I really like the combination of World Cup Finals and a venue like Las Vegas. I like what each does to elevate the other; the World Cup Finals bringing sophistication, world-class competition and the best equestrian has to offer, to Vegas. Vegas lending its style, flair and showmanship to the Finals. The athletes love it. The fans love it. And they're hoping the tradition will continue, despite a struggling economy. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but by the looks of it, I would guess that somewhere in the range of 10,000 attended round 2 of jumping last night. It was definitely the largest crowd of the weekend thus far. I'll check the stats and see if my eyes deceived me.

As we've made our way around the Thomas and Mack time and again these past two days, in our quest to document World Cup Finals on video, I've snapped a few photos along the way. I thought I'd share a few now, with the promise of more to come.
 

Above: The Thomas and Mack Center.

Above: The outdoor warm-up area, with the dazzling Vegas skyline in the background.

Above: I love the weather we've been having. A bit cool at first, but now just perfect. This is nothing short of springtime paradise. Looks a bit overcast in this photo, but we've traded this out for bright blue skies, sunshine and temps in the 70s and 80s.

Above: The stabling area. For reference, the outdoor warm-up area from one of the photos above, is to the far right of this photo.

To the right of the stabling area and the outdoor warm-up area, an covered outdoor warm-up.

Above: One little thing I don't particularly enjoy--the jets that take off regularly, flying right over the Thomas and Mack. It's not just the volume, but the gush of wind that goes along with it.

Above: The rider entrance to the arena. The man in the top hat and sparkly vest runs a tight ship here, and that's a good thing. He knows which riders have to be where, and when, and he keeps them coming and going with an air of confidence you just don't want to challenge. Plus, he has on a different sparkle vest each day. How cool is that?

Above: Anthony D'Ambrosio's jumping course on Thursday, for round 1. Jumping over the multi-color Las Vegas jump and making a tight turn by the Rolex stand at the bottom of the photo, to go on to the next jump just out of view to the left, proved to be one of the most difficult maneuvers of the course.

Above: The newsroom set up for the 200 journalists here from all over the world.

Above: The live broadcast crew shows Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) as she gets ready to make her victory lap after winning the first round of jumping.

L-R, Christina Liebherr (SUI), Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER), McLain Ward (USA), following the press conference after the first round of jumping. This area is just behind the red curtain in the newsroom photo you saw earlier.

Above: The rider draw for the Dressage Final.

Above: The USEF's set-up on the concourse just outside the arena. The Team Gold Show Jumping jackets (for sale on site) and Brentina, America's Dressage Horse jackets (available for pre-order), have been wildly popular. I think they may have sold out of the I love Brentina t-shirts, a steal at only $15.

Above: Melissa Davis, USEF marketing coordinator, enjoys her first-ever IN-N-OUT burger. I'll fess up--it was my first too. It's not just hype. These burgers are everything people make them out to be.

Above: Scott Carling at IN-N-OUT. You just can't help but smile the whole burger through.

We're now roughly at the halfway point in competition. The dressage final is tonight; the third and final round of jumping, on Sunday. I have quite a few more videos up my sleeve, so be sure to keep checking Club Equestrian for the latest. While we're trying to make sure they appear under "featured videos" on the homepage, to be sure you're seeing the latest list of videos from World Cup Finals, click on the actual videos tab along the top line of tabs on the homepage.