Aaron Ralston made history as he entered the ring on July 21, 2009, as the first athlete ever to compete in the Kentucky Horse Park's new indoor arena in Kentucky Cup Reining, the first test event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
"I really didn't realize it was happening until afterwards, and then it opened my eyes and really started to sink in,” Aaron said. “To be involved in something as big and special as these test events for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and to be on the team with these athletes is so special.
“It's all bigger than just me. It's a great honor and very humbling.” The reiner from Silt, Colorado, was a team gold and individual bronze medalist at the 2006 WEG.
Kentucky Cup Reining is a CRI4* competition officially sanctioned by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI); it featured teams from Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Team U.S.A. finished first with a team score of 659.50, followed by Canada with 641.00 and Mexico with 631.50.
U.S. rider Tom McCutcheon won the individual competition on July 23. [Read the full story.]
For the test event, Team U.S.A. fielded a seasoned group of riders featuring four WEG gold medalists. They were led to the win by Shawn Flarida of Springfield, Ohio, double- gold medalist in reining's WEG debut in 2002. Shawn received a score of 370.00 from the five-judge panel for his ride on Smart Spook, an 8-year-old sorrel stallion owned by Rosanne Sternberg of Aubrey, Texas.
Aaron scored a 354.00 on Double My Whiskey, a 6-year-old stallion owned by W.T. Waggoner Estate of Vernon, Texas. His 2006 WEG gold medal teammate Dell Hendricks of Tioga, Texas, scored a 367.00 on Starbucks Sidekick, a 9-year-old stallion owned by Adair Reiners, LLC, of Mesa, Arizona. And Tom McCutcheon of Aubrey, Texas, winner of team gold and individual silver medals at the 2002 WEG, scored a 362.50 on Darlins Not Painted, a 7-year-old American Paint Horse mare owned by Randy Paul of Scottsdale, Arizona.
While pleased with his team's performance, Jeff Petska, Team U.S.A. chef d'equipe, pointed out that the team selected for next year's Games will face a formidable challenge.
"Getting ready for a World Equestrian Games is a very involved process, and the teams get better every year," Jeff said. "It is a sport that began and grew here, but now that advantage is dwindling as the sport is becoming more international. We're talking to riders and looking for horses because everyone wants to field the best athletes they can. As the sport grows, the level of athleticism required for both horses and riders continues to get higher and higher."
As the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games come to Kentucky, the sport of reining is sure to enjoy a sort of "homecoming" in the United States, as the only western discipline recognized by the FEI. Plans are under way to feature reining in new and exciting ways in 2010, including a newly approved schedule format allowing for more public sessions of the discipline.
The WEG will be broadcast on NBC Sports which has marked the largest commitment to network coverage of equestrian sport in U.S. television history.
Held every four years, the WEG are the world championships of eight equestrian disciplines recognized by the FEI. Her Royal Highness Princess Haya is the current president of the FEI. This will be the first occurrence of the WEG in the United States.
Further information on the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, including full results from Kentucky Cup Reining, is available on line at alltechfeigames.com.
