April 27, 2006

Derosa Daily - The Horse Action Begins in Kuala Lampur

On April 26th there was no competition for the FEI World Cup Jumping Final at Putra Stadium but there were some warm-up classes. With very few people onsite it was the perfect time to wander around and get to know the setup. First there was the accreditation process (no problem), then put the valuables that we didn’t want to carry around in lockers and then it was time to watch the class.

The riders rode all their horses even though some would not compete. Margie Engle rode Hidden Creek’s Alibi and Quervo Gold (her World Cup horse). Kent Farrington was aboard Madison, the horse he won the President’s Cup on at the 2005 Washington International Horse Show and as an indoor event that was good preparation for the World Cup.

Richard Spooner was aboard Camaron Hills Shanroe. Alison Firestone was riding Secret Love while Joie Gatlin negotiated Suncal’s King. The final two riders were Laura Kraut on Anthem and Beezie Madden riding Judgement.

The arena setting is a normal size and the footing is quite good. On the one side are tables where people can enjoy a nice meal while they watch. Overlooking them are the seats for working media. Photographers had a few options to choose from. I chose to photograph from a little higher vantage point so that I’d have a better chance to get more fences.

The warm-up course was fairly straightforward and no one had any problems worthy of mentioning. Many of the U.S. riders didn’t even jump entire courses. They were basing their approach on their horse’s needs.