Last week I was approached and asked if I would be so kind as to write a story on the back stage experience of the world cup (from the eyes of an amateur). Being backstage as laymen is much different than being back stage as a student and friend of Charlotte Nielsen. Consequently, I thought it was only fitting to write my World Cup journey as such:
It’s Monday, the first day, and we arrive to what is about to be one of the most emotionally significant times in my life. WOW, what is this….men on golf carts greeting our trailer to assist in the unloading? It didn’t stop there; they escorted us to the parking area, then carted us to the show office..what nice people. ….30 minutes into this and I’m already getting used to this treatment. (head is starting to swell). The security is dumbfounding….armed policemen on horses, helicopters in constant flight path around the barns, then there are the two security check points you have to go through to actually see your horse. We are shown to our stall, on the way I’m reading the stall fronts….”Debbie McDonald, Stephen Peters, Jan Eiebling, Leslie Morris, and Willie Arts to name a few. …I’m now getting grounded back to planet Earth (head is deflating). There is no time to rest…its ride time. Incidentally, ride times were twice a day and everyone typically used the 2 , 2 hour sessions a day. We enter (who am I kidding, Charlotte and Dacapo enter) the warm up arena. The wind is horrible and the sides of the canvas tent are blowing like mad. Charlotte handles it like a champ. The TD’s start rounding everybody up to go down the big scary shoot to the even scarier indoor black hole (hard to see beyond the black curtains). You should have seen the team (of Char and Dacapo), it was harmony at its finest. Oh my gosh, did I fail to mention that the first time in the ring was accompanied by around 30 crazy Grand Prix Jumpers. All went fabulously and the day was soon to end. I must admit, I never wanted to leave…I wanted to take in every possible moment I could.
Many of the days to follow are very similar…arriving at 5:00 am and leaving around 6 or 7:00. Its hard work, excitement, pressure, emotion, studying for Char, and for me….more time to walk around the grounds and inflate my head some more (giggle). It’s so fun, I think that everyone assumes that if your there you are someone, so they talk to you without hesitation. I was able to engage in conversation with some of best riders in the world and they had no idea that I didn’t have a clue to what I was talking about. The only common denominator was that EVERYONE I met knew and adored Charlotte Nielsen. Charlotte never says a word of all that she has accomplished, all the people that she knows. I soon learned just how special she is not just to me, but to so many people. Everyone had a story of how great she was and all of the great things she’s done. Let’s face it, I wasn’t having this experience because of me or because of my horse…it was because of Charlotte. It gave me yet another reason to get a big head…”I’m the student of Charlotte…Na nana na na”.
It’s Thursday and the organizer of the event (who is also dear friends of Char’s) approaches Char asking her if she could provide a horse for Anky to ride in the Award Ceremony. The obvious and easiest choice was Dacapo (since he was already there). This story gets really fun……So Anky watches Charlotte ride her test ride. I run down back stage just in the nick of time to hear Anky say…(in the strongest accent you can imagine)…”I don’t like him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” She went on to express her concerns …evidentially he was too much horse and too strong for the gold Medalist of the last two Olympics.....please realize I had to justify her disapproval of my horse somehow….giggle. After some convincing, she agreed to get on Dacapo….she was on him for a max of 10 minutes, she came up to us and said…”He likes my leg, I like him, I take him!!!!!” I have to say that I always thought Anky to be a very tall rider…in person she is adorable and itty bitty and not tall at all, but beautiful.
The time has come to watch the warm up of the riders. Okay, so WOW! I’m soon realizing that the definition of Dressage is “Focus”…the focus is amazing. I’ve also learned many new warm up techniques, I’m not sure I will be using most of them….but fascinating to observe. It was even more fascinating to view the results of the tactics used…..sheer brilliance. I was able to sneak a few friends backstage to the warm up arena so I could share in this moment….. because for me, this is what the World Cup was really about !!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so I have now come to realize also that once you’re at this level of dressage and competition, it is no longer necessary to warm up doing tempis or half passes or pirouettes for that matter….I suppose they save those for the ring and hope that by this point their horses know how to do them……LOL The warm ups are all about getting your horse “spicy”.
Thank god Anky didn’t take 1st in either award ceremonies and have to do the really big scary award…I have to admit, I was watching with hopes of an error. I’m not sure why, but this event about to take place had me more nervous and worried than anything. I think it was because I knew Char would always be fine with him so I didn’t worry…but Anky, she was soooooooooo afraid of these ceremonies. She had approached me to thank me so dearly for letting her use Dacapo. Evidentially she had two really nasty falls and experiences that landed her dreadfully frightful. When she approached me she was nearly tearful in thanks……it made my decision even easier, to know that I was helping someone out and would hope that if I were ever in the same situation, somebody would help me in the same way. The ceremony is here and now the other rider from the Netherlands wants to ride Dacapo as well. He took fourth place so he would be in the first round….so he did. I really think it was because they wanted to test the waters for Anky to make sure all was well. Then they have literally 5 seconds to switch saddle pads and saddles….10 people around, they toss her up and off she goes with the understanding that the second he acts up, she is out of the arena…it was all so very tense (too tense). She had a few moments, but she decided to stay in the arena and she did just fine trotting around…(while the others were passaging to their victory…here comes Anky trotting on a loose rein…LOL) I hope others see the humor in this as I did…you might have to get the visual to truly appreciate it. I imagined her in a cowboy hat with “home on the range” playing in the background.
I should also make mention of our wonderful neighbor that we got to know quite well….Heath Ryan, the Australian rider. I mention him because he, as well as his trainer, shared great knowledge on so many different levels. Can you imagine traveling all this way for two classes, and know that if your horse gets sticky in a movement or late behind on a change…there goes your chance for 1st place. Australia only has a flight leaving once every 3 months…so they had to board at Stephen Peters for a month before getting in the barns at the World Cup. Upon returning back home they will have to go through the 6 (yes, I said SIX) weeks of quarantine.
There is so much more of this week I could get into but I fear it would be dreadfully boring to most. There were times like breaking into the arena locker room, fumbling back stage of the arena trying to find a place to sit and watch up close, …there were times of laughter and times of tears. Through it all though, there wasn’t a moment that I didn’t gloat in the fact that I was “Charlotte Neilsons student”, there wasn’t a time that I didn’t completely and genuinely appreciate Charlotte as a rider, a trainer, a friend, and as a human being!
If I could also show total appreciation to every single person who was there to support Char and Dacapo. Also, this event wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without all of the behind the scenes work and dedication of Jennifer Dawson…who made Dacapo shine and kept me in line, thank you Jen! It was so great to see Las Vegas come together as a city…as a TEAM!...after all, isn’t that was its really all about!
Charlotte….thank you, thank you , thank you for being YOU and allowing me to enjoy this moment of privilege.
p.s….it only took around a week to get myself grounded again…LOL (some might argue that it hasn’t happened yet)