The Welcome Mat Is Out

Jennifer — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:45:00 GMT

More than 500 horses competing at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, will pass through the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (it's actually in Kentucky) en route to the Kentucky Horse Park.

The European and British competitors will fly into Cincinnati from September 16 to October 1, where they'll do their mandatory quarantine time at a temporary quarantine facility at the airport. (Cincinnati is not a regular quarantine facility.) They they'll be vanned to the Horse Park, which is approximately a 90-minute drive to the south.

Earlier this week, before horses began to arrive, WEG organizers held a brief tour of the quarantine facility for media. For those of us who couldn't be there, they released this photo of the stabling area. (Let's hope none of the occupants is overly rambunctious, judging from the not-too-sturdy look of these tent stalls.)

Horses from Asia and the South Pacific are flying into Miami (which does have an official quarantine facility) and will ship to Lexington from there.

Watch the FEI's video on the largest airlift of horses since World War II:

More Teams Announced

Just this week -- only about ten days prior to WEG opening ceremonies -- the United States Equestrian Federation announced the rosters of the US eventing and driving teams. They are:

Eventing team:
Buck Davidson, 34, Riegelsville, PA, riding BallyNoe Castle RM, a 10-year-old Irish Thoroughbred gelding owned by Carl and Cassandra Segal
Phillip Dutton, 47, West Grove, PA, riding Woodburn, a 14-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding owned by Ann Jones, Mardie Faucette, and Acorn Hill Farm
Boyd Martin, 31, West Grove, PA, riding Neville Bardos, an 11-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding owned by Windurra USA LLC
Kim Severson, 37, Scottsville, VA, riding Tipperary Liadhnan, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Friends of Kim Severson Syndicate.

Eventing individuals (may be used as team substitutes):
Becky Holder, 41, Palmetto, GA, riding Courageous Comet, a 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Tom and Becky Holder
Karen O'Connor, 52, The Plains, VA, riding Mandiba, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Joan Goswell.

Eventing substitutes:
Phillip Dutton riding TruLuck, a 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard
Boyd Martin riding Remington XXV, a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Henley House Stables
Allison Springer, 35, Marshall, VA, riding Arthur, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Allison, Carolyn, and William Springer
Amy Tryon, 40, Duvall, WA, riding Leyland, a 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Elisabeth Nicholson.

Driving team:
Jim Fairclough, 52, Newtown, NJ
Tucker Johnson, 46, Hobe Sound, FL
Chester Weber, 35, Ocala, FL.

Driving first alternate (will compete as an individual):
Josh Rector, 28, Phoenix, AZ.

Driving individuals:
Bill Long, 65, Southern Pines, NC
Mike McLennan, 65, Brenham, TX
Cindy O'Reilly, 47, Cameron, NC
David Saunders, 57, Morriston, FL
Gary Stover, 61, Southern Pines, NC
Casey Zubek, 53, Manhattan, IL.

Kentucky or Bust!

This is probably my last "off site" blog post before the start of the WEG. This time next week, if all goes well, I'll be en route to Lexington. My hope is to arrive in time to settle in and get the lay of the land in time to give you a look around the Kentucky Horse Park before the opening ceremonies on Saturday, September 25. Although I've flown into Lexington many times and visited the Horse Park as recently as June, I fully expect to feel as if I don't know where I am, thanks to the many changes, some permanent, others temporary.

The newness will begin the moment my plane touches down at LEX. Blue Grass Airport has a brand-new, 4,000-foot runway. Runway 9/27, which opened about six weeks ago, replaces the old 3,500-foot crosswind Runway 8/26. Then I'll step into the refurbished terminal, which was in need of a facelift. If you happen to be flying into LEX in a private or corporate aircraft, you'lll enjoy the new general-aviation terminal.

Then, of course, it will be off to the Horse Park itself, which, if my colleagues' ever-morphing Facebook photos are any indication, I'll hardly recognize for the sea of white tents that have popped up on seemingly every available expanse of grass and asphalt like peaks on a lemon-meringue pie. That is, if I even know which way the shuttle bus is driving on the widened streets and rerouted access roads. It'll be interesting, folks, and I can't wait to show-and-tell you all about it.

Countdown to WEG 2010 : eventing, equestrian, horse health, blog

The Welcome Mat Is Out