How I Serendipitously Stumbled Upon a Horse Show in St. Moritz
My first trip to Switzwerland was Epic
I spent a week at a world class, historic luxury spa hotel in Switzerland with my brother. There was no shortage of things to do, and one day I found myself at an international horse show competition at St. Moritz. I can still barely believe this happened.
My brother is addicted to his smartphone. One morning at breakfast in the palatial dining room as we were being waited on by the topmost in Swiss hospitality he downloaded the hotel’s app. He said, “Hey, there’s a free horse show in St. Moritz, do you want to go?” I didn’t have to think about it.
The hotel shuttled us in a luxury car about three miles to St. Moritz. The driver told us in the winter during ski season the same drive would take about three hours because it becomes a slow parade of the rich and famous showing off. We were there in the summer.
The weather was stunningly beautiful. We walked through a magnificent park surrounded by the Swiss alps to get to the show grounds.
There was no entrance fee unless you wanted to sit. I was so excited that I knew I wouldn’t be happy unless I could be comfortable. I wanted to watch the show for longer than I could stand in a crowd. So we bought two tickets for admission to the grand stands.
I had never attended a competition at the international level. There were Olympic competitors in the field.
As we walked around the grounds I was struck by the massive wealth of the riders who had traveled from around the world with their horses, dogs, tack and assistants to compete in one of the most exclusive areas of the world. I tried to estimate the cost of flying your horse and all the rest of it to Switzerland, in addition to staying there for the show. I knew how expensive the hotels were in the area.
We watched the riders effortlessly jump their horses through a tricky obstacle course. I was amazed by their skill. I also couldn’t believe I was there.
We walked through the vendor area after the show where I made sure I bought a unique souvenir. I bought a bracelet made of silver and horse hair. It was difficult to fasten because of my poor fine motor skills, but I had to have it.
I imagine I may never see another horse show at this level, but never say never. I certainly didn’t expect to see that show in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Thank you for reading :)
