guest post by Leslie Hernandez, who sent her first report yesterday evening:

Our first day in France has been wonderful. We arrived in Paris early in the morning and took the train to Amiens, where we and most of Team USA, are staying. After checking in, a power nap took precedence before we picked up our rental car. Espresso and adrenaline fueled our drive to Conty.

The French countryside is rolling and green, not unlike my native Kentucky in the spring. Apparently it has been raining for several days, but the weather is gorgeous now, perfect temps for a combined driving event. The grounds are immediately outside the tiny town of Conty, located on the main road.

Many of the drivers are camping on the competition grounds, staying in everything from elaborate caravans to basic campers. We even spotted a couple of single-person tents! The horses are in temporary stalls, either under tents or in the aforementioned caravans. The set up is very simple, but perfect.

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the U.S. camp (photo by Leslie Hernandez)

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We met up with the U.S. drivers and their support crew right as they were finishing a team meeting and heading out for dinner. They graciously gave us orders of go for dressage. As we parted ways, we wished Misdee Miller good luck, as she was the first American to go [this] morning. Both Joe Yoder and Kathi Dancer drive on Friday.

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Courtesy of www.hoefnet.com, here’s a video of Misdee’s dressage test from earlier today:

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