The battle for medals at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ is big, intense and exciting, but it’s not the only competition set to begin Sept. 11 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center. In a larger sense, the Games are counted on to present equestrian sports with sizzle, heart and heroics. Attention and new fans are the gold medals in this era dominated by an overwhelming amount of sports and entertainment choices. The WEG is tasked with promoting horse sports to the widest possible audience and in the most dazzling light.
And that takes a lot of people, planning and hard work, well beyond that done by the actual athletes on center stage for two weeks in Mill Spring, North Carolina. Nine thousand volunteers are expected to serve the needs of 1,000 riders, 1,500 horses and 50,000 exhibitors, and help make great sport for the hopefully millions watching on NBC-TV, its affiliates and FEI-TV live-streaming. 
Just like the Games’ contenders and its organizers, Team Haygain has been planning and preparing for its WEG role for a long time. Supporting top performers supports top sport. In doing so, Haygain is proud to be part of the international equestrian community’s larger mission, while also serving its core mission of supporting horse health.
At the request of riders, stable managers and veterinarians, Haygain has 22 HG2000 hay steamers ready and waiting for horses arriving from all over the world. At approximately 82 pounds of hay steamed per each one-hour cycle, there will be a lot of clean, fresh, heavenly-scented hay in the stables throughout the competition’s two weeks.
Using 212°F steam, these full-bale units will perform Haygain’s trademark task of ridding nearly all respirable particles from the forage – including the dust, mold, spores and bacteria found in even top quality hay. Reflecting wide-spread acknowledgement of how important respiratory health is to performance, steamed hay requests came from far and wide: Germany and Switzerland to Canada and Ireland and well beyond. Thirty teams representing eight countries and 160-plus horses sent requests in the months preceding the Games. They came on behalf of horses competing in all of the WEG’s eight very different disciplines: dressage, para-dressage, eventing, jumping, reining, endurance, vaulting and driving. 
Haygain is happy to undertake the considerable logistics and expense of making these units available. Clean hay is critical to these contenders’ performance and well-being and Haygain welcomes the chance to provide that continuity in their diet throughout the Games.
WEG contenders including Australia’s Andrew Hoy and U.S. team alternate Beezie Madden are among many steam-powered equestrian competing, but Haygain provides the same benefits to “regular” horses, too. Fans are invited to come see all three Haygain steamer models on display in Haygain’s World Equine Expo Vendor Village booth, in shopping area B3 next to SmartPak. There’s no substitute for seeing, touching and—above all—smelling fresh steamed hay, understanding the extensive research that proves its benefits and watching a demo of Haygain’s simple, safe operation.
Haygain’s WEG home-base in the Vendor Village is also a great place to re-energize tired legs while testing out the ComfortStall® Orthopedic Sealed Flooring System. The Forager™ Slow Feeder and the Flexineb® Portable Equine Nebulizer will also be on hand, along with friendly Haygain experts.
