Los Angeles—Oct. 3

Wandering through the barn at the Longines LA Masters is just walking into like any other barn—any other barn that’s temporarily set up in the middle of a huge metropolitan city and houses many of the most precious show jumpers on the planet, that is.

Horses coming to the second edition of the competition are once again stabled in the parking garage of the LA Convention Center, where the competition takes place. There are three separate groups of horses at the Masters, and each is quarentined separately, but near one another. Forty-four European-based horses flew over from Belgium shortly before the competition and ar all settled together. There are also aisles for U.S.-based FEI horses and U.S.-based invitational horses.

The horses, the riders who ride them and the grooms who care for them are all seasoned world travelers, and their organization and setups reflect this experience. 

There are three separate stabling areas for horses at the LA Masters to accomodate horses coming in from Europe as well as those based in the United States.

Horses are stabled in the LA Convention Center parking garage.

To get to and from the ring, horses must go up a level on the circular ramp.

In addition to the schooling ring, set up in the middle of the vendor area, riders may school and warm up in a small ring near the stables.

When you have thousands of miles to travel and serious weight restrictions, it’s especially important to stay organized while packing.

In many ways, barns are the same the world over.

Nice shoes!

In Los Angeles, even the barn floors are red carpet.

Samuel Parot’s horses, Atlantis and Couscous van Orti are social fellows.

Sue Schlegel made sure Simon had all the itchiest places on his face scratched.

With long days and jet lag, plenty of grooms hang hammocks in the grooming stalls to grab a few minutes of shut-eye here and there.

Noah Philips said hello to Zekina Z, who his mom, Jane Richard-Philips, rode a the Longines LA Masters.

Tools of the trade.

Neat and tidy is the name of the game.

It never hurts to add a label.

No matter how well you mark things, they can still wander away.

Safety first.

A shiny trunk means you never have to look for a mirror.

There’s a huge contrast between the barns and the outside world.

Jos Verlooy’s Sunshine travels with a buddy.

Daniel Deusser’s Toulago travels with a panda.

There’s always tack to be cleaned, just like in any other barn.

Voyeur spends most of his free time eating his treat ball.

Kent Farrington’s Willow gets a treat ball and a unicorn.

Tanya Levorchick’s Zanzibar may have the best forelock on the showgrounds. 

Want more from the Longines LA Masters? Catch up on 20-year-old Bertram Allen’s win in yesterday’s Longines Speed Challenge, just a month after breaking his collarbone.

And hear from Quentin Judge, who won the Hollywood Reporter Cup with HH Fyloe. 

There’s plenty of celebrity spotting—human and equine—at the Longines LA Masters. Get to know actress Kaley Cuoco’s Bionetty who will be competing in Saturday’s Pro-Am Charity Costume Class.

Look for a full analysis of the competition in the Oct. 19 issue of the magazine. 
Full results are available at the Longines LA Masters site.