We met Lucie Aguila at the Normandy Regional Equitation Committee stand in the Games Village, among the most popular stops for the youngest equestrians at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Aguila was helping children get some hands on experience, helping them brush a pony on hand, learn about different kinds of feed and Velcro the correct name of part of a horse onto a board.
Where are you from and what are you doing here?
I used to live in Alicante, Spain, and now I’m in the town of Rennes in Bordeaux. I’m not from Normandy but I’ve discovered the culture of Normandy and it’s great.
How long have you and the association been preparing for Games?
Our association has been preparing for about three years putting together videos and talking about the event. This particular team got together about a year ago, and I’ve been personally involved for six months. We were supposed to have a separate Kids’ Zone, but that didn’t happen. So we had a team meeting to decide that we were really trying to get the youngest people involved. It’s been really interesting putting the activities together for kids.
What’s your equestrian experience?
I used to ride when I lived in Spain, doing dressage and some show jumping. I’ve worked at a smaller international show as a volunteer, doing jump crew. But this is my first time as part of a big international event. It’s really incredible.
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How have the Games been for you?
It’s been incredible. There’s been so much planning, and all the sudden it’s here and I can’t believe it. I’m staying in a flat that I rented in Caen, and whatever I did would be fine because we work a lot and I don’t have any time for chilling.
We’ve been meeting lots of interesting people at the World Games—check out a pony who thinks he’s a lion and his amazing trainer, the family that came from Great Britain to support two different nations and the Americans who came half for work and half for fun.
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