A former Olympic rider, Ridland now manages the Washington International Horse Show, which kicked off Tuesday and runs through Sunday at the Verizon Center. How do you get 500 horses into the Verizon Center in downtown D.C.? Even a Lady Gaga concert can’t be that complicated.
You’re right. It’s probably one of the most complicated events put on anywhere, in any venue, primarily because we’re downtown in one of the major cities of the world and we have 500 horses. And of course 500 horses don’t fit in the building, so it’s a little bit of a sleight of hand that we’ve got to pull off. That’s with horses stabled on the street. … And not only that, we don’t have 500 rooms at the inn, so basically we’re shuttling in horses every couple of days.
What is the marquee event?
The President’s Cup, which has been in existence as long as the horse show, back in the ’50s. The trophy actually was commissioned by Jackie Kennedy in 1961. … It’s an international jumping event and one of the most prestigious of the national calendar.
What happens with all the manure?
There are a lot of Dumpsters in and out, as you can imagine, and it goes beyond just manure. It’s a pretty darn efficient operation. It’s 24 hours a day.
Why have this in downtown D.C.? Why not in a place easier to pull off?
It’s really important that our sport be showcased where people live and in some of the most exciting areas of the world. It would be easier, of course, for us to put on horse shows out in the country where horses live. But to be able to put on an event like this — which is not only a prestigious event but a historical event that’s been going on for over 50 years in Washington, D.C. — it’s a tradition that we want to keep preserving.
– Kytja Weir
