Antigua's participation in the 2006 World Equestrian Games sets the tone for the future

Emily Ward of Willikies represented Antigua and Barbuda at the prestigious World Equestrian Games recently held in Aachen, Germany, in the sport of Dressage.

In spite of the fact that this was a first effort in a “Games” at world level, Emily, and her horse Vallon, put on a very credible show in what is the infinite art of horsemanship and riding. Having dedicated years to even qualify for such a global event, they finished in a very respectable 70th position in the world – naturally competing against the world’s very best horses and riders.

This in itself was somewhat more of an achievement than initially thought as Emily had to endure a very unfortunate situation in the collecting ring prior to entering the main arena. She was required to perform just after the German champion rider, Isabell Werth, whom the home crowd of 32,000 acclaimed with cheers and noise equivalent to those, usually offered to the German football team.

Such commotion totally upset her stallion, Vallon, who proceeded to gallop in circles around the collecting ring in fright whilst awaiting his turn in the main arena in front of these same 32,000 spectators! Bearing in mind that unlike show-jumping, dressage in particular requires the horse to be completely calm and collected in order to perform the intricate, delicate moves required of a world level dressage test. However, Emily kept her cool and coaxed Vallon into a reasonably good performance, considering the extreme circumstances.

She later told us that her horse was rigid throughout the test and consequently could not perform to the best of his ability - though from the Grandstands the two looked wonderful to us, the Antiguan contingent!

Now we can look forward to an improved performance in the future when Vallon has had more experience of these huge crowds watching the noble sport of Dressage. It is a favorite spectator sport of the knowledgeable European and American public.

The Games had a splendid Opening Ceremony, which was televised worldwide, for the 61 Nations which were participating in the Games. The Antiguan and Barbudan contingent of six were second to enter the Arena. Emily proudly carried the Antiguan flag, which was displayed in the Stadium, in the streets of Aachen, and also painted into the center of a “world” which formed part of one of the Show Jumps.

She gained tremendous exposure and awareness for our twin-island state, and due to being the very first to represent Antigua & Barbuda in such a specialized equestrian field and at this elevated world level, Emily was much photographed and shown in many magazines and newspapers which were covering the Games worldwide.

Emily’s talent has been rewarded since she is among the athletes that have received an Olympic Scholarship giving her the means to train in order to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Story provided by Norma Prudhon,Secretary General of the Antigua & Barbuda Horse Society