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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Olympic News - From Gil Merrick in Aachen - Managing Director USA Dressage Sport Programs

Things are heating up for the US Dressage Team, and their departure for Hong Kong, July 30. Unfortunatley at Aachen, Germany quarantine headquarters, it is cool and rainy, definitely not the conditions our riders will face at the Olympics.Gil Merrick is on the scene sending more news and photos for our readers. MPH

Hi Mary – greetings from Aachen!  The US Dressage Team has been  here since July 11th  and 12 days later we are finally settled in and adjusting to our routine of daily training.  Although it might be to our advantage in preparing for the Olympic Games if the weather were hot and humid like it will be in Hong Kong, it has been rather cold (around 55 degrees) and rainy so the horses are quite fresh but not really experiencing the conditions they will endure in Hong Kong. 

However Dr. Mitchell, the Olympic Dressage Team veterinarian, has advised all of the riders to continue working their horses to the point where they break a sweat at least twice a day in preparation for the weather conditions they will experience in Hong Kong.  So all of our horses are now working twice a day. 

Training Under the Lights