Posts Tagged ‘World Equestrian Games
World Equestrian Games 2010
Many of you have heard me talk about my favorite equestrian sport, Mounted Games. Its sort of an obscure sport, which most people have never heard of, but all that is about to change this fall. The World Equestrian Games, held in Lexington, KY October 2 -10, 2010, will be debuting Mounted Games during their competition.
Here’s an excerpt from the website:
The United States Mounted Games Association has gone through the rigorous selection process necessary to be selected to present the sport of Mounted Games at the World Equestrian Games.
The USMGA will be presenting an International Mounted Games Association competition for one hour each day for eight days, beginning Oct. 2 until the closing of the games Oct. 10, and we will also be manning a booth for the entire sixteen days. Top level games riders from around the world, music and international announcers will provide a memorable, impressive and entertaining show.
Mounted Games is like no other horse sport that you have ever seen. In 20 countries around the world, blazing action combines with teamwork and horsemanship skills to make Mounted Games as much fun to watch as it is to ride. Mounted Games is a unique equestrian sport that combines the history of ancient warfare, the raw athleticism of the Wild West and the thrill of horse racing in a team event. At its top level, the sport demands that equine and human athletes perform intricate skills at breakneck speed and provides the spectator appeal of an extreme sport.
Minnow spins around a bucket
This is exciting news for a sport that I have been participating in since I was 13 years old (thats 13 years for anyone counting). And while I myself didn’t try out, many of my friends did. They have yet to choose the team to represent the US, but I’m excited to see if any of my friends will be a part of it. I’m actually considering maybe making the trip down to Kentucky to watch the event – this truly is a first for the sport. The competition is still one day away, so I find myself having something interesting like reading slot myths. This is a hobby of mine that very few people know, I like gambling on slots.
On the Mounted Games at the WEG website you can follow along as the countries choose their riders, equine mounts will also be announced as time goes on – ponies that will be pooled from generous pony lenders in the US (the other countries will not be bringing their own mounts). I considered offering up some of the Trick Ponies, but I decided that by October they probably wouldn’t be ready for such an important competition – they still have a lot of training they need.
KD dunks a sock on Minnow. USPC Games Rally 2007
The other really neat thing on the website is their explanation of many of the races. The have a page dedicated to explaining (with videos) the races and how they are played. So if you have never heard of the sport before, I highly recommend checking it out here.
If you can’t tell, I’m also excited to play casino and get ready for a virtual horse race in the casino universe with classic features and simple rules. – I think the end goal is to eventually have Mounted Games as an Olympic Sport. Although, I do hope that the sport will always be assessable to everyone. Right now there are organizations (like the one I belong to) that openly invite anyone who would like to participate and learn how to play – no matter your age OR skill level. I hope this will never change.
If you are interested in learning more about Mounted Games at the World Equestrian Games here is how you can get involved:
Other Mounted Games Organizations:
MGAA
United States Pony Club
USMGA
International Mounted Games Organizations
USET and Olympic Dreams
I posted the other day about my trip last Sunday to the site of the United States Equestrian Team Training Facility, Hamilton Farm, located in Gladstone, NJ. I decided I had to go back and talk about this location, because its unlike any other horse training center I have ever been to. I have been to this particular facility several times before, and its beautiful every time I go.
First a little history (taken from the USET website).
The United States Equestrian Team Foundation supports equestrian athletes, promotes international excellence, and builds for the future of equestrian sports.
The eight High Performance equestrian disciplines supported by the United States Equestrian Team Foundation are dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, para-equestrian, reining, show jumping and vaulting.
More about what the USET Foundation does can be found here. Now although they don’t specifically help the equine sport of Mounted Games, USET does allow us to use their beautiful facility for competitions. Hopefully someday Mounted Games will be added to the list of recognized Olympic Sports (steps are being taken to do so!) and will be supported by the USET Foundation.
So anyway onto the facility. I was able to sneak around one (yes one) of the main barns where some of the competition horses for our event were stabled and the site where we rode was. This particular barn is actually two floors – yes two floors – with stalls on both levels. There is then a third floor that has a glass floor you can see down into the barn from. I think the third floor is mostly used for award ceremonies/etc. They even house several trophy rooms in this particular barn.
Standing in the isle ways made me wonder if any famous horses had walked these halls – or stayed in these stalls – or rode in the ring. Many of the stalls had dedication plaques on them, but I ran out of time to look through all of them. I’m sure many were for past Olympic mounts – many of the greats.
I hope to one day see this barn filled with Mounted Games ponies – ponies that are destined to be Olympic horses. Not many ponies can say this as most of the Olympic disciplines are reserved for the bloodlines of horses, although some exceptions apply, Theodore O’Connor (Teddy) comes to mind – even though he was never really in the Olympics. The 14.1 hand pony who competed at the highest international eventing level with Olympian Karen O’Connor (although Teddy was from horse lineage). Teddy was an ambassador for ponies everywhere as he shed light on the fact that ponies weren’t just fuzzy backyard pets relegated to be children’s sidekicks and babysitters. Some are destined to be great.
I don’t doubt that someday Mounted Games will be among the list of Olympic Sports. In fact this year a petition was sent to have an exhibition of the sport in the World Equestrian Games for 2010. Although the petition was denied (I have suspicions why) the beginning is in place. My guess is that until there is one recognized organization and rulebook for mounted games than this cannot happen. Currently we have several organizations within the US (all with their own set of rules) instead of one main organization – we need to have one lead group…like the USDF (United States Dressage Federation), one governing body that sets the rules nationwide. Difference in opinions caused a split in our one organization – The United States Mounted Games Association, now we have two, Mounted Games Across America and USMGA. Not to mention that the United States Pony Clubs even has their own set of rules separate from MGAA and USMGA. Its sort of a big mess right now – so I think until thats all figured out there is no way we will be permitted in among the Olympic arenas.
But I do think that someday it will happen, hopefully I live to see it. The first modern Olympics to hold equestrian events were in 1900 in Paris, France. Only three disciplines were contested: Show jumping, high jump, and long jump. Several horse sports have made their appearance in the Olympics since those beginnings. You can see a small photographic history of Equestrian Olympics here. So there is hope!
