We arrived at the Horse Park in a caravan of four big horse trailers and had to pass through three different inspections—vehicle, drug dogs and agriculture—before we were allowed to enter the check-in station. Here we were told to unload the horses, take all leg wraps off and wait until the WEG veterinarian (in our case Dr. Emerson) called us in. He and his staff checked each horse’s passport for correct markings and to see if all required vaccinations were up-to-date—something our Team Vet Dr. Kent has been diligent about. The vet also took the horses’ temperature, respiration and heart rate as well as performing a hands-on inspection on each horse.
After that, we were allowed to walk our horses to their WEG stalls. The U.S. Team is stabled right across the way from the Covered Arena—just look for the U.S. flags! The stalls had been prepared by a number of volunteers. (My thanks to them—it’s wonderful not having to worry about all of that myself). The USET provided buckets, pitchforks, wheelbarrows, stall curtains etc. Tomorrow morning our horses will leave their stalls in USET blankets—how cool is that?
We had to take our trucks and trailers to a remote trailer parking area. Then, once we returned to the Horse Park, we were shuttled to the grooms’ quarters, which are located in the Campground, adjacent to the Park. A large number of campers had been grouped around big buildings, which house showers, bathrooms and a snack bar. Food will be provided at a cafeteria in the brand new Indoor.
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Tomorrow, we will introduce our horses to the Covered Arena. Other riders from a vast numbers of countries are here, and it is truly amazing to watch individuals with a range of handicaps ride with such ability and skill.
I will talk to you tomorrow,
Elly
