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“Inside” August 2014

In Honor of the WEG

Since the creation of Dressage Today 20 years ago, the magazine has followed every World Equestrian Games (WEG). Our first coverage was in 1994 from The Hague in the Netherlands, which also happened to be the inaugural issue of DT (Sept. 1994). Getting the bronze-medal U.S. team on that cover was no small feat, according to Mary Kay Kinnish, editorial director at the time. “It was quite a coup for us to cover the event,” she remembers. “In those relative Dark Ages of publishing, we didn’t yet rely on electronic photo files being sent via the Internet. Instead, then-DT Editor Beth Baumert [still a DT technical editor today] attended the event and hand-carried back slides that photographers had entrusted to her. It was one of those race-against-the-deadline-clock moments of which we were quite proud.”

So in an effort to celebrate this year’s competition in Normandy, France, (Aug. 23–Sept. 7) as well as DT’s 20th anniversary year, we have compiled some of the greatest moments in WEG history on p. 36.
To continue our international celebration, this month’s cover story takes us to Italy, land of delicious food, good wine and one talented dressage family—the Truppas. Meet international dressage judge Enzo and his daughter, dressage Olympian Valentina, in “Molto Buona!” (p. 52). Together they share their passion for the sport as well as the horses that provide them the opportunity to partake in international competition.
From Italy we head to France to bring you dressage master Col. Christian Carde and his article “Walk: The Queen of Gaits” (p. 28). Freelance writer Silke Rottermann worked with Col. Carde to bring us this insightful piece. Not only did she uncover the wonderful truths of this important gait, but she also helped convert another helmet-resistant rider. When preparing for the photo shoot, Silke discussed with Col. Carde the need to wear a helmet when he rode. She shared the following with me: “You might remember that [German Olympian] Uta Gräf gave me one of her Uvex helmets for the photo shoot with Col. Carde. First he wasn’t very happy looking at the hyper-modern Uvex, and I have to admit I wasn’t crazy about the look of the modern helmet in the photos with the old indoor and the classical dress of the rider. But the message is important. At the end of my week in France, the Colonel surprised me by asking if he could buy the helmet! The DT shoot indirectly initiated another rider to wear a safety helmet, and that’s a good thing!”
The WEG competition makes August a great month to be a horse enthusiast. We hope you enjoy the articles we’ve brought to you, and be sure to look for ongoing commentary throughout the WEG at dressagetoday.com.

Until next time,
Jennifer Mellace, Managing Editor
jmellace@aimmedia.com

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