XXI Central American and Caribbean Sports Games The Central American and Caribbean Sports Games [CACGs] are the oldest continuing regional games in the world, and only the Olympics have run longer. Mexico, Cuba and Guatemala were the three countries present at the first games, which were then called the Central American Games. In 1935, their name was changed to Central American and Caribbean Games to reflect expanding participation. The 2010 games feature over 5,200 athletes from 31 countries competing in 42 different sports. Competition Arena
July 25 | I - 1 Test: 60.211% for 17th place Ray was finally the Ray we know and love! He was pumping adrenaline through the roof, but exuded beautiful brilliance. Jess was able to manage the movements, but with obvious tension. Had she been able to find an ounce of relaxation, she would have busted all over 70 percent. As it was, their total score was 60.211%, which is great for a second CDI. It's worth mentioning that, of the 22 competitors, Jessica was the second youngest, with most riders being seasoned veterans in their 40s. Congratulations, Jess, Ray, Cindy and Alexander!
July 24 | Mandatory Rest Day From Cindy, Saturday night Today was a "Rest Day". We gave Alexander the day off after he dropped morning feed. I thinkthat, in the end, he may have been more exhausted by his walking tour of Old San Juan than by a normal day at the barn.
I asked Jess to take the day and play. Hopefully, she found family time and shopping rejuvenating.
I spent a wonderful day with Ray - picked the stall, deep-groomed, hand-walked, stretched, and massaged muscle knots. Funny, he was very good at receiving a massage, but NEVER mastered the working out of my knots.
We ended the day with an invitation from the FEI President, Princess Haya of Jordan and Dubai to a reception at the Museo de Vide Silvestre. It was great fun and Princess Haya remembered both Jessica and Mary from her visit on Cayman. A lovely event and nice way to end the day.
July 23 | Jess & Ray Place 14th at PSG Finals From Cindy, Friday night Both Ray and Jessica had a new spark of life. Unfortunately, his helium deflated in his halt! While he was much more forward than yesterday, Jessica still had to produce more of his energy than we'd like. His paces were more adjustable, but he was lazy in his tempis and his walk, while clearly 4 beat, was lethargic. He dropped his poll in the collected work- EEK.
Our 63.5% score kept the pair 14th overall. All 5 judges gave Ray 7 on Paces (not enough walk) and 7 on Rider's Position. This is a very respectable showing for a first appearance at Games where many riders are veteran PanAm Game competitors!
The entire day was exciting. We had a great time watching countries compete against each other with great enthusiasm but also impressive respect. Marco Bernal of Colombia received Individual Gold with a 70.5% score. His team won the Gold; Guatemala the Silver; Mexico the Bronze.
Tomorrow is a mandatory day off for the dressage horses. We start the individual I-1 tests Sunday morning at 8:00. I'm waiting to hear from our Chef d'Equipe, Mary McTaggart, for the position we drew. Go to Video of Ceremony Translated Press Release from CACG site:
Bayamón (July 23, 2010) - Colombia's team won the gold medal with a score of 67.105 in the PSG level...in the equestrian competition at the XXI Central American & Caribbean Games - Mayaguez 2010. Meanwhile, Guatemala and Mexico achieved the silver and bronze medals with 66.315 and 66.246 respectively. Equestrian games started at 9:00 am with team competitions Julio Enrique Monagas Park in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The humidity and heat challenged the pairs of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands, Barbados, Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago. The first six countries competed with four riders, while other delegations competed with only one pairing. The teams were judged by international judges Cara Whitham of Canada, Sabine Bilton Brazil, Mercedes Campdera Mexico, Janet Foy of the United States and Janine Rohr Argentina. "We are pleased to see so much representation of Puerto Rico and test the tenacity of the riders and horses to compete in a track visibly affected by the rains last night," said Maribel Alonso, technical delegate training. It is the first time that Puerto Rico has a four-member team in an international competition, highlighting the participation of Luis Denizard and Natalia Martin 65.526 and 63.789.
July 22 | Preliminary PSG From Cindy, Thursday:
Another early day, but that's just horses! We arrived at the Equestrian Venue to a flurry of workers trying to perfect the park for the first event, which began at 8:00 AM. Alexander had already deep groomed Ray. I threw his mane up into braids as Jess worked on his neck. Alexander finished his "spit shine" and tacked Ray up.
Warm up began with a low energy Ray. Jessica overcame her own body tensions and shook off the temptation to get caught up emotionally in riding a horse that feels like a stranger. We worked quick transitions and Ray awoke nicely.
We then changed arenas to the holding arena. Here, Ray was exposed to clapping from the stands. Hmmm, I thought, his reaction was not too concerned, highly unusual. The rider before Ray enters the main arena. We pulled boots, buffed both Jess and Ray, and then moved him around again. Now, it's Ray's turn. He calmly passes by everything. Where's the spark? Where's the fire? Well, apparently we left it up in the top arena. The judge rang the bell- again no reaction - again MOST UNUSUAL.
The beautiful pair cantered up centerline and halted. Nice beginning. Then nothing. Ray took a breath and, I think, held it until the walk work. He made no attempt to take over in his extended work and just plodded along for the rest of the trot work.
Then, the walk. What!?!? A quiet four-beat walk, rather than an anxious "when do we canter" tense walk? Who is this horse?!? Then, a lovely canter depart and nice canter work.
So, in summary, Ray gave Jess a technically correct test with no brilliance. My thoughts are the pair would be scored in the low 60 percent. The scores ranged from 63% to 56%, which seemed a bit of a spread.
So, tomorrow we're looking for the "Ferrari under the hood'-Ray with the "it's OK to ride me'-mentality.
As it was, we ended the Preliminary day in the middle of the pack, which is not a bad place to begin your first international competition. We are on target.
Our ride time Friday is 10:00 AM. We are in the 6th position, so we'll strive to leave a positive impression that the ground jury will remember during the rest of the rides. Jess and Ray are just the pair to do it!
Alexander, Cindy and Jess atop Historic Castillo San Cristobal, an enormous fort built to protect San Juan and Spanish treasures. It was built over 150 years ago, and took 30 years to complete.
Competitors from Puerto Rico, 20 in all, are in the barn far right. Colombia has 15 and Venuzuela entered 10. Except for Puerto Rico, all horses had to be flown in. Evensome Puerto Rican competitors had to be flown in, since many train in the United States Mechanical Pegasuses! Inspection Day Team: Cindy, Jess, Ray, Alexander, and Mary McTaggart
July 21 | The Inspection and Jog Warm-up Arena by Cayman Island's Barn, Wednesday morning From Cindy, Wednesday afternoon: The sun has arrived. Apparently the tropical depression has moved along! It's beautiful...and humid.
Ray pretended to be a little lazy today in his 8:30 warmup and 9:30 main arena familiarization. However, Jess was successful in finding the fire we love to see him exude.
Jess' father and two sisters joined our delegation last night. They came over to the equestrian venue, watched Jess and Ray during their workout, and left with the impression that they are serious competitors here.
In preparation for the jog, Alexander and Jess gave Ray The Spa treatment: he was bathed from head to toe and braided. Both Jess and Alexander were dressed and ready to jog. When we reached the stunning "Tropical Paradise" set up for the jog, Ray was mesmerized. Jessica presented him for the inspection, jogged him, and received applause for their success. The entire process went by so quickly that Ray didn't get pumped up until he was done. At that point, we promptly handed him to Alexander, who immediately calmed him and took him back to the barn. Whew!!!
As I type, Mary represents the Cayman delegation in the 3:00 Chef d'Equipe and Chef de Mission meeting. She will later participate in the Riders' Draw. This will determine our order of go for the Preliminary Test that we will ride tomorrow.
We will end the day with the Equestrian Opening Ceremony this evening here at the village.
July 20 | Final Preparations From Cindy, Tuesday afternoon: Well, here we are: exhausted at the end of our last day before the competition begins. A coach's goal is to peak both horse and rider at the same time. Today's workout would indicate that I am watching this come to pass. Obviously, showing a horse with Ray's intellect is a challenging task. However, we have done our homework. Both Ray and Jessica are turning heads and attracting attention. The Cayman Island Olympic Committee has made a good choice with his pair. They are both physically and mentally ready to present their best.
Tomorrow, we face the jog at 1:00 pm. We have applied to have Alexander present Ray in hand. Alexander does a great job keeping Ray more focused on jogging rather than his favorite- grow 11", extend the trot and overall raise his adrenaline to the max! Everyone, please, please send Jess your best via her blog! She's working hard to represent her horse, her country, her home riding school, Cayman Islands Equestrian Center, and High Point. However, by the looks of her lanyard, it seems she is working hardest to beat me at collecting pins! "
Equestrian Athelete's "Village
July 19 | Rain...More Rain...Even More Rain From Cindy, Monday night Rain describes the climate of the day.[ Poor horse park, its staff takes one step forward and the weather pushes them backwards.] It made for sticky tack, but much cooler riding.
Our groom extraordinare, Alexander, kindly volunteered to feed this morning as we had such a late night Sunday at the Opening Ceremones. As the rain wore on, we all lost enthusiasm for touring. So Alexander decided to help us all day: cleaning wet sand and mud off of horse, rider and equipment is very time consuming. THANk YOU, Alexander!!!
Our first task was "The Blessing of the Horse". The task grew in magnitude as Ray got more and more worked up over the misbehavior of other horses. Applause panicked him, so Jess and Alexander decided that they would do their best to quietly slip out and move on into our next task- lunging. Already wired up, Ray wanted to use the Ice Cream Truck's bell as an excuse for over reactions to the commands at first. The audible sound (often a bell) to indicate that the competitor has 45 sec to come down centerline causes Ray a lot of tension when he's pumped. So, this was a super training opportunity. He looked amazing when he got straight and balanced on the line. I felt much better about his preparation for his training ride in the main arena at 4:00 PM.
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After feeding Ray lunch, we all struck out to find some for ourselves. We shared a lot of laughter and DEPRIVED ourselves of donuts made before our very eyes (the smell was indescribable). After all, we had to prepare Ray for his workout. "Houston we have touchdown: Ray and Jessica were so beautiful. Even the Head Steward came to Jessica when we were done and confessed that she was a new fan!!!!
So with a day like that, what is left to do? Eat dinner, of course! Since we were exhausted, we thought we'd keep it simple. We were craving salad and veggies so thought we'd just eat at Sizzler. I don't know any other Sizzler that overlooks a marina loaded with beautiful yachts. What an ending to our day. On left, Jess and Dalton Watler, Chef de Mission, before the Opening Ceremonies. Above, lining up before Opening Ceremonies, July 18
July 18 | Opening Ceremonies 8AM Ride, notice the footing. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! Jess and Ray were thrilled to obtain the services of Alexander Abrams [pictured here with Jess and Ray] As groom, Alexander has the PERFECT temperament for Ray: calm at all times. He knows every inch of Ray and got right in with the stable management, earning their instant respect. Cindy and Jessica are so grateful that he was available for this "Mission Impossible"! From Cindy Sunday night: Our early workout was very good. Jessica made Ray look effortless to ride his beautiful gates! We were able to get more lateral suppleness today because he was tuned to her in a more longitudinally supple and forward way. We want to continue to develop a more supple connection. We were assigned an arena by the stabling and I swelled with pride at the Mexican competitors peeking over the fence at our workout. Hmmm.
Monday is Alexander's day off. We plan to stretch Ray on the lunge after feeding, clean the stall, and take him for a walk. Then we plan to tour Historic San Juan in between feedings.
The equine venue is finally shaping up. Who knows if they will be able to run cross country, since most of the course seems to be standing in 4" of water. However, typical eventers, they're keeping a positive attitude and not anticipating any problems.
The Opening Ceremonies were rescheduled for Sunday. After sitting on the bus since 10:30, we were finally transferred to a van (most riders couldn't go because their scheduled training times interfered, and those times aren't flexible) and drove out of the Athletes' Village (our hotel) at 12:00!!! The drive over was not so unlike the breaking of a young naughty horse. There were questionable then hard brakes, quick take offs, lots of bumps with sharp turns and I'm sure we even went airborne a couple of times. The difference being that a training session is much shorter and you can always jump off I might rethink the prospect of driving tomorrow!!! On a more positive note the terrain is lovely with lots of hills and forests. It made me wonder why so many people live on top of each other in San Juan.
We arrived at the venue at 2.30. How do I describe the intimidation?!? There were bullet proof vested Policia EVERYWHERE! We even had an escort when we begged for lunch after our drive. (What??? Food after a drive like that?!? I obviously need to toughen up!!!) When given instructions as to how we would go in and get back, the officials were VERY serious about our staying together with our guide. (I remember that look on field trips in kindergarten! These were not orders to ignore.) After another police escort, we were dropped off at the Baseball Stadium to line up and march to the Rugby Stadium where THOUSANDS have turned out to cheer us. We had a BLAST trading pins. The Cayman crab was a favorite. My hat is now adorned with pins from all over Central America and the Caribbean. The ceremony rivaled anything I've seen. There were 3 famous musicians and the crowd was electric. What an experience!! We now have to look for our ride back to San Juan and hope to be back to our village around midnight.
July 17 | On the Way to Opening Ceremonies...Not From Cindy 7.17.10: Our day began with a lovely 8 AM ride. Our focus was Ray's honestly on the aids. His preference at first was to stay a little behind jess's aids so he could keep an eye on happenings around himself. We convinced him that there were paid professionals to manage the facility and his job was to hear Jessica. We tipped him with a peppermint for excellent service.
I only had a brief moment to scope out competition. However, I quickly assessed Mexico as a force to be reckoned with. They pulled amazing horse after amazing horse out of their barn. Fortunately for us, Ray is their equal AND Jessica can sit the trot!!!
11:15 AM: We began waiting for the bus transporting us 3 hours to the opening ceremonies. Jessica was selected, by the Cayman Olympic Committee, to carry their flag on behalf of all the teams they have sent.
1 PM: We are finally on board and heading to Mayaguez!!! Sadly, we were turned around 45 minutes out because huge wave hit the stadium in Mayaguez where the ceremonies were to take place. I wanted to get caught up in my disappointment at not getting to mix/mingle and trade pins with athletes from all over Central America and the Caribbean. Then, we were informed that two people lost their lives and the stadium was left with standing water -- perspective is everything! If conditions improve, ceremonies will be rescheduled for Sunday. [....More about the storm]
So we regrouped and sat by the pool for the remainder of the afternoon. It continued to rain off and on but it was nice to have a little time to map out the week.
The riding times are published for Sunday and we again drew the 8 AM workout time. So, as another day draws to a close, we will try to catch up on some sleep and see what tomorrow brings.
From Jess 7.16.10:
"We miss everyone but are slowly making friends and getting through the language barrier! The Puerto Ricans are very friendly!
We are battling rain and LOTS of construction on the grounds, Ray is getting a lot of exposure to heavy equipment!
Soo happy that Cindy is coming tonight, all the other big dressage teams are coming out and it's a little overwhelming!!"
From Cindy 7.16.10:
"Coaching at Central American and Carribean Games seems a daunting task. Yet I sit on the tarmac at ATL (shocker- plane is running late!!!) excited about High Point's new adventure. It feels like everyone is behind us and I feel covered by prayers and fond wishes. While I have no idea what to expect from Ray, I know Jessica has the skill to pilot him through this event and thrilled that she has chosen High Point to prepare Ray and herself."
Ray of Light safely and happily ensconced in his temporary home.
Today was a "Rest Day". We gave Alexander the day off after he dropped morning feed. I thinkthat, in the end, he may have been more exhausted by his walking tour of Old San Juan than by a normal day at the barn.
I asked Jess to take the day and play. Hopefully, she found family time and shopping rejuvenating.
The equine venue is finally shaping up. Who knows if they will be able to run cross country, since most of the course seems to be standing in 4" of water. However, typical eventers, they're keeping a positive attitude and not anticipating any problems.
