Quarter Horse
The world is coming to Lexington, Kentucky, this fall – the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, that is, along with all the fanfare that accompanies the year’s largest single sporting event in the United States. And the even cooler thing? AQHA and American Quarter Horses are front and center on this world stage.
AQHA is the official breed sponsor of reining, one of the eight international disciplines spotlighted at the games, September 25 – October 10. But even if you’re not a competitor or a diehard reining fan, you can still appreciate the World’s Fair atmosphere that surrounds the games. Its Equine Village will include nearly 150 educational booths and demonstrations by top-notch clinicians, equine entertainers, breed organizations and more. Its trade show will offer not-to-be-missed shopping, and there will be amazing options for wining and dining.
In an area just inside the main entry, AQHA and alliance partner the National Reining Horse Association will offer test rides on American Quarter Horses to WEG spectators. For those who have some riding experience, there will also be a chance to “Ride a Reiner,” to experience a dizzying spin or even a sliding stop on a well-trained reining horse.
It’s an incredible chance for AQHA to let a larger audience see – by watching and riding – just how athletic and versatile our breed is.
The rides will be conducted inside the John Deere Demo Arena, an MD Barns open-sided barn that will be constructed on what is now a parking lot at the Kentucky Horse Park. The arena base and special reining surface will be brought in by Kiser Arena Specialists and maintained by John Deere tractors and Kiser drags.
The John Deere Demo Arena will also play host to demonstrations from AQHA and NRHA professionals on world-caliber reining horses – as well as American Quarter Horse riders from other disciplines.
Nearby, John Deere – an AQHA corporate partner and gold-level sponsor of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games – will have a large display of its green machines. The National Cutting Horse Association, an AQHA alliance partner, will bring out its mechanical horse and cow, so spectators can experience the thrill of riding a ducking-and-diving cutting horse. Another fun stop will be the booth of Lexington’s Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, where the official veterinarians of the games will offer daily educational lectures and a replica of the hospital’s state-of-the-art intensive care unit and a surgery set-up.
Within the Equine Village, AQHA pros will also have a strong presence. This is by no means an exhaustive list – because, really, everything about WEG is too big to encapsulate in a short article. But expect to see Lynn Palm, Richard Shrake, Clinton Anderson and Craig Cameron. And, a few more:
* AQHA Professional Horsewoman and America’s Horse columnist Stacy Westfall will take a place of honor in the opening ceremonies of WEG, riding a freestyle reining run bareback and bridleless aboard the superstar Whizards Baby Doll, aka “Roxy.” Freestyle reining is a choreographed set of reining maneuvers set to music.
* AQHA Professional Horsemen Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne Sheppard (featured in the “Is It My Horse or Is It Me?” series of stories in America’s Horse) will be in the village September 29 – October 2.
* AQHA Professional Horsewoman and Certified Horsemanship Association spokeswoman Julie Goodnight will teach clinics September 25-27 on common equitation errors and their solutions, for both English and western riders.
* Aaron Ralston, the United States’ reining team gold medalist and individual bronze medalist in the 2006 World Equestrian Games, has opted to sit out this year’s games as a competitor. But he’ll be on hand, offering clinics in the Equine Village September 25-28 and will perform a freestyle reining demonstration. He won’t say yet what he has planned for the demo, but he knows that with the world watching, “it’s going to need to be substantial.” He’ll also have cameras in tow for his show on RFD-TV, “The Ride.”
So, How Do I Go?
AQHA makes it easy for you to purchase competition tickets by visiting www.aqha.com/WEG. Each competition is ticketed separately, and this site will let you know which ones still have seats available.
A grounds pass is another, very affordable, option. With a grounds pass, you can gain access to the grounds of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, including the Equine Village, an interactive children’s area, the trade show, a Kentucky Experience that offers a virtual tour of the Bluegrass State, and more. Ground passes are $20 each until May 31. The cost increases to $25 after May 31. Children 12 and under are allowed entrance to the grounds without charge, when accompanied by a paying adult. The grounds passes do not allow entrance to competition venues. Buy your grounds passes at www.alltechfeigames.com/tickets.
With the huge influx of people expected, parking is another thing to consider, as are accommodations. Details about these and other spectator concerns are available at www.alltechfeigames.com/content.aspx?id=3102.
Visit www.alltechfeigames.com and www.discoverhorses.com to learn more about the games’ inaugural appearance in the United States, the disciplines that will be represented there and much more.
Eight Is Enough
The eight disciplines of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games are:
* Reining
* Dressage
* Para dressage
* Jumping
* Eventing
* Vaulting
* Combined driving
* Endurance
The Adequan United States reining team has not yet been selected. The team selection trials, as well as the United States Equestrian Federation National Open Reining Championship will be July 10 as part of the Battle in the Saddle special reining event in Oklahoma City. Stay tuned to www.aqha.com to see who will be representing the red, white and blue. Visit www.battleinthesaddle.com to learn more about the competitions taking place during the event and to purchase tickets to watch the world-class reiners compete to earn a spot a on the Adequan United States reining team.
WEG on NBC
In addition to the 600,000 spectators expected on-site at the World Equestrian Games, millions more will have the opportunity to watch on NBC Sports, as the network provides an unprecedented six and a half hours of coverage over three Sundays. It’s the “largest major network broadcast of equestrian sport in U.S. television history,” NBC said in a press release.
Be watching September 26 at 12 p.m. Eastern, October 3 at 1 p.m. Eastern (immediately following live coverage of the Ryder Cup golf tournament) and October 10 at 4 p.m. Eastern.
AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.
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