December International News

Richard K. Stewart (76147.1145@CompuServe.COM)
08 Nov 96 18:52:10 EST

DECEMBER `96
AERC INTERNATIONAL NEWS
by: Lori Stewart

Winter is coming on strong and 1996 is coming to a close, allowing many of
us to slow down and reflect back on the year. Thinking back, I realized that
this year FEI Championship Competition challenged the United States endurance
community unlike any year since 1988 when we last hosted the Worlds AND
fielded a squad of 12 horse/rider teams. I asked some of this year's "key
players" to reflect back on the year and briefly share with us some of their
personal highs, lows, and special moments. Here are their
REFLECTIONS.........

Jerry R. Gillespie, Chair
1996 World Championship Organizing Committee

THE THINGS THAT STAND OUT MOST FROM THE 1996 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:

1. The remarkable athleticism of the horses and riders.
2. The relief that comes with realizing it's over, and we may be able to pay
the bills!
3. The dramatic and exciting "Mother/Daughter" finish; and the USA Medals.
4. The standing room only crowds at the Opening & Closing Ceremonies and the
Start and Finish.
5. The recovery of the few horse that had injury or illness during the
competition.
6. The remarkable competence, resilience and good-nature shown by the
Organizing Committee and Volunteers in the "heat of battle".
7. The number of foreign competitors; and in particular, those who went
through the many obstacles to bring their horses to the Championship.
8. The quality of the work done by the Officials.
9. The sleepless nights worrying about various things; mostly money.
10. Rio doing it again!

Danielle Kanavy
MEMORIES OF A WORLD CHAMPION

The lowest point was Sunny's death. It felt like my closest friend was taken
from me only worse because my dreams and hopes went with him over that cliff.
Then my father said, "you can ride Fire," and the trail began.

It was a long and grueling year. We spent many days training in all kinds of
weather, snow storms, rain storms, and blazing heat and humidity. Some days
you wonder, " Is this worth it? Are we insane?" The answers were always,
"yes, and YES!".

Then came the day Fire was lame after a competitive ride. I felt the rug
jerk out from under me. I began to think the dreams of a little girl would
never come true, that somebody was trying to tell me this wasn't my calling.
After all, I always felt on a horse's back was the only place I was never out
of place. Then I was told, "just some arthritis, common in track horses, but
we can manage it." I continued on, knowing I'd never stop reaching for my
dream. If I failed, at least I failed TRYING.

Winning the ROC was like a breath of fresh air. Fire had shown the
incredible heart and strength only I knew he had. This was a grievous moment
for me too. This was a goal I had for Sunny, and I missed him; but Fire was
proving to be much like his brother.

Kansas was growing near and I was disappointed too that I wasn't riding Fire.
You may ask yourself how one could be disappointed about riding Cash. After
all it is very similar to being asked to ride Secretariat in the Kentucky
Derby! I feel connected to Fire.

Then a man came to our home wanting us to teach him and instead he taught us.
He calls me "Angel Hair" because he thinks his guardian angel has the same
color hair as mine. He said, "Think it, see it, and it will be; you have
already won". These words carried me to Kansas.

The day came and I was nervous. My mother and I decided that there was
nothing we hadn't done, and nothing we could have done better. We would rely
on that and our experience. The rest was out of our hands. The remainder is
a blur.

Then I remember a little girl's dream come true, and a gold medal was placed
around my neck. With the national anthem playing I thought, "This one was for
Sunny".

Shirley Delsart
GOLD MEDAL TEAM RIDER

Competing as a member of the USA Endurance Team at the World Championship in
Kansas this September was a dream come true. Winning the Team Gold Medal on
Dusty was a thrill which cannot be adequately expressed in words. 1996 has
been Dusty's best year so far. He received the high vet score or tied for the
high vet score in addition to finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at every ride, all
100's, this year as I prepared for the WEC. This past year has been filled
with many special moments. Winning Best Condition at the ROC for the 2nd year
in a row was a very emotional experience. One memory I will always have of
the WEC is of an elderly farmer sitting on his tractor in a Kansas farm field
cheering on the USA as I galloped by him. The WEC was certainly the thrill of
a lifetime.

Marcia Smith DVM
GOLD MEDAL TEAM RIDER

Racing the World Endurance Championships was definitely a bittersweet
experience for me. Elvis just was not up to his usual performance, and we
finished a disappointing 15th. I am so thankful, though, that I recognized
that it was a bad day for him early enough that I was able to slow down and
finish with a horse in great shape.

My most poignant memory from the race occurred at about 85 miles. I had
decided that we were going to be able to finish if we continued at a
conservative pace. Melissa Crain, Jan Worthington, and Pat Murray had passed
us about a half mile back, and their horses all looked good and strong. I saw
the three of them standing and letting their horses graze, and caught up to
them, whereupon they offered to escort me in to the finish. I am still
overwhelmed that they were willing to sacrifice their best performance on the
race in order that we finish the USA team. I thanked them, and fortunately
was able to tell them that I did not require their help to complete. Their
display of team spirit deserves a huge round of applause!

Valerie Kanavy
DEFENDING WORLD CHAMPION
1996 SILVER MEDALIST

Two memories stand out in my mind that highlight what made the 1996 World
Endurance Championships special.

My Brazilian friends shared this story with me. While lunching at a local
restaurant, customers noticing their team jackets, asked if they were here for
the Championship race? Did the Brazilian team know that the reigning
endurance champion was a Kansas Native? They exchanged a lively conversation
in which the Brazilians' explained, not only did they know about the champion
(me) but in fact, we were good friends. Wishing the foreign riders luck, the
"locals" left. When they finished their lunch, my friends went to pay the
check only to discover those farmers had paid for their meal. They couldn't
believe that strangers they had just met would be so kind.

The other memory that is special to me is galloping along parallel to hwy 77.
The papers had done a fantastic job of publicizing the race elaborating on the
mother/daughter duo and the fact that I was raised in Kansas. So, when
Danielle and I came by, it was as if they knew us personally. I could hear
them shouting, "It's Valerie and Danielle........Go USA! The highway was
packed for miles. The more they shouted the faster the horses galloped. The
feeling was fantastic!!

Mike Tomlinson DVM
NATIONAL CHEF D'EQUIPE

We really did it. The Gold Medal World Championship Endurance Team. Together
we showed the world that we are the champions. All US endurance riders should
be proud of this accomplishment.

This achievement is by no means happenstance. There have been years of
sacrifices by all those involved and all those before them. The trials and
tribulations of the past US Chefs dEquipe Lee Whittle, Rick Stewart and Debby
Lyons made this years success possible. The sacrifices endured by the riders
in previous world championships taught us so much which helped this years
riders.

The goal of this years management team was to provide every possible means
of support for the riders such that all they had to worry about was riding to
the best of their ability. Chuck Gray, Grace Ramsey, Pete Fields, Lori
Stewart and Ramey Stroud exceeded expectations. The veterinary team was
adeptly headed by Drs. Mitch Benson and Nancy Elliott. Veterinary treatment
was headed by Drs. Bob Beacher and Liz Scott. There were so many respected
endurance vets helping that no US horse
ever could have thought about getting into real trouble (and several from
other teams were treated by our vets).

The massage and TTeam alternate therapy teams headed by Susan Tenney and
Linda Tellington-Jones, respectively, had a very definite positive effect on
the outcome of the event. These two fields will be playing a greater role in
endurance in years to come. The team farriers, Earnie Elliott and Kirk Adkins,
provided such support and preventive care that shoeing never seemed to be a
factor. The true
sign of a professional is when it looks as easy as they made it look. The
other volunteers came through when we needed them the most. The road crews,
the drivers, the water haulers, the people that ran to the laundromat to dry
out the horse blankets; they all became so important to us. It is the little
things that helped make this event so successful.

The riders have labored for so many years to get to this point. Years of
hard work and training finally paid off. All fifteen riders worked together
to become a unified team. They were so much a team that several
riders even offered to stay back to ride with the fourth team competition
rider.

The riders families and the grooms had to endure placing their riders on a
pedestal for the week prior to the ride not to mention supporting them for
years prior. The grooms too often had to stay back in camp while everyone
else went out to dinner or reception. The horses thank the grooms.

The greatest sacrifice made was that of our two alternates, Clydea Hastie and
Carrie Miracle. These two were forced to live moment by moment, hoping that
everyone stayed healthy and fearing that everyone might. The emotional
roller-coaster they rode was more than I would ever wish upon anyone. We are
all working to make it better for future alternates.

USET (United States Equestrian Team, Inc.) made it all possible with
significant financial assistance. Our clothing sponsors, including Lexington,
Ariat and SaddleBums, gave us the best uniform set we have ever worn.

The United States team, comprised of over 150 individuals, came together as a
family this year. The result is obvious.

Chuck Gray
AERC INTERNATIONAL CHAIR AND ASSISTANT CHEF D'EQUIPE

The World Endurance race of 1996 is now history. All the toils and
tribulations are behind us and the grand memories of winning the Team and
Individual GOLD metals along with the Individual SILVER are the topics we all
discuss.

As I think of the events that lead up to the race, I remember most the first
days, when everyone started to arrive at the Roseler's field. Those days were
full of excitement and anticipation, and getting to know people who had only
been names in various articles. The trip to the Fort to look to the past ( and
for some of us, learn a new training technique ), the dinner at The Pasta
House, and many of the other team activities will live on with me as great
memories long after 1996 has passed.

With a team of 13 and responsibility for all of their support people, I did
not have the opportunity to meet all of the volunteers as in the past.
However, I do want to say " THANK-YOU " for a job well done. I owe a large
debt of gratitude to Pete Fields, Ramay Stroud, Grace Ramsey, Lori Stewart
and Nancy Elloit. These people spent hours working together to smooth over
the rough spots and organize all the volunteers into a awesome TEAM. I did not
get much time to visit the vendor area, but from what I heard the "
hospitality tent " was a huge success. I also want to thank Art & Lynn Priez
for coming down to do all the stats on race day. They did a great job keeping
Mike and I up to date on the competition.

Finally I want to congratulate Tony Benedetti and his committee on the
selection of a GREAT team. These people gave up most of their spring and
summer to attend demonstration rides. Thank-you for your dedication to
International riding.

As the year draws to an end, I want to extend my congratulations and wish
everyone continued success.

Tony Benedetti
NATIONAL SELECTION CHAIRMAN

When I decided to nominate for National Selection Chairman, my goal was to
make sure the process was fair. I felt that if this goal was achieved, the
best possible squad would be selected to represent the USA at the 1996 World
Championships.

Shortly after I was chosen as National Selection Chairman, a friend made the
comment "No matter what you do, half of the nominees will not be speaking to
you after the selection and you will lose several friends during the
selection process." I pondered this for a few days and decided that I
did not agree with this premise. I knew that this was not a popularity
contest and that some nominees would be disappointed. However, I felt that if
the selection process was fair and all of the nominees felt that it was fair,
I would not get the response that my friend said I would.

How did I make the process fair? First, I had good selection procedures to
follow and second, I had a fantastic group of selectors to work with.
My first instructions to the selectors were to absolutely set aside any
biases, geographic or otherwise, and to only make decisions based on the
information presented to the selection committee through the process. All
rumors or third hand information was to be ignored by the selectors. I, as
chairman, would follow up on this kind of information directly with the
nominee in question. The nominees were observed at every ride in which they
competed
and the same evaluation report was given to every selector. Selectors
traveled to other zones to observe nominees they had never seen before. All of
this was done in an effort to make the process fair.

I felt that my actions as chairman had to be perceived as completely non
biased. I even took it to the extent that I could not wear any of my Pacific
North shirts (my home zone) during selection because of the possible
perception of bias from nominees in other zones. This was a great personal
sacrifice since this eliminated half of my endurance ride wardrobe!

When selection was complete, I knew that the selection process was fair and
hoped the nominees felt the same way. Some people still questioned certain
selections which can only be expected in a subjective selection process.
These questions were few. The decisions by the selection committee were
based on sound judgments.

When the 1996 World Championship was over, I received many congratulations.
These were intended as congratulations for the selection of a highly
successful USA squad. However, in my mind the congratulation meant that a
FAIR SELECTION PROCESS was used that resulted in the selection of the best
squad possible to represent the USA.

........NOTICES.......

ATTENTION 1996 USA TEAM VOLUNTEERS AND RIDERS !! We want and need your
REFLECTIONS on the Worlds. What did you experience that was really RIGHT?
What did you see or experience that needs changing or fine tuning for future
teams? Your input is important to the success of USA Teams in the future.
Send your REFLECTIONS to Lori Stewart, 886 Pt. Phillips Rd, Bath, PA 18014.
OR email: 76147.1145@compuserve.com. Everyone's input will be used as a
guide for the successful organization and management of future USA Teams.
THANK YOU!

Dec 15, 1996: Yearbook deadline. AERC International will feature "THE TEAM
BEHIND THE TEAM" as a listing of all USA Volunteers and Crew in Kansas.
Riders send me the names of your support team. Volunteers if you were not on
the list of volunteers sent out by Chuck Gray, please send me your name and
where you worked for the team. Don't be left out!
Send info to: Lori Stewart, address given in previous notice.

January 30, 1997: Nominations close for those interested in serving as
National Chef d' Equipe or National Selector's Chairman for the 1998 World
Endurance Championship, August 4 - 16, 1998, in Punchestown, Ireland. Send
nominations to the AERC International Chairman, Chuck Gray (reference insight
cover).

September 13, 1997: FEI North American Championships, Bend, Oregon.

August 4 - 16, 1998: World Equestrian Games, Dublin and Punchestown,
Ireland.

E-mail from: R. K. and L. D. Stewart, 08-Nov-1996