Dear Rita,
The opening ceremonies are finally here! Scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday night, a gala celebration is planned at the Horse Park to welcome all riders, drivers, coaches and support staff. The dressage team will be marching alongside the reining team, vaulting team, show jumping team, para-dressage team, driving team and eventing team. Did I leave anyone out??
The week leading up to this great event has been full of training, anticipation and careful planning for the best results in equestrian sport from all sides. All the competitors that I have spoken with seem to be enjoying Kentucky to the utmost. The hospitality has been overwhelming at the Horse Park, and the athletes have had a lot to see and do outside the equestrian facilities.
Kentucky, as any honest Kentuckian will tell you, produces three top quality products: Horses, tobacco and bourbon. I had the pleasurable opportunity of visiting the Woodford Reserve Bourbon Distillery. This side trip is one I can heartily recommend. Ask for “Joe” as your tour guide and tell him I sent you! Here is an abridged version of the tour:
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W and I are in fine form. We have one last training session Sunday morning at Reese Koffler’s stable in Georgetown, Ky., before the shipping van picks us up in the late morning. We will either be delivered to the Horse Park as a last minute substitute (I certainly hope nothing goes wrong with any of our horses or riders—they are in top form, and I am betting on them for a medal!) or make our way back to Gladstone for a few days. We plan to show at Devon CDI-W next weekend! Best of luck to my teammates—Steffen Peters, Tina Konyot, Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Todd Flettrich. You guys rock!
