Countdown to WEG 2010 : cross-country, horse health, Kentucky Horse Park

How Cool Is This?

Jennifer — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:06:00 GMT

We begin today's post, on the final day of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, with a photograph:

Now, if that doesn't say it all about sportsmanship, excellence, and the power of the human spirit to overcome the obstacles life throws at you, I don't know what does.

As I've mentioned previously, this WEG is the first time that able-bodied equestrians and those with physical disabilities have competed at the same international championships. Para-equestrians, including America's own Rebecca Hart (who finished fourteenth in yesterday's Grade II Freestyle), have commented on the excitement of riding alongside the likes of jumping individual gold medalist Phillipe Le Jeune of Belgium or dressage individual gold medalist Edward Gal. The experience must be one of empowerment and validation.

Memorable moments

As we prepare for the closing ceremonies, it's time to start looking back at these past sixteen days and recounting what made the WEG special -- or funny or frustrating. Here are a few of my own mental snapshots:

Journalists may be impartial when they report, but behind the scenes they're rooting for their favorites just like everyone else. Taking a break from trekking the eventing cross-country course last Saturday, I was watching the action on the TV monitors in the press tent surrounded by a trio of Italian TV reporters, who clutched their unlit cigarettes like St. Christopher's medals and shouted "Bellissima!" whenever one of the Italian riders was clear over an obstacle.
Le Jeune, after dismounting Canadian jumping bronze medalist Eric Lamaze's horse, Hickstead (the final four in the jumping each had to ride a round on one another's horses), rushed over to his own mount, Vigo d'Arsouilles, and hugged the 17.2-hand chestnut stallion's neck fiercely. The spontaneous gesture proved that, in the end, there's not much difference between an international gold medalist and every little kid who hugs a pony.
The jumper riders shared with one another tips on handling their horses. I'm sure part of it was for their own sakes, but in how many sports do you see competitors giving one another advice?
The WEG volunteers were unfailingly helpful and cheerful. I don't know if I could have been so friendly and welcoming, standing out in the cold or the rain or late at night, my only job to shepherd a straggly crew of weary journalists onto a shuttle bus.
The bus drivers themselves were a friendly bunch, although I could have done without the movies blaring at full volume over the mini-screens at all hours.
I will not miss the dearth of fresh fruit and vegetables in the on-site and local cuisine. I will also not miss being housed in a town whose idea of good food is a Cracker Barrel and a Waffle House.
Marring the generally welcoming atmosphere was the British reporter who, confronted with eventing gold medalist Michael Jung of Germany's decision to use an interpreter at the press conferences, sniffed that these were English-speaking events. I thought that attitude was found only in the good old "This is America; speak English" USA. Guess not. It almost makes me sorry that the 2012 Olympics will be in London. Let Mr. Superior try that attitude in Normandy at the 2014 WEG. I guarantee it won't get him very far.
Golf carts, golf carts, and more golf carts, shuttling competitors and officials up and down the lanes at an alarming pace. WEG chief veterinary advisor Dr. Kent Allen quipped during the competition that the major health crisis of these Games was more likely to be a golf cart-spectator collision than an equine incident. Having narrowly avoided several golf carts and a free-range bicycle myself, I quite agree with him.
US dressage rider and individual bronze medalist Steffen Peters wore a helmet for the awards ceremony after the Grand Prix Freestyle. He said afterward that it was in honor of 2008 Olympic teammate Courtney King-Dye, who suffered a severe head injury after a helmetless fall in March. No dressage competitor shed the traditional top hat in favor of a helmet in the ring, but Peters' gesture did not go unnoticed.

Photo credit: Kit Houghton/FEI

US Event Horse Courageous Comet, Injured on WEG Cross-Country, Should Recover Fully

Jennifer — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:28:00 GMT

The silver lining to American event horse Courageous Comet's untimely withdrawal from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games eventing competition is that he stands to recover fully, says Brendan Furlong, MVB, MRCVS, US eventing-team veterinarian and a team vet for the US driving team at the WEG.

"He pulled his left front shoe on course and pulled up lame," Furlong said of the fourteen-year-old gray Thoroughbred gelding, ridden by Becky Holder, 41, of Palmetto, Georgia, and owned by Holder and her husband, Tom.

"There was filling in the right front leg," which indicated some degree of overstress to the compensating opposite foreleg, Furlong said. But "there was no pain on palpation, and he was ultrasounded by Dr. [Jean-Marie] Denoix, who is the world's foremost ultrasound specialist. He could find no damage to any structure -- tendons or ligaments," he said.

The edema was determined to be superficial, and Courageous Comet "should make a complete and full recovery," said Furlong. The gelding is receiving "standard treatment" for this type of minor soft-tissue injury: a course of anti-inflammatory medication plus those old horsemen's standbys of cold-hosing, hand-walking, and limited turnout, Furlong said. The objective is to keep the horse somewhat quiet to allow healing to take place while avoiding further stress to the compromised area.

The timing of the injury was especially wretched: Holder and Courageous Comet were in third place individually after cross-country -- the highest-ranked Americans in the eventing competition -- and stood to contend for an individual medal at the WEG. Alas, it was not to be.

The other case of unfortunate timing was the withdrawal of US rider Kim Severson's horse, Tipperary Liadhnan, from the WEG eventing competition just prior to the first eventing horse inspection. The thirteen-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Friends of Kim Severson Syndicate, developed a case of cellulitis in his leg before the Games, while "Paddy" was still in Georgia for the 2010 American Eventing Championships in Fairburn, which served as the "mandatory outing" for the WEG short-listed competitors. Veterinarians treated the infection aggressively, with therapies including antibiotics and time in a hyperbaric chamber, according to Furlong. The condition improved steadily but took a turn for the worse at the eleventh hour, forcing Paddy's withdrawal from the US team.

It was another case of rotten luck but an optimistic outlook. Furlong said that Paddy, like Comet, should make a complete recovery and "has another big event left in him."

Comet will be sixteen in two years, when the 2012 London Olympic Games roll around. Paddy will be fifteen. Several horses in that age range competed at the 2010 WEG, including Belgian rider Karin Donckers' Gazelle de la Brasserie CH (16) and Canadian Selena O'Hanlon's Colombo (16). So it's no pipe dream to hope to see Paddy and Comet in London.

Photo credit: Peter Nixon/FEI

Midway Through the WEG, Veterinary Services Are in Good Health

Jennifer — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:12:00 GMT

The on-site veterinary clinic may not be quite as lavish (thanks to budget constraints) as originally hoped for, but it's proving quite up to the task of taking care of the horses at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, according to WEG chief veterinary advisor A. Kent Allen, DVM.

TheHorse.com caught up with Allen at the halfway point of the Games, the day after eventing competition wrapped and as jumping was commencing at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Things at the temporary clinic are going "very well," said Allen. The facility is staffed with two surgeons around the clock and features two ultrasound units and other high-tech equipment, all on standby to diagnose and treat nearly all manner of equine ailments, minor and major. (For a detailed rundown of the veterinary arsenal, click here to read my article, "Keeping the WEG Healthy.")

As expected with the rugged equine triathlon known as eventing, cross-country day produced a few injuries. The good news is that "none of the horses had a life-threatening injury," said Allen, who referred to the lot as "normal wear and tear" incurred when the fittest and keenest of equine athletes meets an ardous 28-fence course over varied terrain.

"The rest of it," said Allen, referring to the endurance, reining, and dressage competitions that are now in the history books, "has gone very well."

When this article went to press (which is to say, right this minute in the blogosphere), we were trying and failing to obtain an update on US event horse Courageous Comet, who stood third individually with rider Becky Holder after cross-country but who was withdrawn prior to show jumping October 3, the cited reason being a pulled shoe on course and an implied injury of some sort caused by overstress to the opposite foreleg. Allen said he was not yet authorized to release further details. We're as anxious as you to find out how the fourteen-year-old gray Thoroughbred gelding is doing, and we'll update you ASAP.

The story that Allen did want to get out was that Iman du Golfe, the Italian event horse who fell at fence 20 on cross-country and suffered a serious laceration and a small bone chip in the region of his left elbow, was nicely sewn up at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington and is doing well. Iman du Golfe's rider, Juan Carlos Garcia, also is doing well after being treated and released for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.

"The European press had the horse dead and buried," Allen said wryly. "The horse would be surprised to hear that, since he's happily munching hay."

Look, Ma, I Finished!

Jennifer — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 01:17:00 GMT

Michael Etherington-Smith's eventing cross-country course at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games didn't produce any of those gut-wrenching, truly awful moments for which the sport of eventing is occasionally known; yet it still managed to prevent 19 of the 79 starters from finishing the 28-fence course.

We can't say Mike didn't warn us. In my previous blog post, I shared his warnings about the "tricky" fence 7ABC, the Walnut Hall Corner. The four-foot ditch at 7B claimed its share of victims who came over the rails at 7A too flat and fast to regroup before the ditch, resulting in runouts or, in at least one case, an unplanned slide to the lip of the ditch.

Many of the eliminations resulted from three refusals and (thankfully) not from injuries. I'd tell you exactly how many except that, when last I checked, officials were still puzzling out the exact tally of penalties and time faults and therefore had not yet released the official list of results. But I can tell you that, of the US team, Boyd Martin on Neville Bardos and Phillip Dutton on Woodburn went clean. Karen O'Connor on Mandiba had 0.8 time fault. Becky Holder on Courageous Comet (competing as an individual) had 3.2 time faults. And Buck Davidson on BallyNoe Castle RM had 20 jump faults and 26 time faults.

Great Britain's eventing powerhouse, William Fox-Pitt, was only in twelfth place after dressage, but the casualties of cross-country combined with his own clean trip aboard Cool Mountain moved him all the way up to second place in the standings. Michael Jung of Germany, who won the dressage phase with La Biosthetique-Sam FBW, handily maintained his lead with a clean round. And even with her time faults, Becky Holder moved up from fifth after dressage to third overall.

Even those riders who came out on top tipped their helmets to the challenging course. Even the veteran Fox-Pitt, whose time of 11:09 was the day's fifth-fastest, said that "no one anticipated the problems it [caused]." There was "enough trouble for me to have moved up from twelfth to second. I'm amazed." He added that "I didn't feel any more relaxed for having ridden around here in the spring" at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****.

Holder said of the course: "We were very much aware of the cumulative effect of little, tiny mistakes as the course went on."

Jung, the leader going into stadium jumping, said the WEG is his first championship at the four-star level. With the aid of a translator, he called the cross-country track a "difficult but very beautiful course. Every jump asked a very big effort from the horse."

Jung characterized his horse, La Bioesthique-Sam FBW, as "very careful. He does not have a lot of scope, but he wants to work with me with all of his heart."

"It's a very big course--the biggest thing I've ever jumped," said Boyd Martin. Of his go, he said, "It wasn't the prettiest round I've ever ridden. Neville was pretty wound up and excited. It was the biggest crowd we've both seen." The pair had a big bobble at the Land Between the Lakes (aka the Head of the Lake) water jump that nearly got Martin out of the tack.

A record crowd of 50,818 thronged the Kentucky Horse Park for cross-country day, jamming traffic on Iron Works Pike, the main artery to the park entrances, for miles in the morning and again at the end of the day.

Casualty report

There were a few injuries on cross-country, most thankfully minor. Italian pair Juan Carlos Garcia and Iman du Golfe fell at fence 20, the 3'10"-3'11" high corner called the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace. Both were taken to hospitals, with the horse being transported via ambulance to nearby Rood & Riddle. By late evening, WEG officials had released statements on both. Garcia was treated for "minor injuries" and released the same day. Iman du Golfe sustained "a deep laceration and a small bone chip near his left elbow." The laceration was sutured, and veterinarians are optimistic that he will make a full recovery.

Fernhill Clover Mist, ridden by Patricia Ryan of Ireland, sustained an unspecified injury to his left hock while galloping between fences on course. He was treated at the on-site WEG veterinary clinic and also has a positive prognosis.

Finally, Australian rider Paul Tapner's horse, Inonothing, was injured at fence 13B, a 3'11" high coop with brush. He too was examined at the on-site clinic, and radiographs revealed a fracture of Inonothing's left hind patella. He is reported to be resting comfortably in his stall at the Horse Park and should recover fully.

You probably already suspect this, but the finish line at a WEG cross-country course is a busy place. In Kentucky, grooms were hard at work cooling horses while sweaty riders dashed over to the media "mixed zone" (our sport's low-tech version of figure skating's "kiss and cry" area) to give the press a quick rundown on their trips. Here, filmed from the mixed zone (so forgive the noise) is a quick clip of the action.