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Robin Brueckmann’s Adventures in Belgium

      At the Festival of Champions, in Gladstone, New Jersey in June, I earned one of six slots to compete in the World Dressage Championships for disabled riders, to be held in Moorseles, Belgium in September of 2003. I was defending World Champion; I had won the team and freestyle Gold Medals at the last World Championships, in Vilhelmsborg, Denmark, in 1999. This year, for the first time, I was going to be able to bring my horse, Richmond, instead of riding a horse from a draw.
     July 31. I trailered Rocky to Missy Ransehausen’s farm in Pennsylvania. Missy was one of our two team coaches. She agreed to help me prepare Rocky for our European trip.
     August 2. Our first lesson since Festival. Rocky is very good. Missy sees a few things that she wants to work on while we are here, particularly bend in the half pass and straightness in right lead counter-canter. We make some improvements today. Missy says that Rocky looks stronger and in better balance than he was at Festival.
     August 21. It’s my last lesson with Missy before we leave for Europe. Rocky is going very well. I am amazed at how he has blossomed under this intense training. As I finish my lesson, Missy gets a call on her cell phone. It’s the manager of the training facility we are going to in Antwerp. He has sick horses. We will have to find another facility, and a different hotel, before the horses arrive on Saturday.
     August 23. Rocky finally arrives in Belgium. Apparently he had a hard time on the plane, and he spent the night last night in the horse hotel in Amsterdam. He’s at our new training facility, near Waterloo, tired but he seems all right. He hasn’t lost as much weight as I had feared.
     August 29. The horses are well settled now. We have found local feed to replicate Fred’s and Rocky’s feeds from home, which are now used up. Rocky is eating well now. Everyone has been mounted now. Cindy has a cute Connemara pony. Lynn and Becca are sharing a Polish warmblood, who is very nice and well-trained. Barb is riding the horse she did so well on last year here at the European championships. Kathy and I are happy with how well our horses are going, although Fred has a sore back.
      September 1. We move the horses to the venue, several hours away in Moorsele. The venue is a big show facility, with lovely big permanent stalls and two indoor arenas. There are perhaps a dozen practice arenas set up outside, as well as an outside competition arena. The footing is some special silicone sand mixed with a nylon felt, giving a firm surface that does not give way under the horses’ feet.
      Renee, Mary Clark, and Christy set up our tack stall. A staff person comes by to tell us that there are no tack stalls allowed in this area; we must put all our stuff for five horses in the “material box,” quite distant from our stalls. We compromise; we have paid for six horse stalls and only brought five horses.
     September 2. We have our first rides on the venue. I let Missy ride Rocky today; it’s the last day that coaches are allowed to ride the Grade III and IV horses. Missy sends Rocky forward at the same time she is coaching Lynn on Marty. We have an hour and a half of assigned time in a particular arena to work the five horses and six riders. It’s tight. The horses are going well; Fred seems to feel better.
     September 3. It’s our only time to practice in the main arena. We do sound-checks on our music. Lynn, Becca, Barb, and Cindy run through their freestyles, fine-tuning the choreography. Kathy and I are fine. Rocky feels a little backed off in the small indoor arena, but once he gets into the main arena he feels fantastic, forward and elastic and uphill. I feel eager to compete.
     September 4. We have the jog for soundness as our first order of business on Thursday. There is a moment of uncertainty as the officials ask Kathy to jog Fred a second time. I ask Kathy about it later. She said that they just weren’t watching the first time. One of the Grade IV horses from another country does not pass.
     Today we get to practice in the outside competition arena. I will not compete here; the Grade I and III riders will be outside for their Team and Championship tests. The rest of us will compete those tests inside. Rocky is good, as usual; I ride through my Championship test in the large arena. I don’t want to do my freestyle before the actual competition. There are spies from other nations, watching us each time we ride. Today, the German coach is sunbathing just outside the arena at E. Rocky thinks it looks odd, to see a man lying on the grass. Fred and Marty shy at him.
     The draw for times is this afternoon. I have the best draw of all, going last of the day, at 7:10 in the evening. All our rides will be spread out during the day tomorrow. We return to the hotel, finalizing our preparations.
     September 5. Daniel works with each of us individually before we compete, stretching us and making sure that our attitudes are good. Cindy has the first ride today, on her roan Connemara pony. Cindy is very tense, and the pony reflects this and refuses to be even remotely round. Cindy gets a very low score. She is upset but Daniel talks to her to help her put it into perspective. Cindy ends up last in the Grade II individual class.
     I ride Rocky in the morning, between other rides. I expected that the ride was more for my sake than Rocky’s, but as it turned out it was good for him, too. He needs the work. I ride him until Missy and Jerry are satisfied with the quality of our work.
     Becca is our next ride. She puts in a fairly accurate, conservative test, which scores 65%. She is the first of our Team riders, and that is a decent score to post. Barb is next, also in Grade III; she makes some tactical errors and scores 61%. She is disappointed with the score. Becca places; Barb is eleventh. There are 26 Grade III riders.
     Kathy rode as a Grade IV individual. She puts in a solid, conservative ride, which scores 61%. She places fifth in the individual group.
Lynn rides for a team score at Grade I. Each team must include at least one Grade I or II rider, and Lynn is it for us. She had a good scare as Marty spins with her, nearly unseating her. She gets her nerves under control, and rides with great determination. It is a lovely ride, good for 65% and fourth in the Grade I Team class. It’s a good score for our team.
     I’m last to go, out of all 41 Grade IV riders. I am pumped to go; Rocky feels great. I put in a solid ride, with particularly good shoulder-in and medium trots. I am pleased with the ride. The scores flash up on the electronic scoreboard. I have two 67%, two 63%, and the judge at C gives me a meager 58%, for a combined score of 63%. It placed me seventh in this big class. Both Kathy and Bob had videotaped my ride, and I watched it from both vantage points. I am disappointed in the quality of Rocky’s half passes. I will have to improve them for tomorrow.
     September 6. This is the biggest day as far as Denise is concerned. The Team placings will be calculated by combining yesterday’s scores with today’s, with one drop score each day. Barb was the drop score yesterday. This day’s classes include all riders at each grade, and it’s a medal class for each of us. I don’t have such a good draw today.
     Cindy was first to go again. Her ride today was better than yesterday, but the pony is not round today either. Cindy is philosophical but disappointed. She has a 46%, last again. Denise discusses withdrawing her for the freestyle tomorrow; Cindy agrees.
     Becca rides outside in the rain. She is not as focused today, and her score reflects this: 61%. She kicks herself for the things that she missed. Barb rides soon afterward. Her ride is much better today, and we are all surprised at her lower score, 60%. In the end, Barb and Becca place thirteenth and fourteenth. Denise is beside herself, charting scores and tabulating what Lynn and I need to get to pull up our team score. There is no posted scoreboard, and we have to catch each rider’s score in the moment that it flashes up on the electronic scoreboard. Once it’s off that board, it’s gone forever.
     I’m next to go for the US. I concentrate on keeping a very steady connection. Rocky feels great. I go in to ride my test, and I push for brilliance. Rocky responds to my requests, and gives me a very good ride. I’m thrilled with him. It scores 65%.
     I’m in the first third of the Grade IV riders. I take Rocky back to the stable, and then return to watch more of my class. There’s nothing that I can do now; I’ve laid down a good trip. I see many more 65% scores on the scoreboard. It must be a dozen or so. I am not sure about the precise score that I have gotten, to compare with the other 65% scores. Because there is no posted scoreboard, I have to ask a spectator what my score is: 65.31%. I realize that puts me toward the lower end of the group of 65%’s.
     Kathy rides. Fred is tense, and Kathy has a hard time staying focused. It’s not a bad ride, but this is the World Championships. Kathy’s score of 61% is not good enough to place in this big class. In the end, my 65% was eleventh.
     Lynn’s our last rider. Denise has calculated that she needs to get 68% or better for us to have a decent team finish. She doesn’t tell Lynn that, though. Lynn puts in a fabulous ride, forward and elastic and accurate. There have already been several rides over 70%, and we are all breathless to see if Lynn can match that. It takes half an hour for her score to be announced; it never does come up on the electronic scoreboard. Lynn had a 74%! She won the Grade I class, a division that has been dominated for years by British rider Lee Pearson. He has been absolutely unbeatable, and Lynn beat him!
     Lynn is understandably thrilled to receive her Gold Medal, dress sheet, neck sash, and a beautiful statue.
     Denise is beside herself; we have placed sixth in the Team competition. The British team had no scores under 70% for any of their riders, and they proved unbeatable. Of course, the Brits have tremendous government support, from the British lottery, and they are trained by German Christoph Hess. They are all superbly mounted and well-trained and supported. We can only wish for such support.
     Our team finish qualifies the US to send four riders to Athens next year for the Paralympics. We may be able to pick up one or two more slots as time passes and other nations declare how many riders they plan to send. The Dutch team finished fifth, right ahead of us, and they were only going to send a team to Athens if they finished fourth or better here. Fifth wasn’t good enough for them.
     We have our awards ceremony for the Grade IV. Rocky is great for the victory lap, crowds and all. We return to the hotel; we’re all beat from the excitement and suspense of the day. I don’t know the results of the draw for tomorrow’s rides by the time I fall into bed.
     September 7. It’s freestyle day. We have been divided into two groups for each grade. The riders who placed in yesterday’s Team test got to do their freestyles indoors in the Grand Final; the other riders were in the small final, outside. Lynn and I are in the Grand Final for our grade; Barb, Becca, and Kathy will ride outside. Cindy will cheer for all of us. Our schedule is hectic, with rides very close together.
     Lynn is first of our group. I watch Lee Pearson’s freestyle with his lovely black mare; she is perfectly in time with the music, and the ride is flawless. Lee’s score flashes up; 77%. It will be hard to beat.
     Lynn goes in for her freestyle. She puts in a good ride. We can’t predict whether it will beat Lee today. Her score goes up: 73%. She has not beaten Lee. She ends up second to him, Silver. It’s a great finish for her.
     I watch Kathy’s Grade IV freestyle. She had many movement with a high degree of difficulty, but Fred makes some mistakes and Kathy loses some accuracy. She is disappointed with her score of 61%. I videotape her ride for her.
     Lynn’s horse is tagged for drug testing. The timing of it is not good, as it’s almost time for her awards ceremony. We get the horse back just in time to get her mounted for her Silver Medal. One horse goes berserk from the applause, dumping his rider. She is carted off to hospital; she returns later.
     I am next. Rocky is sluggish to my aids in warm-up. Missy asks if he feels tired; he does. I can’t get him up in front of my aids. I do my best, but he just can’t put it together for me. I expected that he would perk up once he got into the indoor, with its packed stands, but he doesn’t. My music starts, and I can’t get Rocky going. He is obedient and we put in an accurate test, but I know it’s not our best effort. I am disappointed that we don’t do well, but I realize that my young horse has given me his best efforts, and that he has worked very intensely for me for many weeks now. I can’t be upset with him. I am not surprised at my score of 63%. I know that I will place, because they are pinning to twelfth and there are twelve riders in the Grand Final, but I won’t be able to improve on my placing from yesterday as I had hoped.
     Barb and Becca’s rides were immediately after mine, but outdoors. They both put in spectacular rides, redeeming themselves. The Grade III freestyle does not require any lateral work, and they both put in flying changes, shoulder-in and half pass; no other Grade III riders in the small final had any lateral work. Becca won the class with a 68%, and Barb took second with a 67%. Because it was the small final, there were no medals for them, but they got lovely awards anyway.
     The Closing Ceremony was extravagant. There was a twenty-horse drum and bugle corps of military officers on gray horses. My Grade IV awards ceremony was part of it, too. I still didn’t know how I had placed, because of the lack of scoreboards. All twelve of us milled around outside the alley to the indoor as we waited to be placed in order. I ended up last of the group; it wasn’t a bad thing to be twelfth in a World Championships, disappointment or not. A Danish professional rider, on a most extravagant mare, wins the class; he had won the Team test on Friday as well. Another Danish rider wins the Silver Medal behind him.
     Rocky was good about the drummers and buglers right behind him as we accepted our congratulations and awards. He was more concerned with a television crew, interviewing the French rider next to me, as the boom with the mike waved over his head. The crew was oblivious to my horse as they focused on the French rider. Rocky tried to eat the boom.
     I put Rocky in his stall and joined the rest of our group, who were already in place for the closing ceremonies. The stands were filled with enthusiastic people, cheering and clapping. The ceremonies conclude, and we commence packing and rehashing our experience. I stay with our equipment as the others go for dinner. We haven’t been allowed to drink during the competition; now we can celebrate.
     September 8. The riders and staff fly home. The US horses will leave tomorrow. Kathy and I return to USET headquarters, in Gladstone, to await the horses’ release from quarantine. We have three days to wait.
     September 11. Kathy and I spring the horses from quarantine in Newburgh, New York, and take them back to Ransehausen’s farm in Pennsylvania, where they will stay until Dressage at Devon. It’s been an intense experience for them, and they are both glad for some turnout and down-time.