I am actually a competitor(dressage) and spectator at TIEC often. The barns and arenas are some of the best in the world- yes- I have been at several International venues and even worked the Olympics. There are dedicated shade areas with misting fans at the entrance to every outdoor arena. They have been in place since the first show held here. There are about 1,200 permanent stalls on site, all with permanent fans and water every 4 stalls with wash racks and manure pits in safe and convenient locations, so ample safe stabling. Permanent restrooms with air conditioning are located at every barn.
The endurance venue went right by three sides of my farm, everything was done for weeks ahead of time to make the trails safe and clearly marked. Endurance riders trained for more than a week riding past. I know- I was there.
As far as the horrible events of the the endurance- look to the FEI and the ground jury, they are the only people who can make any decisions concerning an event that involves restarts and cancellation.
As to the weather, no one could have predicted such heat( I lived here for 21 years and never had we had this much heat and humidity at the same time in September- one or the other, not both) or the hurricane. The humidity of endurance day was due in large part to the stalling of a front from the midwest hitting the advancing hurricane.
As for scheduling- again- look to the FEI for that, they have complete control over the actual times of day events are run, not the organizers. Organizers can change things up to a point, but have to get approval from the FEI. As to start times- I asked about that today- they had to start at the times the FEI gave them for FEI TV for European viewers ( that is why Bejing was later in the day- to accommodate the European time frames)- they had no choice. NBC was not the culprit, nor were the organizers at TIEC.
As to the condition of the venue, there are back stories involving the FEI making changes early in the year that put TIEC in a no win situation. With the rains we had this year- 29 inches in 21 days- a historic high just in the month of July and even more in August, there was no way the concrete could dry in time to continue construction and be safe. This venue had only 18 months to get ready. This was a new venue that had a lot of growing to do and not enough time to do it. Stop complaining about the mess and be thankful that WEG 2018 was even held. Perhaps it would have been best (for the spectators) that it would have been cancelled and held in 2022 when TIEC would have had the time to be ready.–Again- look to the FEI for this. The test events were held under the in person eyes of the FEI- if any of them had not been run up to the standards set by the FEI, TIEC would not have gotten the go ahead.
There were last minute changes that the organizers were forced to make due to weather and also the USDA changing rules and regulations for the horses and the venues both onsite and off. The endurance route was changed just two weeks before the start of WEG as the USDA came in and demanded a wider trail than some areas could handle. This was due to piroplasmosis concerns that were not given to the organizers until the last few days of August. The trails had to be over 50 feet wide and the grass, leaves, etc had to be cut down to the bare ground to prevent ticks.
As a spectator for all two weeks, yes the first few days were unorganized and confusing. Volunteers were somewhat overwhelmed and gave incorrect information out. Yes, the VIP elevator did not even work the first day- and my husband and I are handicapped and would not have returned if TIEC had not fixed it. The staff at TIEC worked tirelessly to help us out. I know again personally that some of the staff were up and on their computers at 5:00 AM and still were there at 3:00 AM. I know the volunteers at the main arenas had a tent for food and drink, but I can’t speak for the indoor venue. I know the judges had to eat in a tent one day with rainwater over their shoes. I had a scribe stay with me in my home because the organizers did not provide housing for them. I was on a list for week two competitors for housing due to a local inn burning down the first week. The second week was a far cry better than the first. Staff had a steep learning curve. Parking and shuttles became more reliable, food was in good supply and paper fans were handed out for free by some vendors. Some vendors pulled out early due to the low sales, some made a huge profit.
Nothing in life is perfect, but give TIEC credit for doing the very best they could in a very tough situation.
