While grooms wondered where they would stay and hurricane Florence loomed in the Atlantic, the horses were safely bunked down in their quarters and demo riders and their equines arrived by the trailer loads. The blackout for press conditioned by the FEI had many reporters frustrated. None of the travel for horses and those charged with their transport were allowed to be recorded by anyone but those designated by the FEI and the resulting lack of personal media relay by grooms was missed by many horse lovers.
As someone that developed an equine international transport division for an international freight forwarder the world of equine air travel holds few mysteries for me, so it was not a great 'miss' from my viewpoint, but the lead up to an event is what brings the excitement and spectators out and as a member of the press I was not happy at the principle of a blackout. Tim Dutta clearly made up for this later with his innumerable posts of the team horses being loaded out for export. But still, I believe this was an FEI overstep.
As for those grooms, some at first tented for accommodation with a hurricane en route, the mood was still upbeat on the face. Behind the scenes some grumbled about their military style temporary housing and it was soon scrapped and beds found in local houses and hotels instead. Good move Mr. B.
The star players such as the U.K. team enjoyed royal treatment all the way. To be expected. It was the teams lower on the totem pole that suffered the disarray of organization in the early days of the competition.
Talking of air transport, the tight schedule for charters meant the Freestyle dressage competition never happened. The ring was too wet and very wisely the German team among others refused to utilize the deeply footed indoor arena that was in any case already pressed for use in the Western sports. With no time to refoot and the hurricane headed in, there was simply no time to redress that arena for the competition.
Flight delays and cancellations due to the weather were inevitable, and many spectators that had brought the very expensive tickets, ( over $500 at least), found themselves posting social media ads trying to garner some funds back through ticket resale. The demo riders and their horses were ushered off the property without performing due to the temporary horse housing and dangers for them all being present on the property should the hurricane cause major flooding. The disappointment that these folks exuded when they were sent home was palpable.
Still better safe than sorry. There were other issues, some were resolved to some degree and some remained throughout the term of the competition. Notably the disarray of shuttle bus schedules, posting and signage explaining to people where what was happening and the local Health Department shutting down the diner, leaving some rather unprofessional and untrained staff in the other restaurants to cope with the visitors. Long wait times were common, and the rule about no liquids or food being allowed into the event upset many. You were either baking hot with no shade, (no umbrellas allowed either), or drenched and cold.
The endurance fiasco was totally preventable and should never have happened. Riders were sent off on an errant course causing a complete stop and start of the event and then due to heat concerns the event was cancelled while riders were still on course and out of the 'loop.' As this cancellation came late in the day it was not uniformly accepted as the right cause of action. The metrics of heat and humidity had surpassed the FEI standards however, and their protection of the horses must be admired. Sadly, one horse did die after this endurance race.
Let's talk about what else went wrong. The USA event team had two unexpected bad rounds in the cross country with Boyd Martin and Philip Dutton not realizing their potential. The fact that they both had similar issues and train together, Dutton being Martin's long time mentor, I am sure was on their minds afterward. Martin was deeply disappointed. I felt particularly bad for him, as he and his wife Silva had just returned home with their newest family addition who was delivered early due to complications and had spent several weeks in the NICU. Martin had foregone Burghley, UK at the end of August, and put on a brave face covering his obvious concern for the welfare of his wife and son. Talk about a lot on his plate. Kudos to him for doing such a good job prepping and staying focused in what I can only imagine was the toughest of circumstances.
In other disciplines the USA did brilliantly, golds, silvers and generally a great go.
There's no question that Bromont pulling out late and Tryon stepping up to host greatly affected the ability of the management of this mega facility to finish all the building needed. The wet Summer set timelines back, and hurricane Florence caused great concern though aside from much water and puddles, overall the facility held up well.
There is no question that the Tryon facility will be more on point next time and that many more competitions are yet to be enjoyed there. The management did well to step up and host, and I look forward to their brighter future and their calendar of major events. With the heat, humidity and hurricanes the Carolinas notoriously enjoy, perhaps at a kinder time of year.
