Well, here we are after four years of hype and circumstance, finally watching the French put their best hosting foot forward at the 2014 WEG, aka the world’s biggest horse show. We are an hour into the opening ceremonies and all I can say is, I sure hope they have something big up their French sleeves for the second half. Because so far this is whatever the French word for lame is. We’ve seen a quartet of Moroccan horses canter around a couple of laps, some other pencil necked breed do the same, and a French marching band. Lest that be too much excitement for all these people who threw down a hundred Euros for tonight’s event, they’ve launched straight into the athletes’ parade. I don’t even remember athletes parading at past WEGs, which is an indication of how much of a highlight it was – if they even had them. There was more excitement in the traffic jam outside the stadium.
Maybe I’m getting jaded after a dozen years and three previous WEGs, and forgive me if I sound like an old curmudgeon from Canada, but for goodness’ sake they didn’t even spring for a flag horse per country. And this at the aforementioned world’s biggest HORSE show. They have eight very undecorated Percherons being ridden by fellows clad in what look like grey sweat suits. They pick up a flag at the entrance, walk three quarters of the way around the stadium in front of the athletes and then dump the flag as they approach the entrance again. They are then given a new flag from a country eight down the alphabet for another lap of the stadium. The only moment of excitement is when one of the more skittery horses spooks at the flag being handed to his truly sloppily clad cavalier. Unless you count the sixty meters or so that the Percherons pick up a bracing jog between relinquishing one country’s identity and picking up the next. Is it unfair of me to be critical of the fact that they didn’t even braid the flag horses’ manes? It’s not like no one around here knows how. Percherons come from Normandy.
I will be back a bit later with another post. That is if things pick up from the sports day-quality of the proceedings so far. Otherwise I’ll be back on Monday as the team dressage gets underway (sans Totilas, boohoo). If you couldn’t make it to Normandy or didn’t spring for the opening ceremonies, shed not a tear. You aren’t missing anything.
The way Percherons not used for the opening ceremonies of the World Equestrian Games are gussied up for presentation.
