McLain Ward – World Cup Champion & World No.1
“What a rider. What a horse. That horse is so, so special.”
It doesn’t get truer than that! The 2017 World Cup Finals held in Omaha, Nebraska was the first time I’d ever witnessed McLain Ward and HH Azur is person and no better words describes the pair than “so, so special”. The talent, preciseness, composure and the bond these two have is something I can’t describe and something I wish upon every horse lover to witness in person. The pair is incredible. They’re World Cup champions. They’re the World No. 1.
Round 1 was held on Thursday evening and I had butterflies in my tummy when McLain and “Annie” walked into the ring. It was a dream come true to witness such beauty! And to top that off, they won! Everything about this pair just gives me chills.
On Friday morning, I went to CenturyLink Center as soon as they opened as I wanted to soak everything in and meet everyone I possibly could. In my mind, this meant meeting as many small business owners as I could in my short 48 hours in Omaha. But little dreams kept coming true and more and more doors kept opening. I met small business owners, large business owners, and everything in between. It was TOTALLY awesome.
McLain Ward is signing autographs. EEK!
I was walking around the Ogilvy booth when I heard over the PA system that McLain Ward is signing autographs at the Exceptional Equestrian booth at noon. It was 10:45am and I knew I wanted to get in line early so I didn’t miss my chance to meet McLain Ward. 11:30am rolls around and I slyly (I tried pretending like I wasn’t on a mission, even though I totally was) walked over to the ExEq booth and found myself about 15 people deep in line. Time moved so slowly in those 30 minutes. I was lucky to have met a wonderful woman who also happened to be from Colorado in line, we talked and joked about our soon to be complete fangirl moments. Then the time came…
I WAS A TOTAL FANGIRL.
I’ve never classified myself as a fan girl before but on Friday morning, I was 110% a fangirl. (Fangirl, n. a female fan who can laugh at their own passion for their particular interest or obsession). McLain signed a Horse d’oeuvres Performance Horse Cookie label and bucket, wished me luck with my small business endeavors and was highly complimentary of our heart shaped cookies. I told him our hashtag was #TreatYourHorseWithLove and he smiled and said “cleaver”.
It was totally freaking awesome. There really aren’t any other words than “totally freaking awesome” to describe that moment. That moment when my equestrian idol takes a moment out of his busy day (I mean we’re at the World Cup Finals… and he took time to talk to me about my cookies!) to at least sound interested in my cookies. You’ll hear the announcer in the video about say “he’s a really nice guy” and that’s so true.
I felt like a piece of me was in that ring with McLain and Annie.
Friday night was round 2 and I felt like a piece of me was in that ring with McLain and Annie. It was thrilling to watch them go clear, again, twice! But my favorite part about watch McLain with Annie is his utmost respect and love for that mare. It’s genuine and you can see it on their faces and that’s what I love so much about this sport; everyone’s love for the horse.
Love for the horse.
I spent the entire weekend around people who love horses the way I do. Around people who see this as more than a sport and see it as a partnership and a bond. Around people who genuinely have a love for the horse. It was incredible. McLain then went on to win the World Cup Finals without touching a single rail. Talk about incredible!
McLain Ward is now not only the World Cup Champion but he’s also at the top of the world list and ranked as the World No.1. The No.1 equestrian in the world took the time to recognize me, my small business and my dream. We all start somewhere…