Chelz Marketing

By Chelsey Burris

A flashback to my American Horse Publications Equine Media Award recognized article – Persevering Through the Storm – The 2021 FEI North American Youth Championships.

An exciting week was planned…  Juniors and Young Riders (ages 14-21) from across the country had converged on Traverse City, Michigan, for North America’s premier equestrian competition: the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC)!  After the 2020 cancellation, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone was especially excited to be back for the show. Then, they checked the weather forecast and saw a storm was on the horizon…

The showgrounds were left ravaged – postponing the competition and leaving volunteers and show staff scrambling to clean up and repair all the damage.  The wind destroyed the 2-story VIP tent, converting it to a 1-story, with the top floor landing in the dressage ring.  Judges’ boxes were flipped over, trees uprooted, and the showgrounds lost power and water.  Meanwhile, the damaged JumboTron was hurled into the jumper ring.

Could they recover in time to host this premier event?

Read this amazing story of resilience, originally published on YourDressage.org, here.