Meredith Michaels-BeerBaum’s websiteAfter not turning on broadcast television for almost ten months, I decided to give channel surfing a whirl last night. What a pleasant surprise when I saw the broadcast of the only sporting event I will attend as a spectator: The World Cup Final Las Vegas. I have always been interested in dressage and showjumping. (Eventing and steeplechase, I can do without). I once took one week off of work to attend the National Horse Show, which seems to be bouncing between Madison Square Garden and Rutherford. I even met my heroine, Mary Chapot.

New Jersey is, after all, the home for the United States Equestrian Team. Chapot farms is a few towns away. I saw both Christopher Reeve (with very little skill) and Joan Lunden ride at Hamilton Farms. At the time, the most promising and insanely fast rider was a teenager named Laura Chapot.

Laura Chapot takes Palm Beach 2007 Nutrena XTN First Place.

It has often been said that US riders have an unfair advantage because most riders from other countries cannot justify the cost of transporting their horse over for a competition. I think as the stakes get higher, and foreign riders start showing up, the competition will certainly get more lively. Vegas was a good example. Only one US rider even made it near the short list of the finals. And he even got dispatched with little haste.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2007 at 12:19 am and is filed under Leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.