Running through the smoke at the 40th annual Horse Trials

AMENIA — Competitors and spectators endured through high heat, rain and a smoky haze for the 40th annual Millbrook Horse Trials at Coole Park.

Four hours of dressage on Thursday, July 24, opened up the competition that puts riders and their horses through a triathlon of equestrian sports. Cross country jumping began on Friday, followed by stadium jumping on Saturday.

Over the last 40 years, the Millbrook Horse Trials has built a reputation that draws athletes and visitors from great distances. Numbering among the competitors were riders at the highest level of the sport of evening, including Olympian Boyd Martin. Martin finished the weekend with a win in the advanced division after a clean run around the showjumping ring on the horse Miss LuLu Herself on Sunday.

That was during a light drizzle that hung in the air over the event grounds on Amenia-Bangall Road. The weekend started with high heat on Thursday and Friday and towering thunder clouds threatening rain for much of Friday afternoon. Partly cloudy skies made way for a smoky haze on Saturday that triggered an air quality alert for the region.

Volunteer parking monitor Alexander King didn’t let the erratic weather keep him down, and he said he didn’t see a drop in numbers either. “Yesterday we probably had, give or take, 300 to 400 people,” he said on Sunday, the final day of the competition.

King travelled from Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife to attend the event.

Nathan Miller

Storm clouds hung over Coole Park in Amenia teasing rain for much of the afternoon Friday, July 25. Lingering dark clouds and a smoky haze that triggered an air quality alert haunted the weekend.