Locals brave tough world horse test

When Ellen Bettker, who works for a Sisters dentist, and local resident Vickie Hornbeck, headed to Spain in mid-September to volunteer at the World Equestrian Games endurance competition, they were expecting drought conditions.

After all, it hadn't rained for five months in Jerez de la Frontera, in southern Andalusia, where the games were held.

The World Equestrian Games occur every four years, with the first event held in 1990 in Stockholm, Sweden. Seven equestrian disciplines comprise the games: eventing, showjumping, carriage driving, endurance, vaulting, dressage, and reining (a western discipline, included for the first time this year).

Clouds came in on the morning of the endurance ride, September 16, and before the 7 a.m. start the heavens opened. The riders headed off in the midst of a thunderstorm, the likes of which Hornbeck had never seen before.

"No one was prepared for it,"she said.

They had come with electrolytes for the horses and riders and summer shirts for themselves, she said.

Endurance riders are a tough lot, though, and since many of the volunteers compete in the sport themselves, they persevered as best they could.

The rain caused havoc on the 100-mile course, causing footing which had previously been rock hard to turn into a quagmire which pulled shoes from horses' feet and caused lameness.

The American team did not fare as well as expected, with some team members and two individuals unable to complete the race due to lameness and shoeing problems.

Bettker was impressed with the team, though.

"They got in there and did their job regardless,"she said. "One member was really ill, but kept on going."

Bettker's job, as volunteer coordinator for the endurance section of the United States Equestrian Team, had kept her busy for many months prior to the event.

"The six months leading up to the race were really intense,"she said.

As well as communicating with around 60 volunteers from all across the U.S. and getting commitments that they would turn up on time in Jerez, she coordinated their accommodations and assigned tasks for race day. She had help from a local Jerez interpreter as well as several local teens who were familiar with the area.

The volunteers were charged with making sure that the horse and rider teams were well taken care of at each of the 15 water stops which occurred during the race. Each volunteer team covered three stops, so part of the pre-ride planning was figuring out how to get to each stop.

Setting up maps and routes for the volunteers and rounding up equipment had Bettker "all over the place."

Hornbeck added, "there were little dirt roads we had to go on between each stop. Some were difficult to get to."

After the race, Bettker and Hornbeck treated themselves to some sightseeing. Jerez is the recognized horse capital of Spain, and is the home of the Andalusian Academy, the original Spanish Riding School. There, Andalusian horses are bred and trained to the highest levels of dressage. The public is welcome at the farm.

Hornbeck said the trip was worth all the discomfort, "to be able to watch world class horses and riders compete..."