At WEG Opening Ceremonies, Vive la France!

The French are mad for Anerican Quarter Horses. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The main attraction: Team France! Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Barbary horses at the WEG opening ceremony. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The audience at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games opening ceremony thrilled to the "breeds of honor" exhibitions: Norman Cobs, Quarter Horses, Barbary horses, and Akhal-Tekes. But they saved their biggest applause for -- naturally -- the French athletes' entrance into D'Ornano Stadium.

Actually, the overwhelmingly French audience seems thrilled to have the Games here, and is enthusiastic about everything. As the media shuttle bus made its agonizingly slow way toward the press center this afternoon, it was slowed by the massive traffic jam and crowds lined up to enter the stadium, a good two-plus hours before the show's commencement.

With events such as these pageants, pictures are most definitely worth a thousand words, so enjoy these snapshots!

Pre-sbow flyover. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Akhal-Tekes race from D'Ornano Stadium. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Canadian athletes. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Steffen Peters (front, left) helps to carry the USA banner during the parade of nations. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

An exuberant handstand by a Team USA athlete. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

French fans do the wave as the French WEG athletes parade. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Where Worlds Collide

Attending an international competition such as the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy always makes for some unexpected and interesting meetings. In my case, they started when I deplaned in Paris this morning, and -- after fighting my way through legions of travelers at Aeroport Charles de Gaulle, many more than I would have anticipated on a Saturday morning -- was thankful to spot a young woman holding a sign for the media shuttle to Caen.

Celine apologized and asked if I would be willing to wait a few minutes for another party. We chatted until they arrived: 2014 WEG reining judge and 2013 National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame inductee Rick Weaver and his wife, April. (It wasn't hard to spot them in the crowd, as not too many men sport cowboy hats in these parts.)

Rick and April are lovely people, and we were enjoying comparing equestrian-discipline notes when up came another shuttle-bus passenger: an admittedly weary Elizabeth McMullen, Canadian dressage judge and a member of the ground jury for the WEG dressage competition.

No, I didn't get any juicy inside dressage-judging scoop -- although Elizabeth said this year's WEG judges are being required to evaluate about 50 horses a day, which is more than usual per the rules and something of a challenge to the judges, who will be asked to focus and concentrate and give potentially medal-changing opinions for, well, a really long time. She added wryly that, when the inevitable judging controversy arises, they'll have something -- fatigue -- to blame it on.

Nodding off myself during the 3.5-hour drive from Paris to Caen, I noticed Rick and Elizabeth, eyes closed, all of us tired from the long overnight flights from North America.

"And they wonder why we do this," Elizabeth had quipped of the life of an FEI judge, as she relayed tales of various travel woes. I think I know why -- why she and Rick and others, including America's own Lilo Fore, put themselves to the trouble. It's because they are dedicated and committed to their respective equestrian disciplines, and this is their way of giving back. But they're only human, and they get weary like everyone else. When I'm the one saluting at X, of course, I have a right to expect a rigorous, objective standard of judging. But it sometimes helps to remember that a certain amount of subjectivity is inevitable in dressage, and if I'm going to compete I need to accept that.

World Equestrian Games vs. Olympic Games

A common source of confusion among equestrian enthusiasts is: What's the difference, horse-sport-wise, between a World Equestrian Games and an Olympic Games?

A WEG is the quadrennial world championships for all eight of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) disciplines: dressage, para-equestrian dressage, eventing, jumping, driving, vaulting, reining, and endurance. As such the WEG is produced by, and governed by, the FEI.

The 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Caen, Normandy, France, begin tomorrow, August 23, with the opening ceremony and conclude September 7. Click here for a downloadable schedule of events -- which include not only the equestrian competition, but also a full lineup of concerts at the Alltech Music Festival and this year's exhibition sport, horse ball!

The Olympic Games -- the summer Olympics, to be precise -- also are a quadrennial international sporting championships, but they differ in some significant ways from a WEG.

For starters, the obvious: Olympics feature many sports besides equestrian. And only three equestrian disciplines are included: dressage, eventing, and jumping.

A very important but more subtle difference between a WEG and an Olympics is in the governance. Olympic Games are governed by the International Olympic Committee, under which fall all of the Olympic sports' international federations, including the FEI. The IOC's goals for the Olympics may differ somewhat from those of the FEI -- for one, the IOC places emphasis on global participation by as many nations as possible -- and therefore rules for the equestrian events at Olympic Games frequently are different from the strict FEI rules, right down to the dressage tests themselves. In London 2012, for example, competitors rode an "Olympic Grand Prix Special" that was shorter than the standard GP Special -- the better to fit in more competitors.

Aside from these differences, to the three Olympic equestrian disciplines, a WEG gold medal and an Olympic gold medal are equally prestigious. The Olympics get more mainstream press, but the competition is equally stiff. In fact, one could argue that in some cases a WEG medal is more prestigious -- such as in eventing, which is the sport most likely to have its track made a little less challenging at the Olympics, in order to accommodate the less-experienced nations.

Days Before WEG Start, They're Dropping Like Flies

Who's competing at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games? Darned if I know.

I can't recall another major championship competition in recent history with so many withdrawal announcements just days before the opening ceremony.

Totilas and Edward Gal canter to gold at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Yesterday I awoke to the news that the 2010 WEG dressage Grand Prix Special and GP Freestyle gold medalist from the Netherlands, the Dutch Warmblood stallion Totilas, had been withdrawn. Now  competing under the German flag for rider Matthias-Alexander Rath, "Toto" had demonstrated a "pain reaction" at the site of a previous splint injury, the German Equestrian Federation announced.

Well, shoot. Like many others, I was looking forward to seeing Totilas in the same arena as Valegro, the 2012 Olympic champion from Great Britain. I saw Toto in Kentucky 2010 and Valegro in London 2012. Both were astonishing, and many people have asked me which horse I think is better. My personal preference aside, I honestly don't know how I think they'd score until I saw them back to back. Although the Totilas-Edward Gal pairing is in the past and Toto and Rath had a rough start, they'd reportedly really been clicking of late, scoring major European wins. The 2014 WEG was shaping up to be a dressage match race of sorts, a la the legendary 1938 Seabiscuit-War Admiral showdown. But for now we'll have to shelve that meeting.

On to the other disappointments; my heart goes out to everybody associated with these horses, who've come so far only to see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory at the last minute.

Germany's Sam FBW (shown after winning individual eventing gold at the 2012 London Olympics) is out of the 2014 WEG with an injury. Rider Michael Jung will compete aboard his other mount, FischerRocana FST. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

First off, we learned that the 2010 WEG and 2012 Olympic eventing individual gold medalist, Sam FBW, was withdrawn from the 2014 WEG today as a result of what the German FN termed inflammation in a front hoof. Sam's rider, Michael Jung, will still contest the WEG aboard his second mount, the nine-year-old mare FischerRocana FST.

Then the Netherlands' 2014 WEG dressage squad suffered a double blow: That nation's equestrian federation announced that both Glock's Undercover and Siro have been withdrawn due to injuries. Edward Gal, who rides Glock's Undercover, will remain on the Dutch WEG team with his other mount, Voice. Siro and rider Danielle Heijkoop will be replaced by Diederick van Silfhout on Arlando.

The Netherlands' Adelinde Cornelissen on Jerich Parzival won silver at the 2012 Olympics and stand to be strong contenders again at this year's WEG. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Hmm...do these losses increase Team USA's chances of a dressage medal? Possibly -- although we're still going up against such powerhouses as Germany's Helen Langehanenberg on Damon Hill NRW, the Netherlands' Adelinde Cornelissen on Jerich Parzival, and of course Valegro and rider Charlotte Dujardin. And don't dismiss any of the German or Dutch replacement horses or riders. Trust me, these nations' "understudies" would be leading ladies or men practically anywhere else.

The Peters Show

There was a bit of harrumphing on the grounds of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation Sunday, the final day of the 2014 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions, presented by the Dutta Corp.

"Well, that's a surprise," one spectator remarked sarcastically after Olympian Steffen Peters swept not one but two of the national titles up for grabs in Gladstone, New Jersey -- and also claimed the reserve championship in one of the divisions, for good measure.

Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 passage their way to Grand Prix Freestyle victory, in the process clinching the 2014 USEF National Grand Prix championship and the #1 spot on the US WEG dressage team. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Riding Four Winds Farm's 12-year-old Westfalen gelding Legolas 92, Peters, of San Diego, CA, took the national Grand Prix title (as expected) with an overall average score of 76.036% -- which was given a healthy boost after Sunday's winning Grand Prix Freestyle score of 79.700%.

Peters had already visited the winner's circle earlier in the day, collecting the Intermediaire I national championship title with Four Winds Farm's newest superstar, the seven-year-old Rhinelander mare Rosamunde. He also took the reserve I-I title aboard the eight-year-old Oldenburg mare Apassionata, owned by Tracy Roenick, who led her mare into the Dick and Jane Brown Arena for the awards ceremony.

Perhaps the only equestrian skill Steffen Peters lacks is the ability to ride two horses at once. He's on Intermediaire I champion Rosamunde while owner Tracy Roenick handles his reserve-champion mount, her mare Apassionata. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

When a competitor is at the pinnacle of his or her career, it does sometimes seem as if victory is a foregone conclusion. But there are a couple of factors that need to be considered.

First, Steffen Peters is arguably the only American dressage competitor with a string of horses rivaling that of the top Europeans. Those riders don't have just one "big" horse to pin all their hopes and dreams on; they have perhaps five or 10 -- large tour, small tour, plus some talented youngsters. As former USEF national dressage technical advisor and current FEI 5* judge Anne Gribbons (who was on the ground jury at Gladstone this year) has pointed out, such depth not only gives the rider competitive options but also keeps him or her plenty busy going down center line. Not to say that the other riders at Gladstone aren't experienced, but Peters has more top horses than they do. All that showing experience counts for something -- perhaps evidenced by the fact that, while other riders said they were eating light (or not at all) before their tests, Peters was tucking into a nice hearty lunch of chicken and pasta before his Grand Prix Freestyle. (Nerves? What nerves?)

Second, if name recognition were a guarantee of top placings, then 26-year-old Grand Prix newbie Laura Graves would not have given Peters a run for his money -- and believe me, she did. Riding her 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Verdades, Graves was little more than one percentage point behind Peters in the Grand Prix Special and the GP Freestyle -- 74.549 vs. Peters' 75.647 in the Special, and 78.425 vs. 79.700 in the Freestyle. The judges placed Graves above 13 other riders, all of whom are much better known than she.

There are always going to be disagreements over scorings and placings. Some who were in the audience at Gladstone were disappointed that Olympic veterans Jan Ebeling and Rafalca's dynamic and difficult new freestyle was not rewarded with a score higher than the 76.150 it received. Caroline Roffman's fun, upbeat Katy Perry routine suits Her Highness O well, and some said they thought it ought to have scored higher than the 73.775 it received. And so it goes.

But don't take my word for it. Here's the video of Legolas 92's winning freestyle. What do you think? Did it deserve to win?

Click here for video

Eight Is Enough (for a Trip to Europe)

It's possible Lisa Wilcox felt like the luckiest person in the room.

Riding Denzello, an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Betty Wells, the 2004 US Olympic dressage team bronze medalist finished eighth in the 2014 US dressage World Equestrian Games selection trials, held June 11-15 at USET Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.

Lisa Wilcox and Denzello. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Thanks to 0.182 percentage point -- the overall average score difference between eighth-placed Wilcox (71.633) and Californian Kathleen Raine on Breanna (71.451), who finished ninth -- Wilcox, of Loxahatchee, FL, found herself seated at the post-competition press conference with the seven other riders whose placings in the 2014 USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship have earned them a ticket to Europe and a shot at making the WEG team.

"To be here was my goal," said Wilcox, who admitted to hoping beforehand, "Please, God, let me be in the top eight."

Wilcox's fellow travelers, officially known as the WEG short list, are (listed in ranked order):

1. Steffen Peters, San Diego, CA, riding Legolas 92, a 12-year-old Westfalen gelding owned by Four Winds Farm (overall average score: 76.036%)

2014 USEF National Grand Prix champions Steffen Peters and Legolas 92. To their right: judge Janet Foy; daughters of Akiko Yamazaki, owner of Legolas; sponsor Tim Dutta of the Dutta Corp.; USET Foundation executive director Bonnie Jenkins; Yamazaki; and USEF managing director of dressage Jenny Van Wieren-Page. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

2. Laura Graves, Geneva, FL, riding her own Verdades, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (74.226%)

Laura Graves and Verdades. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

3. Jan Ebeling, Moorpark, CA, riding Rafalca, a 17-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Beth Meyer, Ann Romney, and Amy Roberts Ebeling (74.134%)

Jan Ebeling and Rafalca. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

4. Adrienne Lyle, Ketchum, ID, riding Wizard, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Peggy Thomas (73.543%)

Adrienne Lyle and Wizard. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

5. Tina M. Konyot, Palm City, FL, riding her own Calecto V, a 16-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion (73.038%)

Tina Konyot and Calecto V. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

6. Caroline V. Roffman, Wellington, FL, riding her own Her Highness O, an 11-year-old Hanoverian mare (72.760%)

Caroline Roffman and Her Highness O. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

7. Shelly Francis, Loxahatchee, FL, riding Doktor, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Patricia Stempel (72.119%).

Shelly Francis and Doktor. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

KLM #644, departing this Wednesday from New York's JFK to Amsterdam, for all you flight-trackers out there. That's according to the man who should know: J. Tim Dutta, founder and chairman of The Dutta Corp., presenting sponsor of the 2014 USEF Festival of Dressage Champions and, naturally, the guy who's in charge of getting our precious equine cargo to the WEG and back.

Here's how eight riders and horses will be whittled to a WEG team of four.

As the top two finishers, Peters and Graves are on the team. Still, they must "demonstrate their continued preparation, soundness, and ability," as stated in the USEF selection process, by competing in at least one of the European CDIs designated as a "mandatory outing." Those shows are:

1. CDI4* Schindlhof, Fritzens, Austria, July 4-6. (Owned by the Haim-Swarovski family of Swarovski crystal fame, the Schindlhof estate looks like The Sound of Music meets the equestrian elite. No wonder we want to show there!)

2. The World Equestrian Festival/CHIO Aachen, Germany, July 11-20. The most prestigious horse show in the world will be a fitting final test of our WEG hopefuls.

Based on average rankings based on riders' scores in the selection trials Grand Prix test and at the mandatory outings, the other two members of Team USA will be chosen. The remaining four horse-rider combinations will be named as substitutes, in ranked order. August 14 is the FEI's "definite entry" deadline for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

A Team Effort

If you're going to be a novice on the world stage, you could do worse than having Steffen Peters and Robert Dover at your side.

With nine Olympic Games between them (three for Peters, six for Dover), the competitor and the chef d'equipe have a lifetime of travel and show-prep experience to offer Graves, the first-timer.

"When it comes to the management of a three-day competition, I have a lot to learn," Graves said after the conclusion of the selection trials. "I'm looking forward to the expertise of a team coach and others to help learn how to manage the stress."

"I'd love to see Laura in Aachen, for sure," Peters said. Asked what advice he'd offer Graves, he said: "We need to train as if we're already in Aachen, already at the World Games. That little bit of adrenaline will take care of the rest. We need to step it up. If I had this freestyle [the quality of the selection trials performance] today, I'd be very happy."

But the process from today forward isn't a dictatorship. Said Dover of the two mandatory outings: "This [the choice of whether to attend one or both shows] is left up to the athletes -- what they think is in the best interests of their horses and themselves. Both are good shows."

"I'm open to suggestions," Graves responded. "I'm a total rookie. I also know my horse; he's exhausted after this long trip up the coast."

Rafalca, the elder stateswoman of the group, was also tired after Gladstone, said Ebeling, who expressed concerns over the back-to-back travel schedule.

"I have to admit I'm a little concerned. I had hoped I could keep the lead being in second [going into the GP Freestyle, which would have given him an automatic team slot]. I was hoping I could avoid that [having to show at Fritzens]."

It's possible Ebeling may be able to avoid it, after all. According to former US dressage national technical advisor Anne Gribbons, the WEG selection committee (of which she is not, however, a member) may find a way to allow Rafalca not to compete at the early-July show.

Even with the somewhat tired horses, some of which are fairly new to Grand Prix, "the standard here was amazing," said judge Janet Foy. "I've been judging the Florida horses since January but hadn't seen many of them since March. Their progress since then is amazing. I'm thrilled to see Rafalca so steady and reliable -- just a perfect team type of horse. And Legolas has come a long, long way; the changes [which have been the horse's weakness] -- Steffen's getting sevens.

"What is thrilling is to have this top group with such great sportsmanship to be mentors to the ones without that experience," Foy continued. "All the judges are happy with how the competition went. We're confident we did the best job and are sending the best group to Europe. Peter [Holler, an FEI 5* judge from Germany and the lone foreign judge on the panel] was very impressed."

WEG Selection Trials: A Newcomer Among Familiar Faces

Two-thirds of the way through the selection process for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games US dressage team, and lying in a strong second place is Laura Graves.

Who?

She's a 26-year-old Vermont native, former 4-Her, and former working student of Anne Gribbons, that's who. And you'd better get accustomed to hearing her name and that of her horse, Verdades, because I suspect you'll be hearing them a lot in the weeks and years to come.

Laura Graves and her Verdades finished second in the 2014 US WEG selection trials Grand Prix Special. A highlight was the Dutch Warmblood gelding's rhythmic, relaxed piaffe and balanced piaffe-passage transitions. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Graves, who now calls Geneva, FL, home, trains with Olympian Debbie McDonald. She bought her 2002 Dutch Warmblood gelding (by Florett) as a weanling in the Netherlands based on a video. And she and "Diddy" displaced many better-known names -- Olympian Tina Konyot on Calecto V, Olympian Lisa Wilcox on Denzello, and Olympian Adrienne Lyle on Wizard, to name just three -- to place second in the Grand Prix Special with a score of 74.549 percent. The competition was part of the 2014 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions presented by the Dutta Corp.

"My horse was there for me. He was really, really there for me," said Graves afterward. "This [riding at the high-performance level] has always been my dream, and I'm very fortunate to have this horse who is helping me fulfill my dream."

Graves admitted to some show nerves, saying she didn't watch the other competitors in the class and "hid in my stall" beforehand to escape the hubbub at the USET Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.

Steffen Peters and Legolas 92, winners of the Grand Prix Special. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The only competitor who could best Graves today was Captain America, Steffen Peters, and two-time USEF national Grand Prix champion Legolas 92, owned by Four Winds Farm. After a winning yet not bobble-free Grand Prix test on Thursday, Peters, of San Diego, CA, put in an improved (yet still not mistake-free) effort to clinch the Special with a score of 75.647 percent aboard the 12-year-old Westfalen gelding.

Peters' test was not without a moment of anxiety. Following his final halt and salute, the judge at C, Anne Gribbons, stepped into the arena and began to examine Legolas's bits. Gribbons was joined by the technical delegate, Elisabeth Williams. Shortly after, the two women exited the arena and Peters gave the crowd a thumbs-up. He explained later that the judge at B, Gary Rockwell, had asked Gribbons to check the bits. Fortunately nothing was found to be awry.

Technical delegate Elisabeth Williams and judge Anne Gribbons inspect Legolas's bits after Steffen Peters concluded his GP Special test. All was deemed OK. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

"I wish we could have put in a clean test," Peters admitted afterward, but "I was happy we got the changes; those are always extremely difficult with Legolas. His pirouettes were good, and his half-passes felt wonderful. It certainly wasn't a bad test but not what I wanted to take from here to Europe. We'll polish it, and hopefully by Aachen we'll have all of it in place. Robert [Dover], Shannon [Peters, Steffen's wife], and I have a very good plan; we're going to polish it for Aachen and then hopefully take it a step up for Normandy."

Finishing a strong third was the darling of the 2012 Olympic Games, Rafalca, whose connection with co-owner Anne Romney (wife of 2012 US presidential candidate Mitt Romney) made for a perfect storm during the run-up to the London Games. The reliable 17-year-old Oldenburg mare, also co-owned by Beth Meyer and Amy Roberts Ebeling, finished second in Thursday's Grand Prix and scored 74.294 in today's Special with longtime rider Jan Ebeling, of Moorpark, CA.

Olympic veterans Jan Ebeling and Rafalca passage to third place in the Grand Prix Special. Photo by Jennifer Bryant. 

If anything, Rafalca looks stronger and fitter than she did in London. Ebeling said: "She's having a good week. She is fit and she feels great, and being beaten by someone like her is absolutely wonderful," he said, smiling at Graves. "I've always said we want more younger riders coming up. It's exciting -- good riders, good horses, good backgrounds, good training. This is what our sport needs."

Ebeling admitted to some relief at not being a staple on "The Colbert Report" and in the mainstream media this time around. Of the pre-Olympics media circus, he said, "It was a bit more attention than I asked for."

London Olympics individual competitors Adrienne Lyle, Ketchum, ID, on Wizard, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Peggy Thomas, placed fourth in the GP Special with 73.412 percent.

Tomorrow we'll wrap up the WEG selection process with the always eagerly anticipated Grand Prix Freestyle, which commences at 2:35 p.m. EDT and which will be streamed live via the USEF Network. For purposes of determining the 2014 USEF National Grand Prix champion (and the short list for the 2014 US dressage WEG team), the Grand Prix score is worth 45 percent, with the Special accounting for 40 percent and the Freestyle, 15.