April 27, 2006

Derosa Daily - The Horse Action Begins in Kuala Lampur

Sally Ike - Show Jumping Director for the United States Equestrian Federation

Afterwards we talked with Sally Ike, who was there as the Show Jumping Director for the United States Equestrian Federation. She praised the setup for the horses saying all was well and that the stabling conditions were quite good. “The stalls are big. The aisles are wide. We have plenty of room for storage and it is air conditioned.” Sally explained that an Australian company (Mitavite) is providing the feed and she felt the quality was good.

The biggest problem so far had been that Richard Spooner’s horse, McGuinness, had a fever when they arrived and had to be scratched. McLain Ward had opted not to come because he is preparing to compete on the Super League tour (which the U.S. Team won last year). Jimmy Torano also opted not to come even though he was qualified.

Sally was most impressed with the people explaining that the day before she needed to buy a phone card and not only did her taxicab driver bring her right to where she needed to go but went inside and took her directly to the appropriate counter and then waited to take her back to the Palace of the Golden Horses where they are staying. She smiled when she talked about their accommodations. “It reminds you of Las Vegas. It’s bigger than life,” commented Ike.

A total of 51 horses competed so the class didn’t last too long. Our riders tested the waters, some jumped all the fences, some only one or two. It was all based around what their horses needs were and in the end there were no issues that seemed to be of concern to any of the horses and riders.

Once over it was time to head back to the hotel and finish up our work there. As we went to leave the arena we quickly wandered through some portions of the trade fair. Down in our media headquarters we were quite separated from the hustle and bustle of the show but as you walked through this area you could feel the energy that seems to be a part of these major events. It was a pretty calm day for our first introduction to the Putra Stadium and the field of horses who would be competing. I’ll be bringing you some of the behind the scenes stories as our U.S. riders and all the other riders face the challenges of the days ahead.