[/caption]Washington, D.C., October 14, 2007 -- Getting off the Metro, this city's version of the subway, pedestrians walking out onto F Street during the run of the Washington International Horse Show get a pleasant surprise as they find themselves facing a long row of stables.
Okay, so the stalls are behind chain link fence and barbed wire to discourage folks from walking in or worse, but the set-up does afford a glimpse into a way of life that is totally unfamiliar to most of those passing by.
I was fascinated to find that nannies regularly make a point of bringing their young charges by every morning of the show to watch the action in the outdoor schooling area, a temporary footing-filled enclosure on the street in the shadow of the Verizon Center sign. I talked to an artist who eagerly was sketching four-legged subjects he doesn't usually see around town.
And there are some "impulse buyers" who spot the horses and then purchase a ticket. Show manager Hugh Kincannon told me there was a lot of walk-up box office traffic on Friday night, when the arena looked as if it were pretty close to its capacity of 13,000 spectators for this show. I'm betting many of them were folks intrigued by seeing the horses on the street.
The urban experience isn't a joy for many of the exhibitors and their mounts, of course. The lucky riders stay in a lovely hotel across the street from the arena and enjoy the wonderful restaurants in the lively Penn Quarter area.
In some of the divisions, however, horses have to be shuttled back and forth to the more capacious Prince Georges Equestrian Center in suburban Maryland. It means running on the official vanner's schedule (no space for parking equine transportation in downtown Washington) and thus long nights for grooms, trainers and riders. And everyone works in close quarters with little room for exercising horses. But there are pluses that have to be balanced with that. Washington is a one-of-a-kind show, exuding a generous share of the cosmopolitan aura that used to shine when the National was at Madison Square Garden.
I asked jumper rider Georgina Bloomberg what she thought about showing in Washington, and she's pro-city despite the inconveniences. Of course, that's not actually a surprise, since she's from New York, where her father is the mayor.
But she made some good points as she discussed the subject with me.
Listen: Georgina Bloomberg discusses the joys of an urban horse show.
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- McLain Ward won the puissance on Optimum Pozitano.
- © 2007 by Nancy Jaffer
Washington was missing one component that makes it special, the European riders. This show in the past picked up part of the tab for their expenses, along with Syracuse and Toronto, which usually follow it. But because of the U.S. Equestrian Federation's chaotic date change situation and the ensuing clash with the start of the arena's basketball season, Washington switched weeks with the Pennsylvania National. That meant there was too long a stretch before Syracuse for a cooperative arrangement on the foreigners to work.
Their absence most affected the puissance, or high jump, always a high point (forgive the pun) at Washington. That's one reason the crowd at the Friday night show was so big--they love the puissance, just as fans did in New York. The puissance basically has vanished from North America, but it's more popular abroad, so the Europeans used to fill out the class at Washington.
As it was, there were only four entries trying to clear the faux brick wall, but as show manager Hugh Kincannon pointed out, even two entries are enough if they avoid knockdowns so the wall can go higher with each round.
The class went to McLain Ward, a puissance specialist if you can call him that when he only competes in one a year. But he returned on a previous winner, Pozitano, borrowed from Alexandra Cherubini for the occasion. In the third round Pozitano gave the blocks atop the wall a good rub, but they stayed in place, and he went on to clear 6 feet, 8 and 1/2 inches. The only other horse to try the wall at its highest, the always impressive Conejo, toppled the blocks with Karen Cudmore of Canada in the irons.
Pozitano's day job is as an adult amateur/low amateur-owner jumper (wouldn't you like to know you had that scope to call on!) But even with a horse like that, you shouldn't try to jump the really big fences at home, kids. You need to know what you're doing, and I asked McLain about that.
