The World Cup is More Than Just a Competition – It’s also a Teacher!

This is as Good as it Gets-Now Let's Do Our Part

Vernon went on to say that everyone was “in agreement that this horse show is fabulous,” but added that the one thing they would do differently the next time would be “to arrive earlier and give the horses more time to acclimate.” He explained that this would also give them more time to treat things that might come up that are minor and bring the horses back to a condition where they could compete. For instance, had McGuinness (who had a fever when he arrived) had more time he probably could have competed. Yet they chose the safe route.

Vernon also spoke about Kent Farrington’s ride on Madison. He recalled that at the beginning of his first round Madison went “brilliantly early on” but at the end the horse “was starting to struggle behind and had those two rails.” The horse tied up, which was a first but given what they’d been through it was anyone’s guess as to why. It could have been “going from the cold barn into the humidity and then back into a cold arena, or the shipping changes, or a change in the feed, or showing at night. It was one of those unlucky things,” commented Vernon.

However, “it was recognized within minutes,” and they immediately started giving Madison a lot of fluids, massage and chiropractic therapy and kept the horse in a quiet environment. By the next day Madison was much improved but then the difficult decision came. Should they compete in the second round of the World Cup or give the horse another day and compete in the KL Grand Prix.

“It’s very easy to play offense,” explained Vernon, “but it’s hard to play defense.” Vernon continued using the analogy of a game of poker noting, “Playing a good hand is easy but playing a bad hand is hard. He was dealt a bad hand.” In the end they opted to give the mare one more day to recoup and enter the KL Grand Prix instead. Their decision proved successful since in the end they won that class. While Kent was disappointed on the one hand he was glad “to come back and finish on a high note.”