Before Those Beautiful Jumps, a Travel Scramble

A professional show jumper has to navigate a complicated set of barriers with limited time. That is equally real before the competition begins because the rider, horses and their assist workforce ought to tour to the event after which speedy pass to the subsequent one.
A rider frequently travels around the world nearly every weekend of the 12 months, attending dozens of competitions. The logistical challenges of which are daunting.
There are journey schedules for a couple of horses and their assist teams to juggle and education to maintain. Grooms come alongside. The riders themselves do no longer have an awful lot loose time as they scramble from one opposition to some other, popping into a new region midweek and frequently leaving on a Sunday for the following occasion.
“It is by no means a 9-to-5 task or one wherein you could clock out when the day’s over,” stated Adrienne Sternlicht, an American rider who became at the gold medal-prevailing group on the World Equestrian Games final 12 months. “It’s truly a lifestyle sport just to this point as there’s truly no such issue as a day without work.”
She and different riders from around the world have come to New York for the Longines Masters beginning this weekend at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, flying in for much less than every week earlier than leaving for the next competition.
Top riders can regularly compete in approximately 40 shows per year around the arena, every of which is typically held from Wednesday to Sunday. This method the teams are continuously in transit.
“Week in, week out, you % your bag, visit the airport, tour and stay in a resort,” said Olivier Philippaerts, a Belgian show jumper who could be bringing his horses H&M Cue Channa forty-two and Insolente des Dix Bonniers, each gray mares, to the Masters. “I essentially stay in a motel, I get best three days home a week, so I am in a hotel greater than I am at domestic.”
Despite that, some riders stated that traveling all over the international and attending to compete on the pinnacle level made up for the downsides.