Requires GoogleEarth
2007 Event
2006 Event
2005 Event
2004 Event
A brief History
2007 Young Riders President's Cup
2006 Young Riders President's Cup
Race Day
Images by John Teeter
Back Home - final comments
Hi everyone
we got home at 3:00 am today (Tuesday) - so many problems with the flights...we couldn't get out of Abu Dhabi due to bad weather (sand storms and fog) so they sent us by limo to Dubai, and we were then 4 hours late to catch our flights out of Amsterdam...but hey! that wasn't the end of it...we sat on the plane on the tarmack for 2 hours waiting for the weather to clear in Dubai, too...they loaded us on the plane, then decided they couldn't safely take off, and so there we sat....so now we were 6 hours late...in Amsterdam there was much angst to get connecting flights back to the US...Steve and I still didn't have connecting flights once we hit New York...KLM got us all on flights out of Amsterdam, and Tom, Ann and Kate left before Steve and I...so Steve and I went online using his laptop to try to find us connector flights, and I was able to get a Jet Blue out of JFK at 10pm Monday night, which would get me into Portland at 12:30 - we couldn't find a flight for Steve, so he was going to just rent a car and drive to Manchester, NH - where his sister lives. Well, we got to JFK without any problems, but when I got to the Jet Blue desk to get my ticket, my flight was delayed until midnight, which meant a very late arrival in Portland. Tom got back to Portland at 11pm, so waited around until I got in after 1:30 am, then we drove home. VERY long trip home... but we are safe and sound. The horses leave Abu Dhabi via Dubai on the 21st, then stay in Amsterdam until the 24, leave for New York and stay in Quarantine in Newburgh, NY until next Tuesday - we'll go and pick them up then.
Theatric was well within one hour of getting into the clinic, and he looked good, so I wasn't worried. It just wasn't his day or the US team's day....it happens, I know, but still so disappointing. It makes me burning mad to hear all the negative feedback from US riders commenting on the US Team "Train Wreck" - shame on all of them. Instead of being positive and supportive, they don't want to do anything but point fingers. Shame, shame, shame on our country. They weren't there, and they evidently don't know a thing or want to know a thing about anything but wins and glory. Everyone should know that "train wrecks" happen in our country every darn weekend in our sport....but hey - "they" evidently know what they are talking about. John, Steve and I went over there and tried our hardest, and it didn't work - so how about supporting that??
You all know who you are that I'm sending the above paragraph to .....
We want to thank, again, those of you who did support us and did know how it felt to go into this with such expectations and not be able to realize them. The vets at the holds were very conservative...pulls are high over there because they are so conservative...you have to fail just one of the criteria and you are automatically sent to the clinic for treatment. Their philosophy there is to help the horse, no matter how mild or severe the problem might be. It is their protocol to start horses on fluids and then adjust treatment according to lab results and manual exams.....they don't ask you if you want to start fluids, they do it automatically. That is care for the horse, plain and simple. I come away from this experience with much respect for the vets in the UAE....it's all about the horse for them, no matter what some in our country may believe. All lame horses, no matter what grade lameness, are automatically sent to the clinic for evaluation and treatment if necessary and as necessary. That is care for the horse. It was such a relief to be so professionally cared for. All three of our horses were released from the clinic (and all three horses received their fluid protocol) looking good, feeling good and ready to go another day. They were eating and drinking, and their labs were normal. That is what is important in the final outcome. Think about it.
Kathy