Traveling the Equestrian Road: The 2011 Pan American Games Adventure
From MacMillan Photography & Media Services, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 260-468-2392 (Blogs and photos by Kim & Allen MacMillan, Deanna Kochensparger & Sarah Miller)
Day Six
Dressage: Intermediaire II Freestyle
Kim’s Blog: Well, it was back to work today and it was very exciting to watch the Intermediaire II freestyle competition which was the individual finals for the dressage competition. The top 15 riders from Monday returned to add their I-2 score from today to that of their I-1 from two days ago to determine the individual medals. All four Americans were in the top six on Monday, but there is a Pan Am Game rule that only three riders from one country can advance to the individual finals, so Cesar Parra and Grandioso who finished sixth on Monday did not get to go today. Dr. Parra, who is Colombian by birth, is on his first U.S. team.
Again, the quality of the freestyle rides was wonderful and by the final group scores into the high 80s were awarded both to Heather Blitz and Paragon (86.650%) and Steffen Peters and Weltino’s Magic (87.300%). Marisa Festerling and Big Tyme also wowed the judges and scored 80.775%. She and Blitz are both newcomers to riding for Team U.S.A.
Peters talked about the pressure in the press conference after, “What an amazing day and an amazing competition. I still have to think about the moment that I came out of the arena and when the scores were announced it probably took 30 seconds, but it seemed like three hours. It is a very exciting day; congratulations to my teammates. The big score that Heather pulled in – I don’t think I’ve ever had that much pressure going into the arena knowing that there was an 86 percent in front of me.”
A very interesting guy named Pedro is the official ringmaster (paddock master or ring steward) for the equestrian sports here. Shannon Brinkman says that he is a regular at international competitions and he is very good at controlling the situation and keeping things moving on time and safely. He is multi-lingual and also very, very funny. He wears a red shadbelly coat and white leather top hat when he leads the riders to the awards ceremonies and the press conferences. He controls everything in the ring from the inspection jogs to the competitions to the awards to the press conferences and he seems to know everyone on all of the teams and all of the Chefs and officials.
Dinner was leftovers at our apartment tonight as we struggled to get the e-mail to work to send things off to our editors – very frustrating. Our hotel is full of media (print, web and broadcast) and everyone is trying to upload things.
But, it doesn’t get much better than today – sunny and high 70s, FEI-level freestyles to enjoy and three medals for U.S. riders!
Day Five
Swimming, Gymnastics, Tennis & Shopping
Kim’s Blog: Allen left bright and early to check in at the Nikon NPS (Nikon Professional Services) booth again and then he was off for a day of photographing other sports. Our new friend Juan took Dee, Sarah and I in his taxi for the day to the smaller towns of Tonalá and Tlaquepaque for shopping for Mexican-made arts and crafts.
The two towns are south of Guadalajara by about half an hour. We had a great time shopping and met some wonderful artisans, including Daniel Bernabe, who is a fourth-generation potter in Tonalá. He and his father and six brothers produce amazing pottery, some with their special petatillo painting design. I splurged and purchased a small petatillo bowl with a horse design from their shop.
After visiting Tonalá first, Juan took us to Tlaquepaque and suggested several places for lunch. We ate at Casa Fuerte and the food was fabulous. We shared a cactus leaf (nopales) salad and I had my favorite – molé sauce. Dee will elaborate more on our trip and Allen will share more about his day, which included being interviewed on television by the local Channel 4.
Dee's Blog: Today was our free day – no competition at the horse venue. We were excited to go explore some of Mexico. Kim, Sarah and I headed out for Tonalá and Tlaquepaque, two towns famous for the artisan crafts. The morning did not go well, issues with credit card company and exchanging money – the hotel ran out of funds, so we had to find a bank, then we didn’t know we needed our passports to exchange money, so we had to go back to the hotel to get our passports and then to the bank a second time. We, or Kim rather, almost decided not to go, but we prevailed and set out.
We had hired a taxi driver that Kim and Allen had met earlier who spoke very good English. Juan was a Godsend – he was our personal tour guide, recommended shops, food and places to see. He was also very patient with us (you know - women shopping!). Allen had decided to take advantage of his EP photographer’s credentials (allows access to all of the sports, not just equestrian) and go to as many other venues as he could, so he did not need to put up with our shopping.
We stopped at a glass shop/factory, we were able to watch them through the window making the glassware that they would then bring out into their showroom. It was very hot in the work area. I do not know how they could stand those working conditions. We all bought some glassware – a beautiful purple pitcher and turtle dish for Sarah, blue etched glasses for Kim, and clear with caramel-striped base glasses for me. They all were very inexpensive.
One of our next stops was a small pottery shop where the owner was also working on more pottery in the back, she was very nice. Again, we all walked away with something (and we hadn't even gotten to Tonalá proper yet). I came out with a “portanumeros”, or set of painted tile house numbers in a frame, Kim with a green and white painted pottery vanity set for the bano (bathroom) and Sarah purchased a beautiful square serving dish with a blue peacock feather design and matching salt and pepper shakers. Sarah took a picture of Nancy, the owner of the shop and painter of the pottery designs, and her young daughter Andrea. Nancy was very shy about her picture being taken with dried clay all over her hands, but conceded to let us with much encouragement – she was still beautiful.
In the town of Tonalá we came across a beautiful pottery shop with such intricate designs and we ventured in. We were offered a tour – well of course, we would love a tour! We were thrilled to have a private chance to see how they made such wonderful pottery. Our guide was one of the owners of the shop, Daniel Bernabe, who spoke some English and between us all could understand one another fairly well. The Galleria Bernabe is a fourth-generation family business that is on its way to becoming five generations with Daniel's son just beginning. Daniel has six brothers whom each have a part in the making of each piece. Their father is also still active in the process and his sister manned the front desk and took the money.
Each piece begins with the shape (being thrown on a potter’s wheel) – plate, bowl, pitcher or cup. Once molded the piece needs to dry in the shade for seven days, then the sun for two days. One brother then starts the painting in black, the next in white, very small intricate designs from their own imagination, some lines, crosshatch, or swirls. Then another brother paints with other colors depicting scenes or animals. They have a patent on this particular way of painting pottery called petatillo. The Bernabe family is renowned for their work, appearing in many articles in newspapers, magazines, even school art books. We took pictures (Sarah did) and enjoyed every minute. You could feel Daniel's pride in his work, his family and his heritage. Kim honored our visit and tour by buying a beautiful small bowl, with intricate designs and flowers and what else, but a small horse, how perfect.
We then we drove to Tlaquepaque and ate a late lunch at Casa Fuerte which Juan recommended. It was very nice, enclosed by walls, yet open roof with large umbrellas over all the tables. We tried a cactus leaf salad, the cactus was served hot over salad greens and it tasted a lot like green beans. Sarah had a yellow pepper soup which was surprisingly good. Kim had her favorite, cheese enchiladas with molé sauce, which she enjoyed very much. I fell back on an old stand-by, chicken fajitas, which was tasty. We brought some back to the hotel for Allen. Sarah had horchata to drink, which is a mixture of an almond or rice drink with spices. We all left full.
Before we left town we walked through the town square. There was a gathering for a concert, perhaps to do with the Fiesta de Americanas (like Octoberfest). As we left the city the traffic was very busy. The things you hear about driving in Mexico are absolutely true. We did have some confidence in our driver, but the other drivers on the road, well…. having lived in the Dominican Republic for over five years I was somewhat used to it, as much as one can get used to it. Ahh! Ooh! Cringe! Phew!
Well, back to work on tomorrow – and more fun to come!
Allen’s Blog: This is how to relax on your “down” day... Up at 6 a.m., eat breakfast, grab 2 Mexican granola bars (made by the Bimbo Company – pronounced “beembo”, one of the sponsors of the Games) and bottled water. Put on the special ID and photo vest that makes it look like you know what you are doing. Grab a taxi to Expo Guadalajara (where the Main Press Center is and where all of the buses leave from to go to the sports venues). Yes, you can walk the mile, but my back pack and camera equipment case together totals at least 65 lbs. I know the Marines do it every morning, but they might take a taxi too if you offered it to them.
I checked in with the Nikon NPS booth at the Main Expo Center, (where I borrowed a fisheye lens for the new venue experiences) and then hit the Main Press Center (MPC) to get four-page list of every competition at every venue and the start and duration times and to get new press WIFI access code for the day. This helped to plan out a day of venue hopping and shuttle hopping.
Figuring out what will work for your day plan involves coordinating the sponsored venue name list with (the sponsors of the games had their names applied to the various sports venues as a perk) with the “real” names for the venue buildings that the locals use and with the three-letter shuttle codes (there are 29 of them) that are usually on the windshields of the Pan Am buses. You have to check out the posted shuttle schedule, allow for 50% error and plan out the day. It’s also wise to stick the city bus schedule in your vest pocket and check the supply of peso’s (taco for lunch & emergency cab money).
I chose an aggressive sweep of three venues. Each required a shuttle trip back to Expo Central Bus Stop for the next shuttle (30 to 40 minutes each way). They only leave on the hour, so missing it seriously hampers the possibilities.
My plan was two hours of swimming heats in the huge and beautiful natatorium. Easy to translate because “natacion” is the sport in Spanish. I got a great seat on the five-meter line in the first row above the timers and referees. There are sure a lot of referees in swimming, as well as tons of volunteers ushering athletes and judges and crowds, and yes, “prensa” (press) at this venue.
Next, “tenis” (no, not a misspelling – it is Spanish for tennis). It was next door and the courts looked pretty new. Several rows of elevated courts back to back with a common access strip. Then, of course, the main court, which is taller and bigger. I went to center court first (of course) and somehow I ended up in the TV broadcast booth. That is where the Games security people in the red shirts pointed me, so who was I to complain that I had to be in the shaded press box. The sun is intense. We are 5000 feet up and this far south means add more sunscreen. I walked in smiled back at the people in the room, took out a few cameras and looked around for a good place to stand. “Good” means out of the way of the television crews –they get first dibs. Good also means good sun angle and good photo position selection. Both were available at the same time. It was a really friendly group and everyone worked around each other to get what they needed. I watched a set and then went on to the outer courts.
The sun direction limited my court selection due to photography position choices. You really shouldn’t have the sun right into your camera lens. The sun intensity was fierce so I took a cue from those that already had white hand towels draped over their heads. Although I probably looked a little stranger, because I had a big black tube (the camera) sticking out from under the towel.
The outer courts were smaller. That means a lot less space outside the painted court lines. This is pretty high level tennis so several balls were hit hard enough to bounce in court then bounce out of the court area out of play. I had a spot in the seats in line with the outside edge of the Add court. A nice view that lets me get some good angles. I only had one problem and that was with a tall guy from Uruguay. He had a killer serve. I know, I caught one of his aces that bounced out of the court. So, I actually held a tennis ball that was used in the Pan Am Games, but I had to give it back.
I spent some time at four of the outer courts then left for the shuttle stop to make the afternoon venues next. Well, I must have looked like a tourist because Cynthia, the anchor woman from the local Channel 4 Guadalajara news stopped me and asked for an interview. She said it might be on the 3 p.m. or 9 p.m. edition. (Yep, I made it back to the hotel in time to see my sunburned mug smiling on Mexican TV at 9 p.m.) You can’t top that so it was on to Gymnastics.
It was 1:30 p.m. by this time and the granola bar from breakfast had run out. I walked down the road and stopped at the third place I passed – Expo Taco, a permanent open-air store-front diner. Did I make that sound like a nice little Italian Bistro on the sidewalk? Well, not quite. Quesadilla with salsas from the self serve bar and a grusa to drink – no, not alcoholic. If your breath even smells like alcohol you lose your media credentials. Grusa was tonic water flavored with lime and I am pretty sure a generous helping of salt. Maybe some tequila would have helped. Interesting and I will probably never have another.
Back to Expo for the shuttle bus and a new venue...I probably should have anticipated a glitch when the transportation chief pulled out a map and showed the driver where to take us. There were a lot of nods and “sí, sí, sí”. Have you heard about driving in Mexico? The Peace Corps volunteer from the U.S.A. that we met yesterday (Barbara Dye, who was a translator at the equestrian venue) said none of the Peace Corps volunteers are allowed to drive here either. Anyway, we were in this full-size, over-the-road-tour coach and when the driver realized we missed a turn we did a three-point turn in the middle of the four-lane highway. No one beeped, they just squeezed around as soon as there was enough room to clear the thick coat of new paint that was on the bus – at least I think they cleared the paint. I was sitting right behind the driver and I can say he is good at using his mirrors! Since the bus driver was good at backing up he decided to do it again six minutes later. Yep, another three-point turn in the middle of the six-lane highway this time.
I’ve got to jump to the trip back to Expo at the end of the day for a second. This driver was the smoothest maniac I have ever seen. We made the 35-minute trip in 14 minutes (he was 30 minutes behind schedule and wanted to make it up). How did he do this you might ask? Well, two-lane roads turned into three when it suited the position he needed. Merging traffic meant find a way to get away from this bus because “he” was bigger and that concrete curb is coming up fast for you. I had paid attention the route coming out so I had an idea of one of the left turns we needed to make. Picture a four-lane highway, with signal lights everywhere going under an underpass (under the expressway) and needing to get to the left to turn onto an on ramp. Green light, but lots of oncoming traffic so most cars were waiting to turn. Well waiting means you get nowhere. We pulled out of the left lane 12 cars back from the turn position, bullied over to the far right lane, passed the 12 cars that were waiting to turn left, went around them and turned left in front of them, or most of them, two kept going and for a while the on-ramp was two lanes instead of just one.
But, the bus driver was not mean about this. In fact later we were 10 cars back in a dual lane that was squeezing down to one. Now squeezing means the concrete sides of the road collapse in on you. There is no shoulder. Well, a minivan got stuck in the left lane at the final squeeze point and came to a complete stop. I think that is against the law in Mexico. I have heard that an accelerator, horn and steering wheel are all standard equipment, but brakes are optional. The bus driver saw that they guy was stuck and everyone else just blew by them on the right. We stopped, flashed the lights and the person tried to pull out, but they stalled half way – probably a mix of nerves having gotten stuck and driving a stick shift. (By the way all cars in Mexico seem to be stick shifts.)
OK, so back to the gymnastic venue. I photographed the women’s rhythmic gymnastics finals. They were amazing. You can really appreciate the athleticism in person and the artistry really shows up when you are only 20 feet away.
Next was the trampoline. Both women’s and then men’s. This is not you backyard bounce bag. In fact, if you do this in your yard your insurance company will drop you in five seconds. They flew four to five times their body height. That is about three stories. Go stand on top of your chimney and jump off. It can really mess you up. It did mess up the one men’s finalists that managed to miss the padding when he went majorly off line. There is padding everywhere around the trampoline and several people used it. This guy’s flips managed to rotate him slightly under the outside of the first row of pads and he landed on the edge with his right foot going into the undercarriage of the apparatus. Definitely not fun. Most everyone else did very well.
Gymnastics was going on into the night but I had to get back. I went to the shuttle stop behind the police barricades so I was in time for the on-the-hour-departure schedule. Well you may remember that I mentioned 50% error possibilities. This one was 45% off, but this was the driver that made up for some of the lateness as I mentioned above. Got back to Expo central. I was undecided about stopping for dinner or eating leftovers in the fridge so I started walking back and somewhere in there I decided on leftovers, so I walked back to the hotel (yes, I walked over a mile with all my gear). It was also a personal challenge to have a taxi-free day. I will just say that some challenges should be forfeited.
More soon….
Day Four
Dressage Competition Heats Up!
Kim’s Blog: Back at the Guadalajara Country Club at 10 a.m. for the individual first round at I-1. The top 25 horses and riders advanced to this round. We saw many great tests today and at the end of the day Heather and Paragon were hot on the heels of Steffen and Magic, with Marisa and Big Tyme, Canada’s Tom Dvorak and Vivia’s Salieri W and Mexico’s Bernadette Pujals and Rolex IUSA in the hunt as well. Wednesday’s individual finals in the I-2 freestyle should be exciting!
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Breakfasts at our hotel have been an interesting mix of American breakfast foods and Latin American breakfast foods: cereals, toast, waffles, some days sweet rolls, fresh fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, papaya, apples, pears and bananas), yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, eggs (with ham or chorizo sausage or peas mixed in depending on the day), refried beans, one day hashed brown potatoes with peppers mixed in, a soft Mexican white cheese and a crumbled dry Mexican white cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, juices (orange, pineapple, guayaba or guava in English), milk, coffee, tea (mostly herbal teas with a weak type of black tea available). Lunches so far (other than Saturday’s trip to Tacos El Paso) have either consisted of whatever we could scrounge from our hotel breakfast bar to wrap up to take with us to the competition venue or whatever we could find at the Seven Eleven down the street from the GCC.
The Mexican people have been very nice and are trying to accommodate us as best they can. I think most Americans perceive Mexico to be behind the U.S. in many ways, but we have not found that to be true for the most part. We encourage more people to consider visiting Mexico and Guadalajara. We’ve made friends with a valet at our hotel named Jose Luis and a cab driver named Juan, an older gentleman who lived in Oregon as a boy, but was born in and lived most of his life in Guadalajara – both of them speak English very well. Juan has been driving a taxi in Guadalajara for 40+ years!
Dinner tonight was at a family restaurant (about on the order of Big Boy or Denny’s) in the Plaza del Sol mall where they had a buffet with an interesting mix of salad bar, desserts and entrees from Italy and Mexico. The food wasn’t great, but our waitress was wonderful and we could see a television broadcasting the Games within sight of our table.
Tomorrow is a day off from equestrian competition. Allen is going to photograph other sports and Dee, Sarah and I are going to go shopping in the artisan towns of Tonala’ and Tlaquepaque.
Day Three
Team USA Wins Gold in Team Dressage
Kim’s Blog: The first day of dressage competition – yeah! A full day of dressage competition at the GCC ran from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. followed by awards and a press conference. Forty-seven riders from 14 countries (with 12 countries fielding teams and one individual each from Honduras and the Cayman Islands) competed in dressage and the consistency and competitiveness was way up from previous Pan Am Games. The riders were well prepared and polished and the quality of the horses really wonderful. Most were warmbloods or Spanish-bred horses (Andalusians, Lusitanos or PRE).
The competition level for dressage at the Pan Am Games was at Prix St. Georges for the team test today and at Intermediaire I for the individual qualifier on Monday and Intermediaire II (freestyle) for the individual finals on Wednesday. The crowd today was medium-smallish and there is plenty of room for more spectators.
The U.S.A. sent a very good team: Heather Blitz, 43, Wellington, FL, riding Paragon, her 2003 Danish Warmblood gelding; Marisa Festerling, 35, Moorpark, CA, riding her Big Tyme, a 2001 Belgian Warmblood gelding; Dr. Cesar Parra riding, 48, White House Station, NJ, a 2001 Westphalian gelding owned by Michael and Sarah Davis, and Steffen Peters, 47, San Diego, CA, riding Weltino’s Magic, a 2002 Westphalian gelding owned by Jen Hlavacek . All four horses are really lovely and I think we will see more great things from them in the future.
Day Three Photo Gallery: Dressage
Click for captions and larger images.
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The other countries fielded great teams, but in the end it was gold for Team U.S.A., silver for Team Canada (Roberta Bing-Morris riding Reiki Thyme, Tom Dvorak riding Viva’s Salieri W, Tina Irwin riding Winston, Crystal Kroetch riding Lymrix) and bronze for Team Columbia (Marco Bernal riding Farewell, Constanza Jaramillo riding Wakana, Juan Maurico Sanchez riding First Fisherman) with Team Mexico (Maria Ines Garcia riding Beckam, Bernadette Pujals riding Rolex IUSA, Antonio Rivera riding Naval, Marcus Santiago Ortiz riding Sjoery Bantha, Omar Zayrik riding Lord) a very close fourth. Both the Canadian and Colombian teams had needed to finish in the medals to qualify for next year’s 2012 London Olympics, so they were happy with the results.
I’m very sorry to report that there is not, as far as I know, any major U.S. television coverage of the Pan Am Games. Here in Mexico the coverage is everywhere on several stations including a live feed on one station. I would encourage you to let your major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and ESPN) know if you are unhappy with this omission. I did see some mention of ESPN2 carrying the Games, but I do not know if that is only in Mexico or if it is also in the U.S. To follow Team U.S.A. throughout the Pan Am Games on the internet go to www.usefnetwork.com or www.usef.org or www.TeamUSA.org or www.guadalajara2011.org.mx . You can also find news on Facebook.com/USOlympicTeam.
After the competition of dressage for the day, we took the long bus ride back to the Expo Center, then a cab back to the hotel where we left Allen to download camera memory chips while we dashed over to get a late dinner of take-out Chinese at Mr. Lucky’s (recommended by Jose Luis, the valet at our hotel). Sarah and I really got sunburned today – with our red haired complexion and the high altitude (where the atmosphere is thinner) we were toast even with sun block – our photo spots were in the sun most of the day. Aloe is our friend! To bed at 1.am. with a start time for tomorrow’s first individual test of 10 a.m. – we can sleep in a little bit, although we still have to be at the Nikon NPS booth to pick up equipment at 7:30 a.m.
Day Two
Learning the Ropes & the Dressage Jog
Kim’s Blog: Morning came a bit too early after the marathon travel and check-in day yesterday. The four of us had 7 hours total of sleep between us the night before we left on the plane on Friday, so we are dragging a bit, but also jazzed to be here! Allen and I caught a taxi at 8:45 a.m. in front of our hotel to the Guadalajara Country Club (GCC - the site for dressage and show jumping competitions) to photograph the dressage jog and scout the place. We left Sarah and Dee behind to catch up on sleep and walk around the Plaza del Sol, the big mall adjacent to our hotel. We planned to meet later for lunch.
This is Sarah’s first trip outside the U.S., but Dee lived and worked in the Dominican Republic for five and a half years, so her Spanish is pretty good. Sarah and Allen had high school Spanish, so theirs is passable, but all I can think of beyond” hola” (hello), gracias (thank you)and “los siento” (I’m sorry) is German (I studied it in high school and college and as we breed warmbloods, I’ve had a number of trips to Germany). I keep wanting to ask, “Wo ist el bano?” which combines the two, as if I don’t get enough confused stares when I try to speak Spanish! Arghh!
The Country Club grounds are very pretty with many palm trees and the footing seems to be nice – a combination of sand and wood chips. The arena is bordered by two sides (south and west) with VIP seating in covered areas, with tables and chairs for serving refreshments, and with general admission grandstands on the other two, some covered, some not. The media seating in the grandstands on the east end of the arena and our stands are elevated and covered and we have power and tables so we can type and watch (but we cannot not take photos from there). The photography pen at arena level is currently in the wrong place for the light for most of the day, but Anthony Trollipe (the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists photographer’s rep) is going to ask them about moving it for tomorrow.
Our media center is in a sunken tennis court with a tent over the top, so it feels a bit like a cave walking down into it, but the volunteers are very nice and there are desks with power lines being strung yet today (hopefully) and they are providing us with bottled water. We met our equestrian venue media chief Eduardo Tame, a very nice, capable man who also works for the FEM, the Mexican Equestrian Federation, and the photography chief, a very nice young man named Aaron Rodriguez, himself University of Guadalajara photography school graduate and free-lance photographer.
All of the horses from all countries passed inspection and tomorrow they begin with their team competition (with some individuals also competing from countries who could not send enough riders for a team – the scores from the team competition serve to figure out the top 25, who will go on to the individual competition on Sunday at Intermediaire I). The American horses, really all the horses, were full of themselves and looked ready to go!
Day Two Photo Gallery: The Jog
Click for captions and larger images.
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We had lunch at Tacos El Paso across the road from our hotel. The proprietors greeted us on the sidewalk and told us that they had good food. Allen and Sarah had a torta, a sub sandwich “drowned” in a red sauce, a local specialty. Dee had carnitas (chopped roast pork served with tortillas) and I had a homemade corn tortilla with the Mexican white cheese. As promised, it was all very good.
In the afternoon Sarah, Allen and I caught the media bus for a very long ride from the Guadalajara Expo Center (where the main press center is) to the Hipica Club (a riding club and the site for the eventing dressage and stadium jumping next weekend), which is out past Zapopan north of the city, to cover the women’s pentathlon (fencing, swimming, riding and a combined running and shooting phase) which was won by a girl from the U.S.A. We also saw the men practicing with their horses for their pentathlon competition the next day and some eventers who arrived early and we spoke with a man from Columbia to ask him about his horse which was an Columbian warmblood stallion born on his farm. The rider was probably late 50’s – early 60’s and was very, very proud of his horse! I was struck by the quality of the horses we saw. The pentathlon riders take their riding as seriously as our other equestrian athletes. We also watched the combined shooting and running phase where the competitors run a course stopping at intervals to shoot a pistol at a target. I’d never seen the sport in person before and it was interesting. The Pan Am mascots Huichi (a doe in a native Indian design), Gave (representing the blue agave plant that tequila is made from which is indigenous the area) and Leo (representing the lion on the flag of Mexico) made an appearance at Hipica and were a hit with the crowd, especially the kids.
Day Two Photo Gallery: Guadalajara Impressions
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Our bus was broken down in the parking lot when we were ready to leave Club Hipica, so we followed a very helpful volunteer (Laribel from Venezuela now studying medicine in Guadalajara) onto another Pan Am bus bound for the Zapopan center bus station and from there caught another city bus into Guadalajara, but from there finally gave up waiting for our third bus and hailed a taxi to get the rest of the way back to our hotel.
We met up with Dee and the four of us went for an evening meal at Karne Garibaldi, where they bring you a large plate of refried beans mixed with corn, tortillas, whole grilled green onions, hot red sauce, guacamole, chopped white onions and fresh cilantro to share even before they take your order. Their specialty is carne asada – meat in its own juice. We also shared flan and another local specialty dessert that seemed to be a baked flan (rather than steamed).
Tomorrow’s the first equestrian competition day – an 8:30 start time. Have to be up early to catch the bus to the GCC at the Expo Center!
Sarah’s Blog: Today I got to see the second of three Equestrian venues – Club Hipica (a private riding club). Hipica is about an hour by bus from our hotel and a world of differences away. The bus took us down the highway, out of the city, past the Guadalajara Technology complex and past El Burro Norteno restaurant. We turned right down a road in a small town (La Primavera), passed the houses and stores and drove for a while with cornfields on either side. No taxi dodging here.
Club Hipica is surrounded by countryside. After the daily bustle of Guadalajara it was like a sheltered oasis of rural calm. There is nothing rural about the facility itself though. The barns, which are behind fences for security, are neat new buildings with concrete floors and dark red stucco on the outside. There was a warm-up arena when we came in and beyond that the temporary pool and fencing platforms inside a covered arena. Another outdoor arena, easily big enough to hold two dressage rings and a warm-up area, sits off to the right of the club. The main arena, on the other side of the covered arena that houses the pool, has VIP tents on one side, stands to the right, a grassy hill facing the VIP's and a long low fence that lets in the scenery on the other side of the stands.
Day Two Photo Gallery: Pentathlon
Click for captions and larger images.
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We went there today to see part of the Modern Pentathlon. The modern Pentathlon encompasses 5 sports; a 200-meter freestyle swim, epée fencing, pistol shooting, stadium jumping and a 3-kilometer run. Jumping had already finished when we arrived, and the arena had been converted into an impromptu racetrack and pistol range. The course was marked with blue plastic tape and wove around some of the jumps still in the arena. Women in running shorts and tops were practicing with pistols that I thought at first were shooting pellets until a fellow photographer told me they were laser pistols. It was interesting to watch. The women would run a lap, stop and shoot and then continue. One of the Americans, Marganx Isaksen and a Brazilian, Yane Marques were tied for first and second place. They came into the shooting arena neck and neck, and I watched from the sidelines in anticipation. In the end it was the American who crossed first, giving me my first view of a home team victory at the games.
Day One
A Saga of Hurricanes, Planes, Buses, Taxis and An Opening Ceremony To Remember
by Kim MacMillan and Sarah Miller
Day 1 Photo Gallery.
Click for captions and larger image. Scroll down for Day 1 Blog.
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Kim’s Blog: After an interesting trip to the Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis last week to obtain our Correspondents’ Visas (needed to transport our equipment to and from Mexico and to be allowed to work there) where we encountered a very nice staff and viewed some Mexican art while standing in line, we finally boarded our plane in Indianapolis on Friday bound for Guadalajara, with an intermediate stop at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Bush International Airport. Amazingly enough we made all of our connections and arrived a few minutes early at the Guadalajara Airport.
Hurricane Jova had hit the southwest coast of Mexico early Wednesday morning bringing rain and mudslides to the state of Jalisco (the state where Guadalajara is located) and neighboring states and we arrived in Mexico on Friday mid-day expecting to see rain. Joanie Morris from the United States Equestrian Federation who was already in Mexico with the team had e-mailed the U.S. journalists the day before telling us to bring rain gear and we did, but happily it remains packed in our bags so far.
Our first meal in Mexico, I am sorry to say, was a Krispy Kream donut, shaped like a human skull and iced with white icing, as The Day of the Dead (a Mexican holiday honoring lost friends and loved ones) is coming up. So, we couldn’t resist having one and they served as lunch. We took a bus provided by COPAG (the organizing body of the Pan Am Games) from the airport to the media accreditation center to check in to pick up our credentials and photo vests. Then we hopped a taxi from there to our hotel – the taxis are very small here, so Dee (who speaks Spanish) and I rode in the taxi with our copious baggage and Allen and Sarah walked the mile from the Main Press Center to our hotel, the Staybridge Suites in a shopping mall called Plaza del Sol, our home away from home for 17 days.
We have been greeting warmly by our Mexican hosts and there are a very large number of Pan American Games volunteers at the airport, the Main Press Center, each official hotel and all of the venues. There is also a HUGE police presence (10,000 additional officers) with serious looking weapons – federal, state and local – everywhere you go. To access any building or venue (even our hotel) you must go through security. We have felt comfortable walking in the city and at the venues (other than the crazy traffic on the streets - we are so glad to leave the driving to our taxi and bus drivers!). More soon – the dressage horses do their pre-competition jog tomorrow morning at the Guadalajara Country Club.
Sarah’s Blog: There are some things you just can't get from TV. I've watched plenty of Opening Ceremonies that way and I was excited to see one in person. Today's opening ceremony had lots of things you can't get from the small screen.
First off, the Omni Life stadium (which according to Wikipedia holds just under 50,000 people and given the number of people I saw I don’t think that fact needs a citation) looked like a white UFO parked on a tall, grassy hill. You could hear cheering and music already coming from inside as we approached and the real show hadn't even started yet. After the security check and an “Everest-esque” climb to our seats it took a minute to get my bearings and look around. When I finally did I realized just how big the inside of our “spaceship” was. The entire inside of the arena was lined with seats and most of them were full. There was also some nifty “swag” waiting for us at the seats - a green flashlight (other sections had different colored flashlights) and some blow-up noise makers (decorated with the Pan Am Games mascots and logo) that you definitely don't get in the comfort of your nearest Lazy-Boy.
The area where it all happened on the arena floor looked like a pretty typical set-up for an event like this. Center stage was a round dais surrounded by a desert of chairs; four or five different colors of chair covers gave the impression of a desert. A horseshoe-shaped second stage was off to the right, behind the athlete's seating. An orchestra filled the middle of the horseshoe. Several flag poles went across the top. The ceremony itself started with a countdown of numbers chanted by the audience and displayed on the circular main stage. Afterward came the Mexican national anthem. The singer was famous and talented, but the addition of many voices from the crowd joining in made it feel like more than just a ritual start. I found myself wishing I could sing along.
Mariachi bands and dancers in traditional costume took the stage afterward. Men in their black and white outfits and the women in colorful dresses that looked like a Chihuly glass piece come to life. Then the charros (Mexican cowboys) rode in and took the attention off the stage. At least they did for me, but I always get distracted by horses. A nod to the region's most familiar export – tequila – was represented by the agave plants in large pots sprinkled throughout the desert of chairs.
Those chairs were soon filled with the athletes who paraded into the stadium in alphabetical order by country (except Mexico which was last due to being the host country). Large contingents as well as small ones were cheered with equal fervor as the stage was filled with a larger-than-life representation of the countries' flags. Some of the teams were thrilled to be there, and they let it show. The Brazilians were especially boisterous - at one point they had what looked like a conga line going behind their seats.
After the athletes had all come in, the atmosphere changed. Now was the time for the things that really make an “opening” ceremony. Oaths for good conduct were read for both the judges and the athletes and speeches were made. In between the two, a giant circular curtain dropped down on the stage. Inside performers hanging from wires acted out the various Pan Am sports in time with projections of light onto the screen. My description isn't doing the sight justice, it was a visual spectacle that really should be seen.
The torch entered a darkened stadium and the carriers were spotlighted as they moved across the floor until the final torchbearer lit the flames. If you watch the ceremonies, you'll see big jets of flame that lit up the top of the stadium as the center torch was lit below. You could feel the heat inside the stadium.
The flashlight that I'd been playing with for most of the ceremony finally got to do its job at the end of the show. The stadium was divided into sections, and each section had a colored light: green, blue, yellow, red. We lit them up and followed the motions of the volunteers directing us. The effect was awesome. Sections lit and dimmed in time with the music and the waving flashlights produced an effect a lot like looking at water. Beautiful metaphors spring readily to mind now, but at the time I was just part of that huge crowd, making something beautiful. Later when we had taken the colored film off the flashlights and everyone had a white light- that's when it hit me. I was really there, in another country, at the opening ceremony of the Pan Am games. Looking across the stadium at all those other lights, it struck me how big an event I'd just become a part of. Now on to the Games!
Introduction
by Kim MacMillan, MacMillan Photography & Media Services, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 260-468-2392
This is the beginning of new series of blog coverage of equestrian events from the road by the staff and associates of MacMillan Photography and Media Services. We are pleased to add this news feature to Sporthorse1.com.
Our inaugural blog reports on our trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, for the 2011 Pan American Games this month. We traveled down with two colleagues and fellow Hoosiers, Deanna Kochensparger and Sarah Miller, photographers for The Horse of Delaware Valley, and shared an apartment with them in Guadalajara. We decided to share the blog between us during the trip.
