Meant To Be

The first thing you should know about me is that I have no talent for winning contests.

It is because of this dismal contest track record that I did not believe I had really won the Eventing Radio Show's Rolex photo contest.  The winner was announced on April 1st.  Surely this was an April Fool's joke.

Happily, it was not.

The incredible 22 year old stallion Cigar struts
his stuff at the Hall of Champions presentation.

And so I arrived at Kentucky Horse Park early on Wednesday afternoon and was able to spend a couple of hours leisurely strolling through the park and enjoying the attractions.  But I watched the clock carefully, because the first horse inspection was set to begin at 3:00pm.  Never before in my short history of attending Rolex have I been able to swing a Wednesday arrival, let alone see a first horse inspection.  The weather could not have been more perfect for this pageant of equally perfect horses.

Karen O'Connor presents the stunning Mr. Medicott
in her equally stunning white pant suit.  Love those heels!

Thursday was the first day of dressage, and I was in my seat early to watch the tests.  I recall thinking -- and this is a first -- that this test actually looked fun to ride.  At the lunch break I made my way into the Trade Fair and visited my two favorite vendors:  Dark Horse Chocolates (I stocked up on their Peppermint Ponies -- no pun intended) and Omega Alpha (makers of the wonderful non-narcotic Chill, a staple in my barn).  Late in the afternoon Chris Stafford of the Eventing Radio Show invited me to her table in the trade fair so that I could see her show live.  She also sent me on an errand in the media center, but it was just a clever ruse, for when I returned to the show she had arranged for me to meet Canadian rider Peter Barry.  It was the photo of Peter's horse Kilrodan Abbott that Chris had chosen as the winning entry in the contest, and she arranged for Peter and me to have an on-air meeting.  Needless to say this was a great beginning to Rolex weekend.

The winning photo:  Kilrodan Abbott ("Eddie") calmly
 standing  in a tub of ice water at the 2011 Rolex.

After leaving the Eventing Radio Show, I grabbed a big glass of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and made my way to a grassy hill alongside the stadium; with the sun sinking slowly behind me, I watched several riders practicing for their Friday dressage test.

William Fox-Pitt sits astride Parklane Hawk
as a lucky admirer gets some face time.

Andrew Hoy aboard the lovely Rutherglen.

Friday found me in my stadium seats again and I watched all of the tests up to the lunch break.  I then took myself on a tour of the entire cross country course.  It was the first time I'd done the entire course in one outing and the perfect weather made it an easy walk, a memorable afternoon.

Buck Davidson warms up on Titanium as
Andrew Nicholson walks Quanza around
David O'Connor whilst they chat.

A new jump on course this year, the
gorgeous Mountain Dulcimer. 

If you have never attended the Saturday cross country day at Rolex then I must tell you that the traditional viewing strategy is to arrive early, get a good seat somewhere on course, and then figure out how you will walk the course throughout the day so you can see all of the rides.  This course had other plans, however; not many riders completed this very technical course.  Thankfully, no horses or riders were seriously injured.  But I was only vaguely aware of this at the time because, you see, I was busy in the vet box after Peter and Eddie's excellent ride.  They finished with no jumping penalties and only 3.2 time penalties.

Peter Barry and groom Colleen talk about the ride
as super-fit Eddie calmly soaks in ice water.

On Sunday I arrived at the park early to participate in one of my favorite Rolex rituals:  breakfast at Roosters' Cafe.  The nice folks at Roosters make a breakfast sandwich with no peer; I always get the hot sausage with a fried egg nestled into an inside-out toasted hamburger bun.  I nibbled at it while I made the very chilly walk to the second horse inspection.  From the time the second inspection ends until the start of the jumping test is a span of several hours, and so I filled it by stopping by the Charles Owen tent and getting fitted for my JL9 vest and my skull cap.

Finally, one o'clock arrived with the stands jammed full of spectators.  I couldn't see a single empty seat.  Even with the mandatory television delays the jumping test went too fast.  Within two hours a new Rolex champion was crowned, and the awards ceremony was over.  I was able to chat with Peter for a couple of minutes between his interviews, and then I headed back to the Eventing Radio Show table where Chris let me sit in on her live show.

The funny thing about Rolex this year was I wasn't even planning to attend.  I entered the photo in the contest because it was a photo of a horse that I really really liked.  I never once thought that it would win, but I'm so glad it did.  Kilrodan Abbott is the kind of horse I find myself drawn to:  steady, workmanlike, as kind as the day is long.  

Eddie and yours truly.  Photo by Dylan Barry.

My gut feeling is that Eddie is about to stride into a global arena.  I write those words with a certain amount of wistfulness because my affection for Eddie is kind of proprietary in nature.  As silly as it sounds, I do not want to share him!  But of course I'm being selfish.  The truth is I am lucky to have spent any time at all with Eddie and his fantastic owner and support team.  Just to get close to a horse like this is an unbelievable opportunity.  I am so grateful to the Eventing Radio Show for allowing it to happen.