It was an eventful past two weeks at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina. From Sept. 11-23, equestrians from around the world went to compete in the event that is made up of eight events: Jumping, Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining.
Here are some of the best pictures from the event.
1. First off, look at these great names of the U.S Eventing Squad horses.
How does one pronounce “Tsetserleg?” Is the “T” silent? Are all the “T’s” silent? And Vermiculus sounds like a Roman general. We can’t forget about Donner either. He escaped Santa’s workshop to go to North Carolina.
2. Denmark’s Stinna Tange Kaastrup’s facial expressions as she won gold in Para-Dressage.
Kaastrup was born without legs and posted a score of 72.735%. She knows she already won.
3. Just look at this woman’s attire. I love it.
The Polaris Ranger Driving Discipline is probably one of the coolest events in the competition. There is Driving Dressage, Marathon Dressage, and the Obstacle/ Cones Dressage. Teams are made up of a four-horse lead and three members. It is the ultimate test of teamwork.
4. Just another cool picture of the driving competition.
“Squirrel” says the horses.
5. I really liked the point of view in this photo.
6. There’s a very large duck in this one.
But really, Eventing is also pretty neat. One aspect, seen in the picture above, is the cross-country event that spans from two to four miles.
7. A tribute to living in Wyoming… the reining competition.
The horse wants to go one way but cuts the other way, as shown below. The ultimate test of agility.
8. More reining.
Horses and riders use this discipline for herding cattle, and it is basically the Western style of Dressage.
9. Isabell Werth, a 5-time Olympian from Germany, won gold on her horse Bella Rose in the Dressage event.
10. It took me a while to count how many bodies were on this horse.
So why was this competition important?
As an equestrian lover myself, I kept track of the competition and watch my favorite events; Cross-country and Reining. The games are held during the mid-Olympic cycle. We should expect to see these names in Tokyo 2020.