14 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
6: Beezie Madden and Cortes C on their way to earning the Bronze medal.
Photo by Leanjo De Koster/FEI
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Photo by Diana DeRosa
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Photo by Diana DeRosa
Games venue where dressage, jumping and the stadium jumping
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much — and how quickly — the horses had had to process mentally
just moments before they had to put on the performance of their
lives. Shortly before his start time, the mounted rider would go from
stabling or warmup along a long pathway and down a hill into a
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horses suddenly saw an expansive blast of open sky and about
20,000 pairs of eyes staring down at them.
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designed circular arena for vaulting. Nearby was a big white tent,
which turned out to be the warmup arena for vaulters. Inside it at the
far end, obscured by the practice rides going on, a handful of people
in team jackets were encircling a young woman in a glimmering
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and saying something over and over in a foreign tongue. The chef
d’equipe stepped in, put his arm around her shoulders, leaned down
and whispered something. The rest of the group moved away to
afford them privacy. A couple days later I saw her at the awards
ceremony, standing proud and tall on the podium, receiving a medal.
That’s the thing about the Games: There are highs and lows of
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There are moments of deep bonding and moments of excruciating
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because he’s made of tougher stuff.
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and only rider from his country to compete in the Games. He was
standing in what journalists call the “kiss and cry” zone (more
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The hopeful expression on his face was fading moment by moment.
As he turned to walk away, a couple of writers nodded to each other,
walked over and interviewed him. His face beamed like that of a
child. I will never forget it.
A few hours earlier, Team USA eventer Buck Davidson had been
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to watch some of the other rides on a big monitor. There he stood,
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happiness on his face. Buck had elected to retire on course after a
second refusal, as did his teammate Phillip Dutton. The rules entitled
both of them to one more try, but competitive as they are, something
in the fabric of their horsemen’s souls told them otherwise.
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yes,” Buck told me. Then he mustered a smile. “But I’m really, really
proud of Reggie. He jumped great today, and he’s still one of the
greatest horses ever. He’s happy and healthy and will be back for
another day. I would never want anything to happen to him. He’s my
pet.”
Pet.
Now that’s a word you don’t often hear in the upper echelons
of equestrian sport, nor is it a concept that comes to mind when
you’re watching superstars battle it out for a place on the medals
stand. But it played out strongly in the back story at Normandy, even
when unsaid. The mantra here across all disciplines was: “The horse
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About the writer: Darlene Ricker is CEO and Editorial Director of Equestrian
Authors (equestrianauthors.com). She reported from Normandy for Sidelines.
