Olympic Intern: Small Tour Begins

Hello! So today was the kick off for the second and final weekend of the Festival of Champions, with only one class today (The Prix St. George) and the Grand Prix jog. I had the pleasure of running for Jane Weatherwax and I met Tom, Steffen Peters’ horse massage therapist.

Tom has been with Steffen since 1996 and he has some incredible stories to tell and is a very down to earth and genuine person. Apparently Steffen is a HUGE techie! Ravel is extremely competitive and Tom had the pleasure of meeting Totilas at the WEG, and said that Totilas is a sweetheart.

In terms of the competition today, Caroline Roffman on Pie came in first with Steffen Peters and Sundance 8 in second. I really was looking forward to seeing everyone go, but the horse that surprised me the most was David Blake’s ride, Royal Prinz. If he had not messed up with a flying change from counter canter he probably would have won the day. Or at least came in second. As it was, he ended up fourth which I believe he is fine with. He is a superb and tactful rider, and this pair is a real pleasure to watch. I really hope they do well here!

Jane Weatherwax is a wonderful judge who does not give points based on who the rider is and she even told us that she did not and will not watch the Grand Prix rides from last weekend because she does not want it to affect her judging. She asked about everyone, including me, the lowly intern with keen and genuine interest and her scoring was very fair. She was not afraid to use the whole range and she did! There were some 3.5’s and 4’s and some 8’s and 9’s. I truly enjoyed being able to sit by her and listen.

Well as usual here are the pictures from today!