The Second Day........US Wins Gold Medal....and My Heart Skips a Beat

I'm not all that well versed in what can be found on my own tv. We have Comcast for cable and I still can't tell you what's there to watch other than the usual three standard networks ABC, NBC and CBS, I just don't know my way around the rest nor do I usually care most times other than not being able to get RFD-TV. When the broadcast schedule I downloaded from USEF stated Universal Sports Network as a place to watch some of the games, I was totally at a loss. Where could I find this stuff on my own television.

I decided to use my computer (DUH) to help me out and I found the Universal Sports Network is a part of NBC but it looks to me like it's more the web version. If it's available on my tv I'm still in the dark still I found this Viewers Guide for the World Equestrian Games. They'll have 60 hours of live streaming and I was going to get myself signed up but at $29.99 which is probably not bad for 60 hours all I could think of was the three bags of grain I could buy for that amount so I decided I'd pass the information on here for anyone who might like to see what they have to offer. The service is available worldwide so that's a good thing if other access isn't available.

Their site also features some slideshows that are free. They have pics from the first day of reining, opening ceremonies and then second day pics which include some endurance pics and more reining. There are a couple of shots of the horse that posted the highest reining score in the competition so far that are amazing. The pics have captions telling pertinent information like horse and rider names and country for which they are competing. Pretty cool stuff for those not educated in the who's who at that level, which would of course be good ole me.



You all know I am a died in the wool Arabian horse fan but I must tell you after watching Shawn Flarida's run this morning on RC Fancy Step, I could have that horse standing in my barn any day of the week. That is one mighty fancy horse and his go was so round and soft I was very, very impressed. The best scores of the day by far and I feel privileged to have seen it. That was the absolute prettiest back up I've ever seen, not that the rest of the ride wasn't equally awesome, cause it was, still I've never seen a horse back so perfectly...........be still my heart! (That would be the beautiful palomino horse pictured here!)



I also looked Shawn Flarida up online and found on his official website information on his personal trainer series. There's a brief sample clip that looks like good stuff. I love how soft his horse was in the pen today and the one on the clip is equally as soft. I may have to check this out. I would love some great video on reining. I have a hankering to go down that road but no access to trainers I'd trust with any of my horses or even along the line of lessons. I'm really hoping this guy might be just what I need. Now I have to figure out which horse to experiment with. If anyone has input on this, I'd love to hear what you think.

Back to the reining, if you didn't get to watch, the US team won the gold medal. These facts are from the Flarida site.

September 26, 2010 – The final two riders for Team USA helped put the the team on the top step of the podium today. Tom McCutcheon, riding Gunners Special Nite, rode to a 224 in the morning session. Just a few hours later, Shawn piloted RC Fancy Step to the high score of the games so far. Posting a 227, Shawn and RC put together an incredible run. The team posted scores of 220.5 and 223.5 on Saturday. Typically four member teams drop the lowest score, so Team USA posted a 674.5 and put up a 15 point lead over the Silver medalists. Belgium won the Silver and Italy earned the bronze.

We are looking forward to the Individual finals on Thursday. All four Team USA members qualified for this competition as well. USA-USA-USA! He not only trains soft horses but has a competent staff who is on top of things. That's pretty cool too!

I might add this was the first time that Belgium has medaled in this sport and the Italian team dropped from a silver at the last games to the bronze one this time out. The woman rider for the Belgium team had the closest score to Flarida on RC Fancy Step and she had a darn nice ride too and was the second highest scorer of the day.

I know I should be doing something with myself other than watching these games but I am compelled to watch. Getting the opportunity to see the best horses in the world compete just does something for my heart that I can't resist. I am a junky when it comes to good horses, that's all there is to it. Is anyone out there as crazy about this stuff as me.

Pictures I've posted from the games, I've been provided by AllTech along with the following email press release
USA Team Wins Third Consecutive Gold Medal at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™

Photo Caption: Shawn Flarida (USA) captured the individual first place ranking on RC Fancy Step at the Reining World Championships presented by John Deere at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

The USA team captured its third straight gold medal Sunday, this time on home turf. The Reining World Championships were presented by John Deere in the Alltech Arena as part of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

The Belgium team medaled in reining for the first time and took silver.

Italy, on the medal stand for the third time in World Equestrian Games’ history, secured third place.

Final Results- Reining
Individual - 1, RC Fancy Step (Shawn Flarida) USA 227.0; 2, Yellow Jersey (Stefano Massignan) ITA; Gunners Special Nite (Tom McCutcheon) USA, 224.0; 4, Mister Montana Nic (Craig Schmersal) USA; BA Reckless Chick (Bernard Fonck) BEL 223.5.
Teams - 1, USA 674.5; 2, Belgium 659.0; 3, Italy 655.5; 4, Austria 635.5; 5, Canada 652.5.
FULL RESULTS at www.alltechfeigames.com. /results

Audio interviews are available for free download via the link below:
Jeff Petska (chef d'equipe of USA. team – reining gold)
http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/Jeff%20Petska%20-%20Chef%20US%20rein%2026-9.mp3

Jan Boogaerts (Belgian team – reining silver)
http://www.lloydbell.co.uk/access/client_zone/Jan%20Boogarts%20-%20BEL%20Rein%20Silver%2026-9.mp3

Copyright free photography is now available to download from the Alltech Web site at http://vip.alltech.com/pressbox/Pages/Photos2.aspx. This is a complimentary service provided by Alltech. Please note these images are for editorial use only and are copyright of Dirk Caremans.
Further news and details are at www.alltechfeigames.com. Also check out the FEI photo catalogue at www.fei.org.

Note to Editor:

Founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech is a global animal health and nutrition company with 30 years’ experience in developing natural products that are scientifically proven to enhance animal health and performance. With more than 2300 employees in 120 countries, the company has developed a strong regional presence in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle-East, Africa and Asia. For further information, visit www.alltech.com.


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