Olympic Fever

The 2012 Olympics are only 2 weeks away!! And the fever is especially high for those of us lucky equestrians to call Ventura county home. That's right, my local community produced not one, but two of this year's Olympic equestrian competitors who will be representing the US at London this summer!

1. US Eventing team rider: Tiana Coudray, based out of Ojai (north Ventura county), aboard Ringwood Magister (barn name: Finn). http://tianacoudrayeventing.com

Photo courtesy of USEA.

Tiana is considered the young gun and a bit of a wildcard on the US eventing team. But for all those who have met her (as I have, very briefly, when I went to Twin Rivers HT in March 2011), they surely feel very proud to have Tiana represent our country at this international athletic and sportsmanship stage. She is a sweet, friendly, approachable young lady with the most gorgeous horse of all time. Finn is truly a stunner. An amazing example of a West Coast eventing rider making it all the way to the top!


2. US Dressage rider: Jan Ebeling, based out of Moorpark (Eastern side of Ventura county, where I keep Bohemian), aboard Rafalca. www.theacres.com/

Photo credit: N. Jaffer of The Star-Ledger

This pair has gotten lots of media attention, including some hilarious Colbert report coverage, due to Ann Romney's partial ownership interest in Rafalca. They are lovely to watch and have been competing at the upper levels for a while. They are considered a tried-and-true element of the US dressage team.


Ventura is located about half-way between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and its a fabulous place to live and work and ride. It's no wonder some top athletes live and work in Ventura county. We have excellent weather year round (we're in the 70s here while the rest of the country is experiencing a major heat wave!). Even the furthest part of the county is less than an hour from the beach.   Yay Olympics! Gonna be fun!!!