C A T I E’S
commentary
by Catie Staszak
A Different Kind of WEF: Evolution and Appreciation F
ebruary 2021 couldn’t look any different from the same month just a year ago. But through it all, WEF remains. The Winter Equestrian Festival certainly has a different look and feel to it. While there are no spectators, the facility is still bustling with activity. Credentials are required for entry, and you must pass through a trailer that takes a thermal temperature scan. Security monitors your distance from others, and masks must be worn – properly. It might still be virtually impossible to find a space in the exhibitor parking lot, but there is less traffic throughout the facility. If you’re at the horse show, you are there to either work or ride. I feel exceptionally fortunate to have the opportunity to do both. Over the course of the last 11 months since the COVID-19 pandemic completely changed our world, I’ve begun looking at the industry in a different way. With no traveling and the cancellation of the North American League World Cup™ season, there has been far less commentary on my work agenda, and I miss it and my incredible team at FEI TV greatly. But I’m also as busy as ever, for which I’m exceptionally grateful. And I feel more connected to this industry than ever. This time has reminded me how fortunate we are to be involved in a sport that offers so many different ways to be involved. While I’m not in the booth as much, I’m ringside much more, covering Catie Staszak Media’s growing list of clientele. I was approached nearly two years ago now by an international rider who asked me if I would represent him and manage his media assets. I honestly had never thought about
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it before, but, through his trust and support, I took the opportunity. Now, I work with a full group of exceptional individuals and businesses that allow me to share their inspiring stories and, in the process, promote our sport in a creative, storytellingbased way. The relationships I’ve formed in this time, even while socially distanced, have brought me close to many. When my clients jump clear, I feel like I have, too, and my team has never felt larger. For the first time in a decade, I also have a show horse of my own, and it feels tremendous to be back in the ring in a way I had only hoped for, since aging out of the junior ranks and taking on the costs of the sport on my own. I flatted horses, catch rode and managed a few short-term leases throughout my college years and beyond, focusing on my degree, my career, and building up my savings as responsibly as I could. Zantos entered my life on the day of my greatest loss. Sobrie, my horse of more than two decades, passed away in July after a three-year battle with cancer. As only fate would have it, I met Zantos just a couple days before, and I made the decision to bring him home with me just hours before I received that heartbreaking phone call. Like Sobrie, Zantos is small, a little on the chunky side (and consequently very food motivated), and a cribber, with a gigantic personality and even bigger heart. He also has the bravery and jumping talent that Sobrie did not. I can’t help but think, Sobrie made sure I was well taken care of before he left. Horses have truly lifted me this year. It took just three shows before Zantos had me jumping clear rounds in the Amateur-Owner Jumper divisions, a goal of mine for quite a few years. To ride in the ring and see my
Catie Staszak and Zantos; photo © SportFot
name listed as not only his rider, but also his owner, has brought me such pride and sincere gratitude. When I’m lacking selfconfidence, he, quite literally, pulls me and carries me forward, always getting me to the other side with gusto and enthusiasm. With work the primary focus during circuit’s busy season, our quiet morning rides, grazes and long grooming sessions bring me great comfort and moments of peace. Horses are tremendous healers, and in these continuing times of uncertainty, I am repeatedly reminded how fortunate we are to be surrounded by these incredible animals. Of the many extraordinary places my life and my career have taken me, from the broadcast booth at the Royal to center stage at the FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne, none has been more impactful than the back of a horse.
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