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Michael Hepworth
We Ride the World and We Dine with
2-Star Michelin Executive Chef Yves Mattagne at the
2016 Longines Masters Series Grand Slam Indoor Show Jumping
By Kay Schroeder
Long Beach,CA(Perfect Meal Today)10/10/16/-It’s all here at the Long Beach Convention Center: world-class show jumping, tantalizing foods, modern art, fashion, spectacular music and other forms of entertainment. No wonder the Longines Masters was a resounding success.
But have you ever wondered what kind of support people, products, and services are required to ensure the success of a dynamic, fast moving, and activities-packed event like this one? Let’s take a look at just a few of the behind the scenes people and the vital products and services they provide.
I was fortunate enough to be a part of perhaps everyone’s favorite kind of support – food. Celebrated 2-Star Michelin Chef, Yves Mattagne (Executive Chef of the Sea Grill Restaurant), traveled from Brussels to prepare the most delectable food (using locally sourced ingredients) for the competitors, owners, media and other guests. I was also very fortunate to have an opportunity to meet Chef Mattagne earlier in the day when he very generously shared his passion for food and joy about travelling to and with this event. He made me promise to come back to share “something very good he was making” for lunch. He indeed did make many things that were very good. Yves’ love and dedication to food were evident in the variety, quality, and freshness of these sensational creations:
* Caesar’s Salad with Succulent Broiled Chicken Strips and Caramelized Pecans
* Caprese Salad on Focaccia Bread Sandwiches
* Chinese Chicken Salad Wraps with Farro Salad
* Vegetarian Wraps
* Fresh Fruit Plates
* Chocolate Chip Cookies with Half Dipped White Icing
Dinner meals included Dry-Edge Beef Carpaccio prepared in the tradition of Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. The meals were paired with Champagne Barons de Rothschild and fine Bordeaux wines by Antoine Moueix Proprietes. Earlier Chef Mattagne said, “I’m really looking forward to cook for the Southern California crowd with its celebrities, and its beautiful people – and really excited to work at such a spectacular beachside event this year in Long Beach.”
The Chef further explained, “At the Longines Masters, whether it’s in Los Angeles, Paris, or Hong Kong, we enjoy the privilege of serving international film and television stars, European royalty, foreign dignitaries, and top CEOs and business tycoons from all over the world. There really is no more of an impressive place to make and renew top connections.”
Although it shares many characteristics with other professional sports, Show Jumping travels in perhaps the most rarefied milieu of all sports. This sport is not for the faint of wealth considering that the cost of the horse(s) can go up to several million dollars each. Boarding, training, transportation, and health care for the horses also represent a large portion of the pie in terms of what is required to purchase and maintain a quality show jumping horse. And, many riders travel to the competition events with more than one horse.
For the Show Jumping event, the Italian course designer, The Master Uliano Vezzani, is considered to be the “Maestro” by the world’s best riders.
Among the partnering organizations of this event is AMADE Mondial, founded in 1963, by Princess Grace of Monaco and is currently presided over by Princess Caroline of Hanover. Other charity organizations include JustWorld International, Baby2Baby, Autism Speaks, New Children for Tomorrow, Andre Agassi Foundation, Feeding Hong Kong, and many others.
Of particular interest is another organization that Longines supports, Jr. Posse Youth Equestrian Organization in Compton, CA. Their motto is “Keeping kids ON horses and OFF the streets!” Jr. Posse offers Horse Science Programs, as well as year round after-school Equine Science, Horseback Lessons, Life Skills Development and other training. This is a wonderful example of people helping people to make this world a better place.
Safety is traditionally one of the first concerns to be addressed at equestrian events. What happens (heaven forbid) if a horse is injured or needs medical attention for any other reason? As I was walking from the parking lot to the Convention Center Thursday morning at 7:20 a.m., the first person I encountered was Jerry. As we exchanged greetings, I asked him about his truck/trailer’s logo “Horse Ambulatory Service.” He graciously explained that he attends each equestrian event, and is on call in case of an emergency, ensuring there is no lag time in getting the horse to immediate medical assistance if/when needed. Jerry, a chiropractor by trade, said he loves the work and has been providing this service for twenty-four years.
Multiple-city equestrian events like this Los Angeles/Paris/Hong Kong series add yet other layer of complexity in the logistics of transporting not only riders and their baggage, but also transporting the horses and their saddles, bridles, stirrup irons, reins, and other pieces of tack required in the sport of show jumping.
Commercial airlines are most often the travel mode of choice for riders and horses. However, before a horse can be flown on a passenger airliner, full service companies like European Horse Services are hired to ensure that all health, vaccination, insurance, customs formalities, and other documentation requirements of the importing country are met. Skilled personnel pick up, load and transport the horse in a specially-equipped truck/trailer. Once at the airport, the container housing the horse is carefully loaded into the airplane by trained personnel. As an extra layer of protection and safety for the equine athlete, a trained, onboard attendant is dedicated to attending to the horse’s needs throughout the flight. Coffee, tea, or hay?
Another essential behind the scenes support service is that of the farrier. Later in the day, I happened to pass by the onsite farrier’s truck/trailer and stopped for a brief chat. His trailer was well stocked with the tools of his trade that included an array of horseshoes, some made of steel and others made of aluminum. Having a farrier onsite to immediately tend to a horse that has a loose or thrown shoe can save valuable time and/or avoid possible injury.
While surfing the internet, I ran across an informative article on horseshoeing that you might want to take a look at: http://www.farriery.eu/articles/004-2007.htm. This article lists the horseshoeing care techniques for different disciplines: Dresagge; Show Jumping; Trail, Hacking, Equestrian Tourism; Eventing; Driving-Carriage; Endurance; Reining; Polo; Racing (Steel and Steeple Chasing – Fences); and Harness Racing (Trotting).
Another behind the scenes service is the media staff, all of whom kept the public (via the Internet, newspapers, blogs, magazines, and websites) up to date as events unfolded during the four-day competition. These energetic, very talented, and friendly people worked tirelessly throughout those days gathering and disseminating information in support of the event.
In Village Prestige, the many shops/displays that were located on the perimeter of the warm up arena provided a pleasant interlude to visit and perhaps do a little shopping for virtually anything from designer shoes to a very exotic Lamborghini. Companies represented were Emirates, Hermes, Sellier, Jonathan Adler, Just One Eye, La Martina, Rinck, Terranea Resort, Lamborghini, and Sam Edelman.
As the Title Partner of the intercontinental series, Longines provided its timekeeping expertise to all the trials of the weekend. Perhaps the most dazzling item was the Official Watch of the Longines Speed Challenge in which Longines Ambassador of Elegance, Mikaela Shiffrin presented to the winner of this competition in recognition of being the fastest in the world. Also presented was Longines Official Watch, Dolce Vita in stainless steel and 18 carat rose gold and steel watchband.
Through the herculean efforts and support of Longines and all of the others who partnered with EEM, the “2016 Longines Masters Grand Slam Indoor Show Jumping” was indeed a star-studded event.
Now on to Paris, then Hong Kong to compete and complete this amazing series celebration as “We Ride the World.”
To read the event statistics, awards and purses reported by dedicated media professionals, check out some of these websites/publications: http://www.ijumpsports.com/, www.advisorsports.com/, http://www.thehollywoodreporter.com/, http://www.gazettes.com/sports/, www.wsj.com/public/page/new-york-sports.html, http://www.ridingmagazine.com/, http://eliteequestrianmagazine.com, http://www.thecompetitiveequestrian.com/, and www.travelhost.com/.
NOTE: To read my in-depth article on the 2016 Longines Masters Series Grand Slam Series Indoor Show Jumping event click on:
http://spiritsman.com/archives/4371
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Michael Hepworth
287 S.Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
http://twitter.com/MrSpiritsman
http://alquimie.com.au/publicatio