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The Fourth World Equestrian Games Officially Begin In Jerez De Frontera
The US athletes from all seven disciplines – dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting – were well represented in the Parade of Nations, entering the arena just before the home country of Spain.
The theme of the ceremony was the Pure Spanish Horse (PRE) which included the Royal Guard, Jerez Military Stud, and the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art that performed a series of incredible movements featuring the “airs above the ground” and the “cobra”, all representative of the Andalusian equestrian culture. The unique ceremony’s message was to show the enthusiasm of Jerez, known as the horse capital of Spain.
Competition begins on Wednesday with the first day of Grand Prix (team) Dressage and Team Vaulting. Riding on Wednesday for the United States Equestrian Team (USET) will be Susan Blinks, riding Flim Flam, owned by Fritz Kundrun and Dressage Sponsor Corporation, and Debbie McDonald and Brentina, owned by Peggy and Parry Thomas. Guenter Seidel riding Nikolaus 7, owned by Dick and Jane Brown, and Lisa Wilcox on Relevant, owned by Gundula Vorwerk and Dr. Claus Crone-Munzebrock, will ride on Thursday.
The USET Vaulting squad, represented by the Free Artists Creative Equestrians (FACE) Team of California, will also be competing on Wednesday. For more information on the teams of all seven disciplines and for complete WEG coverage, visit the USET website at www.uset.org.