Something I’ve discovered at the Alltech Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Equestrian Games (WEG) this year: reining’s where it’s at. Reining reigns here as "King of the Disciplines." Sure, dressage gathers a decent crowd, and para-dressage pulls quite a bit of interest, especially in the lower grades. Endurance, a little less—but that’s mostly because it’s pretty hard to follow a race that goes across 160 km. And the dressage part of three-day eventing opened this morning with a sparse crowd huddled in jackets under umbrellas.

Reining, though. Reining’s a different story. Reining is where everybody wants to be, or so it seems. Even the other riders want to be here. My interview with dressage world champion Charlotte Dujardin and her coach Carl Hester, both of Great Britain, got postponed … because neither Charlotte nor Carl wanted to miss out on today’s individual reining event. At WEG in Normandy, reining is the place to be.

I got a hint of that at the opening ceremonies. The pre-show reining demonstration was a huge hit with spectators, cheering on the spins and slides (of course). Then came the parade of nations, where I saw cowboy hats on French people, German people, and British people. (Kind of puts a twist on the term “English” riding….) 

I’ve spent three days watching dressage. But today, I’ve headed over to the Zenith arena to catch the reining. What a culture shock! I feel like I’m right back in Texas, my home state, at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The ambiance is exciting, crowds rambunctious, hats Stetson-ish, cheering whooing and whooping and hollering, the music country rock-and-roll. Even the judges are wearing cowboy hats. Out in the arena the sand is deep, horses stout, saddles wide, reins long, shirts shining, and manes flowing. Announcers keep the crowds full of energy, inciting cheers and waves and in-stand dancing. Smiles are everywhere, and you won’t find any polite clapping here. People are in full-scale party-mode, keeping this event happenin’