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.
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