PrintA platinum sponsorship package for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event costs $20,000. The cheapest sponsorship package, bronze, is $6,000. Both packages include grilled vegetables, sautéed snap peas, chicken paninis, tomato and herb soup, organic spinach salad and an open bar with a bird’s eye view of the main arena. Access to the sponsors’ tent also includes an outside viewing area, which was crowded with young ladies and gentleman, all sporting Ray Bans or Maui Jims.
I had a frosty glass of Belgian beer in one hand, a rum and coke in the other, and I was wearing a grin very similar to Bettina Hoy’s, who had just scored a 28 and was leading the world by 14 points, when I saw Karen O’Connor.
“How did you get in here?” she asked.
“Through the kitchen in the back,” I replied, having absolutely no idea whether she would think this was funny or brave. Perhaps if I’d not had the rum, I would’ve known how she would react.
Karen must have come straight from the trade fair where she and husband David had been scheduled to sign autographs at the Practical Horseman booth. I’d walked by two hours ago and had been surprised to see a line of eager kids and patient parents stretching and twisting and blocking traffic. I knew the O’Connors had fans, but the atmosphere was more like the comeback tour of New Kids on the Block than a horse show. Most of the kids held magazines or books to be signed; most popular was Life in the Galloping Lane, a chronicle of David and Karen’s life. I recognized the blue and green cover because I’d received a copy when I arrived at the O’Connors’ farm in Ocala, Fla., in February.
Throughout my stay, I retained a confidence in my riding that wasn't always justified by reality. In my first jumping lesson with David, on Danny, one of his favorite horses, I crashed through an oxer, lost my stirrups and landed up on his neck. I could’ve reached down and grabbed Danny’s ears if I’d wanted to. David didn’t say anything; he simply lowered the jump and had me come again. However, it would be a long time before he had me jump that height again.
Perfect Honesty
Karen, on the other hand, says exactly what’s on her mind. At a small schooling day at a neighbor’s farm one weekend I was walking Danny, who was quickly becoming my favorite horse, when Karen slowed her horse to a walk and asked me how he was doing.
“Perfect!” I said.
“Perfect. Perfect? What do you mean? People are way too quick to use the word perfect.”
“He was fairly good,” I corrected myself.
“Perfect is way too often used, people just throw it around, sort of like the words ‘I love you.’ Now, how is he?”
“He is forward and sound, and very well behaved,” I answered trying to ignore the growing crowd.
There were two days in April when I couldn't do anything right. Minor incidents that when taken together earned me a stern lecture from Karen on the importance of horsemanship. There was the time I sat on the grass and scared a horse that was being shown to a potential buyer. Then there was the time I led a horse out of the barn and almost straight into another horse that was supposed to be jogging for the vet but was instead rearing and causing havoc. There was also the time I was cleaning stalls and missed seeing a cut on a horse’s knee. These mistakes, luckily, did not end with mishap or misfortune. But in dealing with horses, it isn’t enough to be alert and attentive 99 percent of the time.
