September 29, 2009

where did all this COLD weather come from?

Posted by Jennifer under Lexington CDE
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I’ve just looked at the weather forecast for the rest of the week and, thankfully, it looks lovely. Today, though, turned out to be much cooler and cloudier (which makes it feel even colder than the 55 degrees on the thermometer) than expected.

So while everyone was starting to arrive, settle horses in, and (for the FEI-level four-in-hand teams) taking lessons or warming up / practicing, it’s been really cold. While in the barns, I heard lots of “wow, I wish I’d brought my … ” extra fleece / long underwear / warm hats / etc. I was dressed for the office and not really for a day in the barn, and several people very kindly offered me jackets / horse blankets / warm chili. But enough of my woes (and the kindness of both friends and strangers).

Here are a couple of pictures from today:

the decorated entrance to the VIP / sponsors tent

the fancy new electronic scoreboard being set up by the dressage / cones arena

 Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 p.m. is the FEI jog. I’ll be posting some photos after that. Then all the FEI-level competitors do their dressage tests on Thursday, and the Prelim and Intermediate competitors go on Friday. Stay tuned!

 

September 28, 2009

finishing touches

Posted by Jennifer under Lexington CDE
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Final preparations are underway for this week’s Lexington Combined Driving Classic / WEG Test Event.

Observed on a walk around the KY Horse Park this afternoon:

1) Brilliant autumnal blue skies, bright sunshine, and a nice strong wind, which we’re all hoping will help to dry out all the mud from the rain (rain, rain!) we got over the past week.

2) A shiny dressage arena in the polo field, and a big tent for the VIPs/sponsors … this is being decorated as I type.

3) Marked gates at the “hill” obstacle, and more water in the creek than there ought to be (see “rain” above). Again, the wind should help with that. I’ve also learned that there are now nearly 200 tons of gravel in the creekbed (the three dumptruck-loads I saw being delivered only amounted to 70 tons).

4) Marked gates at the “wishing well” obstacle.

5) Across the road from the “wishing well” … in a neighboring Walnut Hall field … two yearlings chasing each other in circles, at a full gallop. Standing in the center of their racetrack, calmly watching port-o-potties being placed on the marathon course, were five more yearlings and a “babysitter” draft horse.

6) Horses, ponies, carriages, harness, and equipment being settled in to the barns.

There will be more getting ready tomorrow, the FEI jog on Wednesday, and then the fun begins! Stay tuned here, as we’ll be keeping you up to date throughout the week.

 

September 25, 2009

getting to know … Chester Weber

Posted by Jennifer under people
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This week’s participant in our new “getting to know you” series is Chester Weber, who is the reigning national champion in the advanced/FEI four-in-hand division. He also won the individual silver medal at last year’s FEI World Driving Championship in Holland. Chester hopes to secure his seventh consecutive national championship at next week’s Lexington Combined Driving Classic / WEG test event, here at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Where do you live?  Florida

For those who don’t know you: How are you involved in the driving/carriage world? Mainly combined driving; however, I am a member of the NY Coaching Club and enjoy coaching at Newport too

How old were you when you began driving?  Started driving at 10 with draft horses, and at 13 was in my first CDE

How did you become interested in this sport/world? My family has a Thoroughbred farm and it started as a family hobby

Do you come from a driving/horsy family?  Yes, Live Oak Stud, my family’s farm, is very active in racing and my wife and niece ride jumpers too

What was your first driving equine?  A draft horse named George

What do you drive now?  Four-in-hand of mixed warmbloods

What types of carriage(s) do you drive/collect?  Mainly sport carriages, but I still have two old hitch wagons that are of great importance to me; both are on original gears, one is a stake wagon and the other has solid sides

Do you have a favorite vehicle among your own collection?  The large hitch wagon

What is the most interesting/far-flung place that your driving has taken you?  Eastern Germany

Do you have a favorite carriage museum?  Stony Brook [the Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages]

Do you have a favorite horse-drawn vehicle (past or present) that you’ve only seen somewhere?  I love Skeleton Breaks

Do you have a favorite carriage type, builder, era, etc.?  Brewster

Is there a particular era/time period/type of vehicle in history that you would enjoy traveling back to … and driving in?  Would like to drive a coach down Park Avenue in NYC

As a competitor, what’s your favorite type of competition / class / CDE phase?  CDE marathon and dressage

Do/did you ride or participate in other horse sports?  Rode a bit as a child

What do you like best about driving as a hobby/sport? The people are friendly and share a passion that leads them to need to do large amounts of work for little cash rewards yet great personal pleasure, I guess we are all crazy?

What spectator sports do you enjoy watching?  Tennis

Who is your favorite player?  Federer

What car do you drive?  Porsche Cayenne

Do you have a “dream” car you wish you could drive?  Not yet

What was your first car?  Volvo wagon

Do you have any other pets?  Yes, a dog named Steffi

What is your favorite food/cuisine?  French this week

What was the last movie you saw?  Julie and Julia

What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas, because of family and the smiles

 

September 23, 2009

today’s Wednesday … it must be e-newsletter day

Posted by Jennifer under miscellaneous
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Today’s Wednesday, which we generally count as a day off from posting on the blog. But if you’re a CAA member (and we have your e-mail address on file), today’s the day you’ll receive your copy of The Spokesperson, the CAA’s weekly e-newsletter. Each week, we send news from the CAA office and from around the world of driving and horses.

The contents of this week’s e-newsletter: “WEG Only a Year Away,” “Coaching in Bavaria,” and “Maine Carriage Days.”

Not receiving the newsletter? Would you like to?

If you’re a CAA member, just send us your e-mail address, and we’ll add it to our mailing list.

If you’re not a CAA member yet and would like more information about the association, click here: http://www.caaonline.com/caa_content.asp?PageType=Dept&Key=2

 

September 22, 2009

it’s not all sunshine and roses

Posted by Jennifer under Lexington CDE, WEG 2010
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Our hearts go out to everyone in the southeast dealing with the recent incessant rain and terrible flooding. We’re grateful that, although we’ve had some downpours here over the past several days, it hasn’t been too terrible.

With luck, the storms will move through in time for the ground to dry out before next week’s driving event.

Speaking of rain … back in early August, a huge storm system blew through Kentucky and dumped nearly half a foot of rain on parts of Louisville, in just a few hours. We here in Lexington were fortunate that we didn’t get quite that much rain, but we still got quite a lot. Most of the KY Horse Park’s roads and pathways turned into rivers, any low-lying grassy areas or paddocks turned into lakes, and the floor of the covered arena was completely flooded. All of this took place just as hundreds of kids, parents, and ponies had arrived at the park for this year’s Pony Finals.

Here we have a photo, courtesy of Mick Costello, of what should be the grassy area next to the “head of the lake” … the cross-country / marathon water complex. This was that same day in early August.

this is normally just a low-lying area on the cross-country / marathon course; the "head of the lake" is (or should be) to the far left. Do you see the jump in the middle of the lake?

this is normally just a low-lying area on the cross-country / marathon course; the "head of the lake" is (or should be) to the far left. Do you see the jump in the middle of the lake?

 

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