I heard they were out of the running. Anyone know what happened?
Here is a link to an article that explains what happened:
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/26/1451758/us-eliminated-from-medal-contention.html
The two American riders who were in medal contention did not pass a required vet check. One trotted out lame and the other did not get his heart rate lowered in time (required rate was 64 and horse was at 68). According to the article, both horses are fine and perky - they were just not allowed to continue.
SCM1959
A third US rider, Meg Sleeper, is being reported as eliminated at Vet Gate 4. 
Thanks.
OH NO! I was really hoping Meg Sleeper would have a great ride. I got to meet her when I took my horse to be examined by her at Mid Atlantic Equine Clinic. She is an equine cardiologist and a very, very nice person. Sorry to hear she didn’t pass the vet check.
What a shame.
And I just read Becky Hart’s article in the Chronicle’s WEG Preview issue, so I was excited for them. She felt like the team had a shot.
The good news: US rider Heather Reynolds on Ssamiam is in SECOND as they begin last loop. She’s behind leader by 2 mins.!
UNOFFICIAL repeat UNOFFICIAL indiv result (I think they still have to pass vet check):
Maria 1st, Sheik Mo 2nd, Sheik Majid 3rd, Heather beat Jean Phillipe Francois in racing finish for 4th.
I’m guessing that means United Arab Emirates takes the team gold…???
Go Heather! Good job! Proud of you!
Your fellow Region West riders 
Awwww no - looks like Ssamiam (Heather’s horse) may have not passed vet. I’ll post if I hear more.
Whaaaat? Please post news ASAP, desperate for updates… Tweets on endurance.net stopped again, arrrgh.
Oh no, I think it’s official: Heather’s horse, Ssamiam, got pulled at the last vet check, after she rode 100 miles… So upsetting… This means Endurance Team USA really fell apart
Thinking of you all, hope your horses recover quickly!
That’s just so sad. Hope all horses recover well!
Team Results Endurance - 160km
1 - United Arab Emirates
2 - France
3 - Germany
Really bad luck for the US team. None of the horses “completed”?
Except for alternate DJB Juniper/Deb Reich? I cannot find where they placed.
FWIW found this blog:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/index.asp
That must have been a more difficult trail than anyone anticipated?
Did other teams have a lot of pulls?
Hope all horses/riders ok.
Deb Reich came in 18th. Congrats, Top 20 is awesome!
Partial results (the first 30) are now up at Endurance.net:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2010WEC/
Yeah! Tks for the info! I have to think that Juniper was bred in Texas.
And if owned previously by Darolyn Butler trained just up the creek from me.
I would love more info on the little (?) superhorse Nobby. His pedigree is Russian. Wonder where she found him etc. From my reading (COTH mag) etc he must be the best endurance horse in Europe? Would it be stretch to say that Heraldic is the best endurance horse in the US? If Heraldic had raced that would have made things very interesting and if possible even more exciting.
Just my thoughts - I don’t even have a loop to be out of.
I cannot imagine doing 100 miles.
Yes, according to AERC records, Juniper was ridden by Darolyn Butler until last season. Don’t know about ownership.
And yes, Nobby is really special. The pace they were going at was just amazing (av. 13 miles per hour!), and he still had these super quick recoveries. Maria’s previous world championship win with him, and all the other wins, mean that Nobby is probably the best in the world right now, not just in Europe.
Check this out: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100926/WEG/309260087/1002/sports/Alvarez+Ponton++Nobby+have+fastest+100+miles+at+World+Equestrian+Games
I would have loved to see Heraldic compete with him! That’s a special horse, too!
I got home late last night from volunteering at the Endurance Championship. It was an amazing experience. I worked both shifts of the race (6:30 am until I called it quits at 9:00 pm - still had a long drive home) and had several jobs through the course of the day. My main job was as a timing assistant in the pulse down area. I was giving the riders and horses their pulse down times, which was when the clock stopped and their mandatory holds started. I was fortunate to be in the booth where the UAE and Americans came through, as well as the winner from Spain. It got pretty exciting at times, with the horses coming through together. It was really an amazing day, and I got to be in the thick of the action and see the horses and talk to the riders and grooms.
I am glad to hear Monk will be OK, as they were cooling him near me and I watched their concern for him. I saw Jan come through and then her horse was pulled for lameness. I felt so bad for both competitors and their horses. The competitors were amazing, and the race was amazing. It was a privilege to work there and work with all the competitors and other volunteers.
Only one thing marred the day. After the frontrunners had come in, many in the press became unruly and flooded the timer gates and vet area. They trespassed and got in the way of competitors trying to pulse down and come through the pulse down gates into the vet area. They showed very little regard for competitors other than the very top finishers. Even competitors trying to complete in the top 10 were blocked by the press mob from reaching the appropriate areas. The volunteers (me included) and stewards had to get quite vocal and a bit nasty in order to make way for the horses. Those mobs could not have helped their pulses!
In my opinion, there should have been a “winners circle” where the top finishers were immediately taken in order to keep the press out of the vital horse areas.
