WEG Wraps Up; Leaves Good Memories

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2010) - Many University of Kentucky faculty, staff and students have had hands-on duties at the  2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, including several with the College of Agriculture  who actually assisted with  competitions including dressage, paradressage, eventing, and endurance.
 

Lori Garkovich, professor in the UK Department of Community and Leadership Development, kept busy at the games as a scorer at the eventing and paradressage events. Garkovich has kept score previously for the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and regional competitions for the Kentucky Dressage Association, Central Kentucky Riding for Hope and others.
 

Her duties have varied depending on the phase of competition, but Garkovich said essentially she compiles information from judges and helps assign penalties when necessary and calculate final scores for the athletes and the announcer. She works with other scorers to ensure no human or calculation errors affect the final result.
 

“These things are well documented, and there are multiple levels of confirmation to try and avoid a mix-up at the end,” Garkovich said.
 

Scoring can sometimes be a stressful job, especially in the cross-country portion of eventing where results come in individually per-jump for each of the multiple riders on the course at once.
 

Garkovich said she enjoys the opportunity to watch each test and course up close, and the camaraderie among scorers makes the experience fun.
 

“You come together for this absolutely awesome event, you get together to catch up and get the chance to enjoy some fabulous riding, then you go your separate ways,” she said.
 

For her, the choice of which events to volunteer for was simple.
 

“I love dressage — the beauty and clarity of it. I probably never would have competed, if it weren’t for dressage,” said Garkovich, a former rider herself.
 

Jill Stowe, assistant professor in the UK Department of Agricultural Economics, shares Garkovich’s fascination with the discipline. She volunteered as a runner for the main dressage competition.
 

“I love the harmony between the horse and rider. When performed at the highest levels, the horses perform difficult movements, and yet it appears that the rider is doing nothing at all,” said Stowe, who used to practice the discipline.
 

Elizabeth LaBonty, lecturer and internship coordinator for the UK Equine Initiative, also participated in the games as an assistant to the presidential secretary during the endurance competition. She was responsible for compiling each competitor’s timesheets and monitoring their global positioning satellite trackers.
 

Kristen Harvey, extension associate for equine activities, served as a scribe for the paradressage competition, recording the judges’ comments for riders to read after the show.

University of Kentucky students have also done their part to help make the games run smoothly.  That includes 26 UK equine science and management program undergraduate students. Most are staffing the Equine Village, which is an epicenter at the games for horse supply vendors, organizations and live demonstrations. Like the competition venues, the village needs a lot of hard-working volunteers to keep it running. One of them is Courtney Zimmerman who is working as a barn steward.

“The World Equestrian Games are a once-in–a-lifetime experience where there is a vast amount of opportunities available,” Zimmerman said. “I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities of meeting new people from all over the world and observing the various equine disciplines. Also as an equine science major, it just kind of seemed like a given to become involved.”

In addition, Zimmerman participated in the games’ opening ceremonies, serving at a checkpoint along the path between the athlete warm-up area and the main arena.
 
A few students were chosen to help with large-scale competition events, such as the endurance test. Amy DuKate, a junior in the equine science and management program, helped maintain barriers for team members. DuKate has ridden horses most of her life and has competed in eventing.

“I wanted to see what was new in the horse world… and I definitely learned a lot,” DuKate said. “I have been telling people that I met the world.”
 
DuKate said she saw competitors up close as she maintained the perimeter for horses and riders taking water breaks during the event; she ensured no unauthorized people entered and team members did not leave the appointed area.

The Games end Sunday, Oct. 10.