United States Eventing Association

Well, what can I say about the crowds . . . I think unbelievable might be the answer. I have never seen so many people on a cross-country course in the U.S. . . . ever – I’m not sure even at the event formerly known as Rolex. I think the estimates for other years were at 60,000, and I believe it. And it seemed to be a much different crowd than we normally see in the U.S.

Day 4 (I think...) It is hard to keep track of time when you aren’t in the “real world,” but we did dressage today, so it must be Friday. Courtney Carson had Quantum looking like the star he is, with a set of braids the hunter people would have been killed to have. Quantum didn’t have quite the test we had hoped for, but he is for sure going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

We got up early and had a very French breakfast made by our host, which beat the piece of tongue I had last night (it had hair on it, so I’m not sure what part it came from, but I can assure you as a veterinarian, it was NOT tongue). Then we headed out to watch Doug school early, then watch dressage and walk cross-country.

So we flew over to France Saturday night/Sunday morning, afternoon, evening. It seems like that day goes on for a week. Of course, you all know how much work is involved in leaving horses when you leave home, so I spent the last day shipping some horses one place and some another, writing out instructions, and taking care of all the other animals as well. Whew!

The nice folks at the USEA asked me if I would blog about my time in France at the FEI World Breeding Eventing Championships for Young Horses at Le Mondial du Lion d'Angers. I told them I’d be happy to, although creative writing is not necessarily a talent of mine. So, here’s what you’re getting!