Western European League Finals, Dem Bosch, The Netherlands

Hey Everyone, I wanted to share with you the article that I wrote for Dressage Daily, and some pictures that I took at the competition this past weekend.

A European Experience
Written by Meaghan Byrne

The atmosphere was concentrated yet electric as each rider and horse combination prepared for the Western European League Finals held in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. This was the last of the Indoor Winter Show Series and served as the final qualifying competition for the World Cup that is to be held in Las Vegas on April 15-19, 2009.

This was a spectators’ event like no other. There was an enormous trade fair that weaved through the warm up and competition areas. A fenced in path lead the horses and riders throughout the entire trade fair as they made their way to and from the competition area. Large flat screen TV’s were stationed throughout the trade fair to ensure everyone knew the latest details.

The trade fair offered the widest variety of high end items. Shops ranged from classy tack shops to hand crafted wood furniture and everything in between. Some of the other items you could browse through included: designer hand bags, Swarovski glass nail filers, top of the line horse trailers, full kitchens, exquisite paintings, handmade top hats and Rolex Watches. Scattered throughout the trade fair were several restaurants including a Sushi Bar, fresh fruit market, and two black-tie only restaurants.

I accompanied international rider and competitor Catherine Haddad as her groom to this prestigious competition. We arrived mid-day Wednesday to find several of the world’s top riders settling their horses in and preparing for the afternoon schooling sessions. There was an overwhelming sense of concentration and competitiveness as the weekend progressed. However high the stakes, all the riders and grooms were friendly and extremely helpful to me and to each other. There were smiles all around with an unspoken respect for all.

As a groom I was able to go everywhere on the show grounds. Throughout the weekend I watched the warm-up area as several of the sport’s top riders schooled their horses and prepared for the competition arena. I was amazed to see the variety in training methods and transformation the horses went through from warm-up to show arena.
The competition arena was perfectly manicured with elaborate flower boxes and sponsorship signs. It was a stadium seating styled arena. Saturday night’s freestyle was sold out. The crowd hung onto every music note as the riders entered the arena.

Standing ringside to this incredible field of competitors left with me with goose bumps. This was the best our sport has to offer and it far surpassed all expectations I had. Being able to experience this kind of intense competition from behind the scenes was the most amazing feeling. It was a feeling of both intensity and inspiration. I look forward to the day I will be in the saddle and on the other side of the Dressage arena for such a prestigious event.

There is more to come on this amazing weekend. It was unbelievable experience. It has just been a crazy week at the barn. Casey and Christoffer are getting married! So it is just me and Natillie, the rider from Australia, at the barn this week. So I will be sure to right more this weekend.

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

Cultural Difference

Today was the team's day off from the stable. We all enjoyed a nice sleep in. We usually meet for brunch at an adorable cafe, but instead we met this afternoon for ice cream in celebration of a friend's birthday. The ice cream cafe was call "Gino's Cafe" it was run by an Italian family. They served the most exquisite ice cream sundaes. Each were huge and decorated beautifully. They almost looked too good to eat, but of course we did! Anyhow, at the end of our little celebration the birthday girl was made to pay for everyone. There were also some people that left during the outing and didn't leave anything to cover their bill. I was mortified! However once again, I was reminded of my American ways. Here in Germany the person whose birthday it is, is meant to take all of their friends out for a celebration. It is tradition that they bake their own cake and provide a meal for friends and family. They are also meant to organize and pay for their own party. Such a cultural difference!

Learn something new everyday...

Meaghan :-)

McCafe

Hello Everyone. Sorry it has been a while since my last post, we have had a very busy week!

Today was a light day at the stable and we finished fairly early. So we all decided to go out for lunch. Much to my surprise everyone wanted to go to McDonald's for lunch. I thought this so strange because ever since I got here we have eaten nothing but healthy delicious fresh foods. So McDonald's was a change, but of course I didn't complain. So we drove to the McDonald's and I was informed that it was called "McCafe." I just thought it was another name, but oh no was I wrong. It is call McCafe because it is pretty much an alternate universe compared to a typical American McDonald's. It was extremely clean inside and decorated to the hills. It was a chic, modern theme with carpet and funky lights. There were cozy little booths with beautiful wooden tables. There were also large windows for people watching with stools and taller tables for two. Inside the McCafe was a coffee cafe. They served all sorts of different coffees, teas, lattes, and what not. Apparently several people take "coffee and cake" in the afternoon and McCafe is a popular choice. Of course the food tastes exactly the same, a complete heart attack all in one meal!!

Other happenings this week...

Earlier in the week Catherine informed the team that we were meant to go to dinner with a client on Wednesday night. We were to look nice as it was a fancy smancy restaurant. As we arrived at the restaurant we were shocked as she had planned a surprise bachelorette party for my roommate Casey. She is getting married in a few weeks. Her finance was informed it was a girls night from this point forward and sent home with a steak dinner. Ill leave it to your imagination what the rest of the night entailed. It was a blast and I met several people from local stables, breeding farms, and tack shops. The next day was a little rough...

Earlier this week the first of four foals was born at the breeding farm. She is a beautiful filly by Florenzio. We all went over to the breeding farm Friday afternoon to celebrate a successful birth with cake and champagne. It was quite the celebration complete with delicate china and freshly baked cheesecake. It was really nice to take a little time out of the day to celebrate and enjoy this new baby!

Next Wednesday I will be going to a competition in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. The competition is referred to as Den Bosch by the Dutch. I will be grooming for Catherine as she is riding Cadillac in the CDI-W. This competition serves as the Western European Finals. That means that there will be two Grand Prix Tours. The Small tour, or the CDI 4*, and then there will be the World Tour, or the CDI-W. This is also the last competition before the World Cup in Las Vegas in April. The majority of Europeans that rode at the Olympics in Hong Kong will be riding at this show. I'm sure it will be incredible to watch and experience this kind of intense atmosphere. I know there will be a great story come Monday.

A random assortment of topics, I know. Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

The Auto Bahn

Today was my first driving experience on the auto bahn. I have never been known as a slow driver, but today I was the slowest person on the road!! I drove the lorry (the trailer) for the first time yesterday without any horses and today I drove to a horse show a few hours away! No time like the present to learn to drive in Germany. Drivers in general are insane here. When driving on the auto bahn there are some areas that are posted with speed limits, say 120km/hr, but then the majority of the road has these little while signs with a black line through them which designates a no speed limit area. Go as fast as you possibly can and try not to die! What were these people thinking? Then the whole road is plastered with white billboards that have sad stories of people that have died in terrible multi car accidents on the auto bahn. Completely insane if you ask me. Then to top it all off the country roads are really narrow and you just have to hope that there is enough room between you, the car next to you, and the large ditch on the edge of the road. Oh did I mention that all the stop signs in Germany are identically to the yield signs in America, talk about confusion. But least to say I didn't hit anyone and I stayed on the road and everyone made it safely to and from the horse show.

The lorry that I drove is like nothing I have see before, its awesome. It is very similar to a truck with a camper on the back but completely one unit, if that makes any sense. The horses ride backwards and have a shelf to eat hay from as well as a deep space for water. There is a ton of storage around the rest of the truck. There is a bed above the driver and passenger seat, as well as a large area behind the seats for either extra storage or more passenger seats. The box area where the horses are is great, there is plenty of room to groom and tack up the horse inside. It was also much easier to drive than any truck and trailer combination that I have driven. I don't know why we don't see these more in the states. This specific one was made by "BOJ" a Swedish company. I included a picture of it.
















The show that we went to was part of an indoor winter series of shows at this farm. There were two indoor halls, one for warm-up and one for showing. We had a horse go in the FEI 6 Year Old Test, or "M" Level. There were several talented young horses at the show. The riders really seemed to ride much more forward and in a much bigger trot and canter throughout the test than I have usually seen in the states. After the young horse classes the Prix St. George started and I got to see a minute of Heike Kemmer's warm up. It was pretty neat seeing a well known German rider at a much smaller show with some of her young prospects.

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

Rough Day...

So today was a rough day! A blanket rack attacked me and I had to meet Kyra Kirkland's husband and trainer Richard, with a fat lip. We started really early this morning because Richard was coming for a clinic. He had flown in from England. But before he arrived I had groomed some of the horses and was gathering clean coolers for them. We have a large blanket rack that hangs blankets vertically. I grabbed the buckle of one of the coolers and the top of the rack flew out and hit me in the lip! Naturally it swelled. So I have a large fat lip, looking like I had just got in some kind of bar fight! Talk about first impressions! Other than that minor incident at 7am this morning, the day went very well. I groom and tack up both Maximus and Cadillac everyday along with a few of Catherine's other horses. They are both incredible horses.

I am starting to realize just how busy the stable really is. Since I have been here, there has been a mixture of clients, clinicians, and visitors from all over the world. Its fast paced but really fun and interesting.

Last night my roommates and I went to a nearby town called Lohne. It was a beautiful drive from our apartment. There were huge fields, not sure what they were farming, but they were perfectly manicured farmlands. The land here is really, really flat. All the houses look like cute little cottages, mostly made of brick. We walked around some of the designer shops, and window shopped. The outdoor shopping plaza was very clean and had little water fountains everywhere. There were no cars allowed on some of the smaller streets, so it made for a nice walk.

This coming weekend I am going to have my first trailering experience here in Germany. Cassie, one of the riders, is taking one of her horses in training to a show on Saturday. I will be grooming for her and learning how everything works at the shows. I will be driving the smaller lorry, which is one large van that can hold two horses. Everyone here swears it is super easy to drive, but we will see. I think I have to drive on the autobond! I'm sure that will make for a great story this weekend!

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

First Few Days...

Guten tag Everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to write this first post. I have been non stop busy since I got off the plane. I arrived in Bremen, Germany after a flight from Boston to JFK, then JFK to Frankfurt, and finally Frankfurt to Bremen. Naturally the airline lost my luggage so I technically moved to Germany with a backpack that contained my laptop and a blanket. Oh well! They did bring my luggage a few days later. Cassie, the barn manager picked me up at the airport. I am living in the cutest cottage like apartment building with Cassie and her boyfriend Christoffer, who is also a rider at the stable. Oh yes, here it is the stable, not a barn, and it has 20 boxes, not stalls. :-) So much to learn! The first night I arrived we had a party to attend. It was called "grunkohl" which literally translated means "green cabbage." It was a dinner party put on by the owners of the stable. We at cabbage with garlic, boiled potatoes, and every kind of sausage and ham you could imagine. I wasted no time jumping into the German culinary culture. The food was DELICIOUS! The other thing I realized at this dinner party was how little German I actually knew! I thought I was going to be amazing after having studied all my Rosetta Stone CDs, well that was an hallucination. I have so much to learn and need some serious practice!

So for those who don't know what I have been talking about this whole time, I am working as a show groom in Catherine Haddad's stable, also known as "Turnierstall Haddad" or show stable. The stable is located in Vechta, Germany, pronounced "Fecta." This took me several tries to figure out the pronunciation. I will be travelling to shows with her in the coming months. Other than grooming at shows I will doing normal stable chores and such. So far I have been put in charge of the shavings boxes because Cassie assumed me being from America that I would be able to handle a shavings box. There are only four of them, and the rest are deep bedded with straw. The deep bedding is completely new to me. The stalls, excuse me boxes, are picked out everyday and a large amount of new straw is added. Then once a month we do "ausmist." Which means we clean out the entire box and fill it with new straw. This past Monday was "ausmist" for February. This was the craziest, most efficient thing I have ever seen. The horses stand in the isle and each box partition slides out into the isle, creating make shift boxes in the isle for a short time. Then the boxes become one long isle and a tractor comes in and removes all the straw. Its an enormous amount of straw. Very efficient!

We start each morning at 7am and all the riders, and the groom (that's me) feed the stable and then we all sit down to breakfast as a team. Every morning Cassie goes to the bakery and buys fresh "brotchen"which is the softest, freshest bread I have ever heard. (OK so the food has been amazing so far!). After that the riders ride until around 2pm and then we break for lunch and come back to do afternoon chores and feed the stable.

All the horses are incredible! Even the 3 years blow me away! Ok well I should get some sleep I'm sure it will be a busy day tomorrow! We have a show this weekend! Will write more later.

Thank you for reading....

Meaghan :-)