Dressage Team USA

The Mr. and I attended the World Equestrian Games on Sunday and it was just beautiful. I am talking 70 degrees and sunny! We were able to sit along side some of the USA dressage coaches during morning exercises.

This is where we came to admire the grace & charm of one particular member of the team.

Katherine Bateson-Chandler atop Nartan, her 15-year-old Dutch Warm blood gelding.

I hear that it took this shy, horse-crazy girl a while to work up enough nerve to go to Olympian Robert Dover’s New Jersey farm in hopes of getting a job with him. She was 16-years-old then and willing to do anything—anything at all—to work for the famous dressage rider. With determination, she arrived at the barn and left her phone number on the message board.

When no one called her, she went back again, and again, until finally, her phone rang. The farm needed some weekend help mucking stalls and turning out horses. Knowing this was the chance of a lifetime, she agreed and the job was hers.

Through finding a mentor, and through her dedication to the sport, Katherine Bateson-Chandler has gone from a horse-crazy teen to an esteemed athlete riding Olympic veteran horses.

Here she warms up under the watchful eye of coaches and her husband, Carl Chandler.

Meet all the members of the 2010 WEG U.S. Dressage Team.

Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Nartan.

Todd Flettrich and Otto

Tina Konyot and Calecto V.

Steffen Peters and Ravel.

Our team represented the U.S. beautifully.

 

The rain certainly did not dampen Katherine's style.

   I will be posting more inspiring stories over the next couple of weeks so I thought I would give you a few interesting facts.

The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Equestrian Games are the world championships for equestrianism.

Lexington, Kentucky is very proud the be hosting the first WEG held outside of Europe!

The world's top riders and most skilled horses competing at WEG go through a rigorous selection process during the 4 years preceding each competition.

Each participating country sends teams composed of the very best equestrians in their discipline. Some 57 countries are represented by 800 athletes.

We wish them all the very best!

I will soon be posting about an endurance rider who stole the MR.'s heart

Information and photos courtesy of  Lisa Porter, Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games & Equestrian Magazine.