It’s funny to watch the jog for different disciplines and how different the horses act. I find the most humorous jogs to be the hunters and the reiners. I expected the jumpers to be quite fresh at the jog just like the event or dressage horses, but they really weren’t—with a few exceptions.
There was a horse from New Zealand, a gorgeous stallion, who was being jogged by two people. It was somewhat funny to watch but surely wouldn’t have been if I had been on the other end of one of those lead shanks. He seemed to behave just fine, but I heard through the grapevine that he has made a habit of getting loose during jogs and then roaming the property doing a variety of mischievous things. If that’s the case I suppose it’s a good thing for all of us that he was doubly-manned today.
It was a cold and rainy morning, and we went in alphabetical order which meant the U.S. was second-to-last, in front of only Venezula. Team USA looked great, just a little wet and cold. This is the first time I saw Candice King’s horse in person, and he is one of the most gorgeous grays I have ever seen with dark legs. I am sucker for grays, so he won my heart. Of course Laura Kraut’s mount, Cedric, is also a gray, and all of Team USA’s horses look good. I can’t wait to watch them go under saddle tomorrow and Tuesday.
There were a few countries that only jogged one horse, and since I always cheer for the underdog I made a point of taking their pictures since the camera shutters weren’t snapping as much for them. Those countries that presented just one rider included: Bermuda, Egypt, El Salvador, Israel, Jordan, Norway, Slovakia, Syrian Arab Republic and Chinese Taipei. As I was leaving the park tonight in the dark I passed by the warm-up area where the jumpers were schooling and getting ready for tomorrow. The electricity was there, and this is going to be a fabulous competition!
I believe today was also the first hunter derby demo at 2PM. I didn’t make it over there today, but they’ll be doing one every day for the rest of our time here so I will make it over there as soon as humanly possible. I hope they are well attended, and maybe we’ll be watching them as the ninth FEI discipline at a WEG one day!

NOTE: This blog was posted with permission from the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA). To follow their special coverage from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, visit:http://www.ushja.org/blog/WEG.aspx