World Equestrian Games, October 8-9, 2010

Abby and I arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park on Friday. We cruised the trade fair and watched some of the exhibitions. This is Molly, the pony who was abandoned in a pasture in St. Charles Parish after Hurricane Katrina, then was taken to a rescue where she was attacked by a dog who injured her leg. Her leg was amputated and she was fitted with a prosthetic leg by the veterinary hospital at Louisiana State University. She was wandering around loose, eating grass, while kids piled around her. What a good-natured pony:
Riding a mechanical version of Cat Ichi, a quarter horse cutting stallion from Texas:

Show jumping on Friday night:

Saturday was the marathon phase of combined driving. The teams of four horses negotiate eight obstacles. The time in each obstacle is crucial, though the time between obstacles appears to be largely irrelevant. The drivers blaze through each obstacle, then after driving through the finish line for an obstacle, may halt to adjust equipment, or walk or trot slowly toward the next obstacle. A German team negotiating obstacle 5, the Stone Garden:

Dutch driver Ijsbrand Chardon in the last obstacle, the Spring:

The driver before Chardon was a Canadian driver who drove conservatively - he seemed to be fairly new to this level of competition. Chardon drove so aggressively that by the last obstacle, he was just a few minutes behind the Canadian, who had started twenty minutes before Chardon. Saturday night was the show jumping final four, where the top four riders

after several days of competition ride each other's horses over a short course. I was cheering for the 28 year old Saudi rider, because I loved his spicy mare and because it is nice to see some new blood in this sport. He took the silver medal.