Author of the newly released “Complete Horse Riding Manual,” former national coach for the Irish Horse Board, trainer/director at Gleneagles’ Mark Phillips Equestrian Center, eventing guru, and television commentator and contributor to equestrian journals … it was an honor for us to have Mr. Micklem lecture at WEG, stop by our booth and visit with our Demo team and volunteers. He is truly a legend, an expert horseman, and an outstanding individual.
Follow Mr. Micklem on The Chronicle of the Horse or on his blog or his website.
Everyone seems to have a video or picture of themselves on this thing. And, let me tell you, it felt pretty real whizzing and whipping around after the little mechanical calf!
What no one was prepared for was the moment we pulled up to her iron gates and drove onto a magnificent farm, hundreds of acres of rolling grass hills and fenced paddocks, a beautiful mansion, and a barn fit for king’s horses. 
No one wanted to leave. Aside from the gloriousness of the property itself, Fonda was an impeccable and organized hostess and we can’t thank her enough.
A good time was definitely had by all. While I won’t into the details, I’ll just mention that Irish feather boas and Mardi Gras beads made an appearance!
Next to us were the boys at Goresbridge Horse Sales, where a large chunk of Olympic and National level competition horses come from. The Donahues kept us laughing. 
Nadia and US Eventing Team vet Brendan Furlong had their booth next to the Connemara Society. We were smack dab in the middle of everything, and enjoyed meeting folks from around the world and sharing our love for all things related to Irish horses with them. Great job to everyone that had a hand in the Village.
So, I was thrilled to watch Dressage and Show Jumping from the front row. We also were able to get back in the warm up arenas, and watch these amazing competitors up close and personal, schooling before they went on the big stage. 
Unforgettable. And then there was our crazy weather. Freezing and raining one day, spectacular the next, then unbearably hot. We went through all four seasons in 16 days.