30 SIDELINES AUGUST 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Normandy, added, “We’ve been going to
France now for the last couple years and
our riders have ridden Pierre’s courses. So
we’ve become more aware of what’s to be
expected. He does ask a lot of very acute
angles and very flat angles.”
That was a factor in Derek’s design for
this year’s Rolex, which he said was a
somewhat tougher course than last year.
“We’re trying to get ready for the World
Equestrian Games, and we know some of
the characteristics of the courses that Pierre
does. So we try to do some of the things
that get you ready for his types of courses,
though it’s not necessarily what you’ll see
on his course in Normandy,” he said.
“Every year I try to change the Rolex
course from the previous year. That’s
always a challenge because we have some
features here in the Kentucky Horse Park
that are permanent, so we have to try to use
those as much as we can. Sometimes, like
this year, I didn’t use the sunken road and
did something different. You’re always trying
to find new lines and ways to go through the
Park, but at the same time incorporating the
features that we have here. And it’s always
in your mind that you’re designing a four-
star, so you have to make the course up to
that level. Those are the parameters you’re
working on, and then the other thing is,
obviously, that we’re getting ready for the
World Championships.”
After clinching his third Rolex win in five
years, William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain
called Derek’s design “ ... a superb track …
I think we all felt that it was quite strong. It
definitely had a little bit of a French flavor
to it, and I think that was the idea. It did
ride mainly very, very well, and I think it
was a great prep for Normandy in many
ways. Obviously, Normandy still will be very
different. The terrain there is very different,
very demanding. I think here the course is
very, very inviting and very encouraging,
and today we had fantastic ground. I think
the French style of course design is maybe
a little bit less attractive, a bit more vertical,
a bit more upright.”
Variables aside, William left Rolex with
that perpetual smile of his. “I’m very happy
with my horse to have gone ’round here,” he
said. “It’s a great course to have had under
his belt, and he’ll be a lot better for it. I’m
very excited about Normandy.”
The Alltech FEI World Equestrian
Games 2014 in Normandy open Aug.
23 and conclude Sept. 7. The eventing
competition takes place Aug. 28–31. For
more information, visit normandy2014.com
About the writer: Darlene Ricker is CEO and Editorial
Director of Equestrian Authors, LLC (equestrianauthors.
com). She covered Olympic equestrian sports for many
years as a staff writer and editor for the Boston Globe
and the Los Angeles Times. She will be reporting from
Normandy for
Sidelines.
2014 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event winner William Fox-Pitt, with Rolex Watch USA
President and CEO Stewart Wicht, Kentucky Governor and First Lady Stephen and
Jane Beshear.
Photo courtesy of stockimageservices.com
View of a galloping stretch on the cross-country course at Haras du Pin. The course
has been redesigned specifically for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in
Normandy.
Photo by Diana De Rosa
Course designer Derek di Grazia, one of the selectors for the U.S. Eventing Team
squad for Normandy, on course at the Kentucky Horse Park at Rolex Kentucky, April
2014, which was a selection trial for Normandy.
Photo by Diana De Rosa
