped off their clothes. Luckily, they all remembered to put on their custom-made unitards underneath their costumes, styled to match their costumes. I get off Vanessa and Pat F. gets on her, and we prepare to re-enter the arena. Song: Climb every mountain.
Now comes the grand finale: Laura trots in with Liebste, Ingrid's mare, and I'm close on her heels. The vaulters skip in (in unison) and begin their routine, which generally pleases the audience to no end. Song: Sound of Music medley.
And there you have it: our Sound of Music. Words cannot do it justice, but look forward to pictures, video, and lots more behind-the-scenes details from WEG!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Are you ready?
Wednesday dawned clear and cold. The hotel ladies and I made our way to Rachel King's, packed our trailers and ponies, and headed to the Kentucky Horse Park.
As we made our way into the park, I noticed something that would continue to be a trend during our WEG visit: signs. There was a sign about every ten feet reminding us that pets were not permitted in the park. So, after I kicked out the ten stray dogs I had picked up in between signs 56 and 57, we were in the park. We had to go through several checkpoints before making it to the barns, however.
The first official I met asked a unique question: "Who is in the first truck in your caravan?" Umm...my first thought was that they were in some sort of trouble, but I told him it was Stef and Andy anyways. Relief broke over his face. "That saves me from asking you about a hundred questions," he said, and sent us onward.
The USDA/KY Health Inspectors brought me into a little trailer and were quite jolly as they looked over the copious amounts of paperwork I had for the four horses in my trailer. As we were finishing up, Brenda jogged up from her place in the line, searching for her paperwork amongst my own papers. Luckily, everything was there for both Brenda's and Ingrid's horses, and everyone passed the health check.
Next came the bomb-sniffing dogs. While we were pretty convinced they were just hoping we left some extra sausages in our tack compartment, we nonetheless watched with great interest as the canine and police officer made their way around our rig. I'm still not sure if the officer's command "Keep your hands to yourselves!" was a warning or a joke...
Finally, we were onto the Equine Village. After unloading all the equipment, costumes, supplies, and hay we brought (and almost knocking out someone from the Pat Parelli group with an errant bale of hay I threw down from the top of the trailer), we tucked our trailers away in the lot (ours was across from Kim Severson's!!!), we were settled in and tried to get ready for our first performance. Hair was to be braided, tack cleaned, costumes sorted, and before we knew it, the time had come for the Sound of Music, Haflinger style.
As we made our way into the park, I noticed something that would continue to be a trend during our WEG visit: signs. There was a sign about every ten feet reminding us that pets were not permitted in the park. So, after I kicked out the ten stray dogs I had picked up in between signs 56 and 57, we were in the park. We had to go through several checkpoints before making it to the barns, however.
The first official I met asked a unique question: "Who is in the first truck in your caravan?" Umm...my first thought was that they were in some sort of trouble, but I told him it was Stef and Andy anyways. Relief broke over his face. "That saves me from asking you about a hundred questions," he said, and sent us onward.
The USDA/KY Health Inspectors brought me into a little trailer and were quite jolly as they looked over the copious amounts of paperwork I had for the four horses in my trailer. As we were finishing up, Brenda jogged up from her place in the line, searching for her paperwork amongst my own papers. Luckily, everything was there for both Brenda's and Ingrid's horses, and everyone passed the health check.
Next came the bomb-sniffing dogs. While we were pretty convinced they were just hoping we left some extra sausages in our tack compartment, we nonetheless watched with great interest as the canine and police officer made their way around our rig. I'm still not sure if the officer's command "Keep your hands to yourselves!" was a warning or a joke...
Finally, we were onto the Equine Village. After unloading all the equipment, costumes, supplies, and hay we brought (and almost knocking out someone from the Pat Parelli group with an errant bale of hay I threw down from the top of the trailer), we tucked our trailers away in the lot (ours was across from Kim Severson's!!!), we were settled in and tried to get ready for our first performance. Hair was to be braided, tack cleaned, costumes sorted, and before we knew it, the time had come for the Sound of Music, Haflinger style.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Almost showtime!
We arrived specifically a day before our scheduled Kentucky Horse Park arrival purposely to give ourselves some time to get ourselves together before our international debut. The day began with a stop at the best-kept secret in Lexington: Sam's, a small cafe mere minutes from the park. I'm pretty sure you could order everything on the menu at Sam's and the total would still be cheaper than a regular lunch at WEG. At one point, I literally ordered $6 worth of food and had two meals worth of leftovers at the end. At Sam's, we got our first taste of the hospitality of strangers in the WEG world.
Our waitress was tickled with the good manners of our group (way to represent HOW, girls!) and another lady stopped by our table to talk about how excited she (and the city of Lexington) were for WEG. This was only the first positive experience in dozens to come; we met so many enthusiastic people on our trip, it would be impossible to name them all.
After a quick grocery run, it was back to the farm for us. The rest of the vaulting team arrived and we were able to sneak in an excellent vaulting practice. The critters got bathed in Rachel King's beautiful wash stall, Vanessa got a ride under her belt, and then the mares were turned out in their luxury paddock.
We had to arrive at the park the next day at 9.30 am, and as the hotel crew headed back to our room at the Day's Inn, we had plans to be to Rachel's by about 7.00 or so. Our room was large and quite nice, with two massive king size beds and two cots. This might seem like a lot, until you realize that there were eight people (Hali, Brenda's niece who played the lonely goatherder, Hanna, Brenda's neighbor and friend who played the groom, Stevie, Brenda's daughter who played Maria, in addition to Clare, Emma, Maddy, Kate, and myself). While the room count varied between six and eight each night, we were a jolly bunch and remarkably had no squabbles regarding shower schedules. And I have to hand it to those girls, most of whom are teenagers: they were always ready on time, even though we had to be out of the hotel early every day of WEG, with zero complaints. This more than makes up for the fact that Hali hogs the bed like no other and Maddy has long conversations with herself while sleeping. I'm sure I snore and flail around, but hey, this was WEG - what was there to complain about?
Our waitress was tickled with the good manners of our group (way to represent HOW, girls!) and another lady stopped by our table to talk about how excited she (and the city of Lexington) were for WEG. This was only the first positive experience in dozens to come; we met so many enthusiastic people on our trip, it would be impossible to name them all.
After a quick grocery run, it was back to the farm for us. The rest of the vaulting team arrived and we were able to sneak in an excellent vaulting practice. The critters got bathed in Rachel King's beautiful wash stall, Vanessa got a ride under her belt, and then the mares were turned out in their luxury paddock.
We had to arrive at the park the next day at 9.30 am, and as the hotel crew headed back to our room at the Day's Inn, we had plans to be to Rachel's by about 7.00 or so. Our room was large and quite nice, with two massive king size beds and two cots. This might seem like a lot, until you realize that there were eight people (Hali, Brenda's niece who played the lonely goatherder, Hanna, Brenda's neighbor and friend who played the groom, Stevie, Brenda's daughter who played Maria, in addition to Clare, Emma, Maddy, Kate, and myself). While the room count varied between six and eight each night, we were a jolly bunch and remarkably had no squabbles regarding shower schedules. And I have to hand it to those girls, most of whom are teenagers: they were always ready on time, even though we had to be out of the hotel early every day of WEG, with zero complaints. This more than makes up for the fact that Hali hogs the bed like no other and Maddy has long conversations with herself while sleeping. I'm sure I snore and flail around, but hey, this was WEG - what was there to complain about?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Road to Paradise (aka Deer Haven Farm)
As WEG drew nearer, tensions started mounting. I, the person who only stopped eating when she had the stomach flu, lost my appetite. I kept waking up in the middle of the night and frantically creating lists. The horses grew tired of our constantly braiding their manes and adjusting their flysheets, worn to keep coats from fading in the harsh Wisconsin sun.
But even after the lists were made, suitcases packed, and manes perfectly coiffed, there was more business to figure out. After all, the Sound of Music would not be complete without a full cast, and the Middleton crowd made up a good portion of the characters. We had the five members of the vaulting team (all Von Trapp children), our lunger, an extra Von Trapp child, two Nazis, a nun, Ingrid, Carlo, and I (one of the many Marias), plus three sets of parents. We were a bit of a mob, but somehow we managed to sort people into cars and plan our departure. We were scheduled to perform Wednesday through Sunday of the first full week of the Games and planned to leave Monday morning. The full cast would descend upon Rachel King's farm by mid-afternoon Tuesday so that we would be ready to enter the park Wednesday morning.
The trailering arrangements were a bit confusing, but for the trip down, I would take Ingrid's mares Liebste and Vanessa plus forty bales of grassy Wisconsin hay (a gift for Rachel King) and Ingrid would take Brenda's mare Maltessa, Stefanie's mount. I drove a borrowed truck and Ingrid's four-horse trailer, while Ingrid pulled her two-horse camper trailer with her truck. Kate, Emma, and Maddy accompanied me in the truck, along with plenty of food and a James Patterson book on CD. As the HOW Youth Director, I felt it necessary to censor the racier parts of the book for the younger audience, but overall, we were entertained and enthralled for the entire trip. Our journey got a little more exciting than we had wanted when we got into the heart of Lexington farm country; evidently, the roads there are built for vehicles with the approximate width of a tandem bicycle. Not exactly trailer-friendly, which is especially fun when you're trying to find an unfamiliar farm in the dark. But Ingrid, the queen of travel, got us to our destination safely, and when we punched in the code on the gated farm (yes, gated farm!!! How awesome is that??), we finally arrived at Deer Haven Farm.
Rachel, the perfect hostess, greeted us, and by 10.00pm, everyone expected to arrived had done so, the horses were tucked away in beautiful stalls and paddocks, and we worked on tucking ourselves away. I stashed some girls in the truck, others on the camper floor, and crawled happily into bed with Ingrid. To her dismay (and my secret delight), we didn't listen to National Public Radio into the wee hours of the night, but both managed to get some much-needed shuteye.
But even after the lists were made, suitcases packed, and manes perfectly coiffed, there was more business to figure out. After all, the Sound of Music would not be complete without a full cast, and the Middleton crowd made up a good portion of the characters. We had the five members of the vaulting team (all Von Trapp children), our lunger, an extra Von Trapp child, two Nazis, a nun, Ingrid, Carlo, and I (one of the many Marias), plus three sets of parents. We were a bit of a mob, but somehow we managed to sort people into cars and plan our departure. We were scheduled to perform Wednesday through Sunday of the first full week of the Games and planned to leave Monday morning. The full cast would descend upon Rachel King's farm by mid-afternoon Tuesday so that we would be ready to enter the park Wednesday morning.
The trailering arrangements were a bit confusing, but for the trip down, I would take Ingrid's mares Liebste and Vanessa plus forty bales of grassy Wisconsin hay (a gift for Rachel King) and Ingrid would take Brenda's mare Maltessa, Stefanie's mount. I drove a borrowed truck and Ingrid's four-horse trailer, while Ingrid pulled her two-horse camper trailer with her truck. Kate, Emma, and Maddy accompanied me in the truck, along with plenty of food and a James Patterson book on CD. As the HOW Youth Director, I felt it necessary to censor the racier parts of the book for the younger audience, but overall, we were entertained and enthralled for the entire trip. Our journey got a little more exciting than we had wanted when we got into the heart of Lexington farm country; evidently, the roads there are built for vehicles with the approximate width of a tandem bicycle. Not exactly trailer-friendly, which is especially fun when you're trying to find an unfamiliar farm in the dark. But Ingrid, the queen of travel, got us to our destination safely, and when we punched in the code on the gated farm (yes, gated farm!!! How awesome is that??), we finally arrived at Deer Haven Farm.
Rachel, the perfect hostess, greeted us, and by 10.00pm, everyone expected to arrived had done so, the horses were tucked away in beautiful stalls and paddocks, and we worked on tucking ourselves away. I stashed some girls in the truck, others on the camper floor, and crawled happily into bed with Ingrid. To her dismay (and my secret delight), we didn't listen to National Public Radio into the wee hours of the night, but both managed to get some much-needed shuteye.
Practice makes perfect!
It's a lot of fun to be in the spotlight. Getting there, on the other hand, can be a bit more tedious. Luckily, the WEG-bound HOW members were used to practicing and working to get where they wanted to go.
In the spring of 2010, practice began for the riders. During the end of our Sound of Music skit, the riders would come together and perform a small drill team, or ride a pattern together. Drills look really swell when they're done well, and that was our goal.
Now, keep in mind that the riders (Stefanie, Katie, Elisa, Ashley, Stevie, and I) have ridden together practically since the first HOW drill team years ago. This proved to be extremely helpful, because not only did we have a faint clue of what was going on, we could holler at each other for our mistakes and still be friends the next day.
Over the years, we've learned a thing or two about how to get a drill done. And the process begins with everyone running around on foot in someone's yard, generally with neighbors looking warily on, half-tempted to call the police on these deranged people walking unitedly in circles on the grass. While we might look strange, walking the drill without horses limits the amount of chaos during our first mounted practice. After all, Stevie probably won't kick me if I run into her, but the same can't be said for her horse.
We practiced dutifully once every two weeks for months, running through the drill three or four times each practice. Every session would inevitably begin with an absolutely terrible run-through, no straight lines, 10 meter circles, or regulated trot speeds in sight. Now, you'd think that we wouldn't have to go through this horrible first drill at every practice, but like clockwork, it happened at every single practice. Even (or maybe especially) at our last one. I'm beginning to think it's some unwritten rule of mounted drill teams: the first practice, regardless of circumstance, will be dismal. But just when our creative genius, Brenda, was hanging her head in her hands and ready to cancel our entire show, we would pull it together and look quite nice.
One thing to know about our journey to WEG is that, for the most part, your ticket to ride on the HOW train was nonrefundable. Essentially, we had to pick out the horses we were taking by January 1, 2010, because that was when we needed to start documenting their health and obtaining special vaccinations required by WEG. There would be no last-minute substitutes, so thankfully, a few members ensured that some "spare" horses were kept up to WEG standard, as well. The same goes for people, but in a different way; we were allowed only a certain number of credentials, or passes to be by the horses and performing. The credentialed people had to turn in a bunch of personal information so that Homeland Security could do background checks, and once we turned in our final guest list, that was it. So the horses and people chosen were final.
As any horse person knows, nothing is final in the horse world. Horses get sick and injured all the time, even with excellent care. That's why we made sure we had the spare horses, and it's a good thing we did. That summer, one of our most trusted equines, Bill (belonging to Ashley and her family), developed insulin resistance and foundered. When it became clear that Bill would still be recovering by the time WEG rolled around, we had to switch some things around, and the only logical and safe option was to put Brenda's niece, Hali, and Brenda's "spare" mare, Cameo, in the drill. Ashley would thus be an alternate and accepted this heartbreaking news with grace and class. It could have happened to any of us; it's just the way of the horse. Another personal problem caused another WEG performer to step down, so another spare was called in.
So when the September of WEG arrived, we were running desperately low on spare horses, but had managed to retain the quality of our drill with the new member. Our lone group practice came and went with a large amount of disorder, but we pulled it off anyways, and by our final group run-through, it looked WEG-ready, more or less. Costumes were distributed, travel plans were made, and suddenly, WEG was upon us.
In the spring of 2010, practice began for the riders. During the end of our Sound of Music skit, the riders would come together and perform a small drill team, or ride a pattern together. Drills look really swell when they're done well, and that was our goal.
Now, keep in mind that the riders (Stefanie, Katie, Elisa, Ashley, Stevie, and I) have ridden together practically since the first HOW drill team years ago. This proved to be extremely helpful, because not only did we have a faint clue of what was going on, we could holler at each other for our mistakes and still be friends the next day.
Over the years, we've learned a thing or two about how to get a drill done. And the process begins with everyone running around on foot in someone's yard, generally with neighbors looking warily on, half-tempted to call the police on these deranged people walking unitedly in circles on the grass. While we might look strange, walking the drill without horses limits the amount of chaos during our first mounted practice. After all, Stevie probably won't kick me if I run into her, but the same can't be said for her horse.
We practiced dutifully once every two weeks for months, running through the drill three or four times each practice. Every session would inevitably begin with an absolutely terrible run-through, no straight lines, 10 meter circles, or regulated trot speeds in sight. Now, you'd think that we wouldn't have to go through this horrible first drill at every practice, but like clockwork, it happened at every single practice. Even (or maybe especially) at our last one. I'm beginning to think it's some unwritten rule of mounted drill teams: the first practice, regardless of circumstance, will be dismal. But just when our creative genius, Brenda, was hanging her head in her hands and ready to cancel our entire show, we would pull it together and look quite nice.
One thing to know about our journey to WEG is that, for the most part, your ticket to ride on the HOW train was nonrefundable. Essentially, we had to pick out the horses we were taking by January 1, 2010, because that was when we needed to start documenting their health and obtaining special vaccinations required by WEG. There would be no last-minute substitutes, so thankfully, a few members ensured that some "spare" horses were kept up to WEG standard, as well. The same goes for people, but in a different way; we were allowed only a certain number of credentials, or passes to be by the horses and performing. The credentialed people had to turn in a bunch of personal information so that Homeland Security could do background checks, and once we turned in our final guest list, that was it. So the horses and people chosen were final.
As any horse person knows, nothing is final in the horse world. Horses get sick and injured all the time, even with excellent care. That's why we made sure we had the spare horses, and it's a good thing we did. That summer, one of our most trusted equines, Bill (belonging to Ashley and her family), developed insulin resistance and foundered. When it became clear that Bill would still be recovering by the time WEG rolled around, we had to switch some things around, and the only logical and safe option was to put Brenda's niece, Hali, and Brenda's "spare" mare, Cameo, in the drill. Ashley would thus be an alternate and accepted this heartbreaking news with grace and class. It could have happened to any of us; it's just the way of the horse. Another personal problem caused another WEG performer to step down, so another spare was called in.
So when the September of WEG arrived, we were running desperately low on spare horses, but had managed to retain the quality of our drill with the new member. Our lone group practice came and went with a large amount of disorder, but we pulled it off anyways, and by our final group run-through, it looked WEG-ready, more or less. Costumes were distributed, travel plans were made, and suddenly, WEG was upon us.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Organizing, aka Too Many Phone Conferences
Now, I don't want to say that our WEG-induced excitement faded over the following months. Rather, reality hit. Bringing horses to WEG wasn't quite as simple as loading up a few in a trailer for a trail ride. There was planning and organizing and practically a phone conference each day. This was our dream come true, and we were determined to do it right.
We created the WEG Committee, consisting of the four people who thought they might know what was going on: Ingrid of Happy Haflingers, general philanthropist, horse enthusiast, and lady in every sense of the world, Stefanie, possibly the most organized person I will ever meet, Brenda, possibly the most disorganized person I will ever meet, but more importantly, our creative genius who can make a Cirque du Soleil out of some old rags and a couple of two by fours, and myself, who brought just generally a lot of enthusiasm and perhaps one good idea per year. We had numerous phone calls, meetings, and near-nervous breakdowns, but eventually we came up with a plan.
HOW has done loads of performances over the years, but our pride and joy is the Sound of Music with horses. It was decided that that particular show was WEG-worthy, with the addition of a drill team, driving demo, or kids routine, if we had some extra time to fill. While it would be great to swarm Kentucky with as many Haffie enthusiasts as possible, we realized this just wasn't an option, so we decided to limit the actual WEG performers to those who had attended Breyerfest in 2008. After all, that show was our best Sound of Music to date, so it made sense that first dibs be given to those who sent us on our way to WEG. We told everyone that this might be a financially-burdensome adventure filled with practice commitments, extra veterinary procedures, and generally stressful times, but it turned out that everyone else was as excited as we were. Therefore, we picked our WEG crew with limited hurt feelings, and had a reliable cast of around 35 people set to go to Kentucky in the fall of 2010.
It turns out that recruiting our WEG-goers was a pretty small issue in the grand scheme of things. We had to find lodging for said 35 people for the week we were schedule to perform, as well as accommodations for our horses for the nights before and after we were allowed into the Horse Park. Luckily, Haflinger people everywhere seem to be as nice as those in Wisconsin, and our dear friend Rachel King of Deer Haven Farm stepped up to the plate and offered her Lexington Haflinger farm for whatever we needed. I'm not sure she could have ever anticipated the mob of people we were bringing with us, but she bravely offered and we gratefully accepted. That solved a major problem for us, considering hotels in Lexington at that time were tending to run upwards of $300 per night.
Over the next year, the greater challenge seemed to be the organization within WEG itself. We were schedule to perform in the Equine Village, a place for entertainers and clinicians, September 29 through October 2. However, it was exceedingly difficult to get precise information from WEG organizers. Schedules, vaccination requirements, security information, and a host of other topics were tough to nail down, and while those organizing WEG were pleasant to work with, the scale of the event planning seemed to overwhelm WEG offices. Stefanie, our organization guru, was our WEG contact and stuck it out through many changes, oddities, and frustrating situations. And as she pushed forward through the overwhelming paperwork, it began to dawn on us: this was real.
We created the WEG Committee, consisting of the four people who thought they might know what was going on: Ingrid of Happy Haflingers, general philanthropist, horse enthusiast, and lady in every sense of the world, Stefanie, possibly the most organized person I will ever meet, Brenda, possibly the most disorganized person I will ever meet, but more importantly, our creative genius who can make a Cirque du Soleil out of some old rags and a couple of two by fours, and myself, who brought just generally a lot of enthusiasm and perhaps one good idea per year. We had numerous phone calls, meetings, and near-nervous breakdowns, but eventually we came up with a plan.
HOW has done loads of performances over the years, but our pride and joy is the Sound of Music with horses. It was decided that that particular show was WEG-worthy, with the addition of a drill team, driving demo, or kids routine, if we had some extra time to fill. While it would be great to swarm Kentucky with as many Haffie enthusiasts as possible, we realized this just wasn't an option, so we decided to limit the actual WEG performers to those who had attended Breyerfest in 2008. After all, that show was our best Sound of Music to date, so it made sense that first dibs be given to those who sent us on our way to WEG. We told everyone that this might be a financially-burdensome adventure filled with practice commitments, extra veterinary procedures, and generally stressful times, but it turned out that everyone else was as excited as we were. Therefore, we picked our WEG crew with limited hurt feelings, and had a reliable cast of around 35 people set to go to Kentucky in the fall of 2010.
It turns out that recruiting our WEG-goers was a pretty small issue in the grand scheme of things. We had to find lodging for said 35 people for the week we were schedule to perform, as well as accommodations for our horses for the nights before and after we were allowed into the Horse Park. Luckily, Haflinger people everywhere seem to be as nice as those in Wisconsin, and our dear friend Rachel King of Deer Haven Farm stepped up to the plate and offered her Lexington Haflinger farm for whatever we needed. I'm not sure she could have ever anticipated the mob of people we were bringing with us, but she bravely offered and we gratefully accepted. That solved a major problem for us, considering hotels in Lexington at that time were tending to run upwards of $300 per night.
Over the next year, the greater challenge seemed to be the organization within WEG itself. We were schedule to perform in the Equine Village, a place for entertainers and clinicians, September 29 through October 2. However, it was exceedingly difficult to get precise information from WEG organizers. Schedules, vaccination requirements, security information, and a host of other topics were tough to nail down, and while those organizing WEG were pleasant to work with, the scale of the event planning seemed to overwhelm WEG offices. Stefanie, our organization guru, was our WEG contact and stuck it out through many changes, oddities, and frustrating situations. And as she pushed forward through the overwhelming paperwork, it began to dawn on us: this was real.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Where WEG began
I have wanted to ride at the World Equestrian Games my whole life.
Okay, this isn't quite true. Let me rephrase that. I have wanted to ride a Haflinger at the World Equestrian Games ever since I discovered that it may indeed be possible to do such a thing. Really, it wasn't so much that I wanted to ride, but that I wanted the Haflinger to be there, because I knew these little horses could do it, even if the mere thought made me lose my appetite for weeks on end. And this year, my dream came true.
But that's not how it all began. Three years ago, when it was firmly established that the 2010 World Equestrian Games would be held (for the first time in the US) in Lexington, Kentucky, a call for entertainers went out. And there is nothing that the Haflinger does better than entertain. Well, except maybe eat. So a frantic cry went up amongst the Wisconsin Haflinger junkies that we had to apply ASAP before any other cute-looking Haflinger group got their hooves on an application. So DVDs of all our performances were made and I set to work on a 4,982 page application that covered everything from average piles of manure made per day per horse statistically to hours of sleep required for each performer. Well, not really, but it was long, detailed, and covered pretty much every major detail of our gig. Which, incidentally, we said was anything under the sun, from a single horse to a full-blown sixteen horse Haflinger circus. We wanted to be at WEG no matter what, which we said in so many words. We made sure to tell the powers that be that we could be found at the 2008 Breyerfest, also held at the Kentucky Horse Park, so they could give us a "demo performance." Several Sound of Music presentations later (with lots of cameos by some cute lion cubs with vaulting tendencies), we were firmly in the waiting game.
And we remained there for almost two years, until one fine early July day in 2009. I was with Ingrid and our Haflinger-enthusiast friend, Karen, riding in the truck on the way to the Ohio Haflinger inspection. Casually checking my email on my iPhone, I saw an intriguing email from HOW's president, Rachel Meek. HOW was (more or less) invited to WEG. My reaction?
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH MY GOD! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I don't tend to scream upon hearing exciting news. But by god, I was screaming in that truck, and floated on air for the rest of the weekend, or possibly the rest of the year. Our horse didn't do well at the inspection? Well, guess what, we're still going to WEG. Pony picked up the wrong lead? Who cares, we're still going to WEG. It was the perfect catchall excuse, and the closer WEG got, the more we used it. And we didn't even feel bad about it, because, after all, we were going to WEG.
Okay, this isn't quite true. Let me rephrase that. I have wanted to ride a Haflinger at the World Equestrian Games ever since I discovered that it may indeed be possible to do such a thing. Really, it wasn't so much that I wanted to ride, but that I wanted the Haflinger to be there, because I knew these little horses could do it, even if the mere thought made me lose my appetite for weeks on end. And this year, my dream came true.
But that's not how it all began. Three years ago, when it was firmly established that the 2010 World Equestrian Games would be held (for the first time in the US) in Lexington, Kentucky, a call for entertainers went out. And there is nothing that the Haflinger does better than entertain. Well, except maybe eat. So a frantic cry went up amongst the Wisconsin Haflinger junkies that we had to apply ASAP before any other cute-looking Haflinger group got their hooves on an application. So DVDs of all our performances were made and I set to work on a 4,982 page application that covered everything from average piles of manure made per day per horse statistically to hours of sleep required for each performer. Well, not really, but it was long, detailed, and covered pretty much every major detail of our gig. Which, incidentally, we said was anything under the sun, from a single horse to a full-blown sixteen horse Haflinger circus. We wanted to be at WEG no matter what, which we said in so many words. We made sure to tell the powers that be that we could be found at the 2008 Breyerfest, also held at the Kentucky Horse Park, so they could give us a "demo performance." Several Sound of Music presentations later (with lots of cameos by some cute lion cubs with vaulting tendencies), we were firmly in the waiting game.
And we remained there for almost two years, until one fine early July day in 2009. I was with Ingrid and our Haflinger-enthusiast friend, Karen, riding in the truck on the way to the Ohio Haflinger inspection. Casually checking my email on my iPhone, I saw an intriguing email from HOW's president, Rachel Meek. HOW was (more or less) invited to WEG. My reaction?
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH MY GOD! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I don't tend to scream upon hearing exciting news. But by god, I was screaming in that truck, and floated on air for the rest of the weekend, or possibly the rest of the year. Our horse didn't do well at the inspection? Well, guess what, we're still going to WEG. Pony picked up the wrong lead? Who cares, we're still going to WEG. It was the perfect catchall excuse, and the closer WEG got, the more we used it. And we didn't even feel bad about it, because, after all, we were going to WEG.
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