What a first day of work for Eva Havaris! Her shadow had barely darkened the doorstep before she faced her first order of business: to provide a quote for what is one of the biggest announcements in Canadian equestrian sport history. Before her chair was even warm, EC’s new CEO had already had an awesome day of work. I mean, how many people can say that the day they started as CEO of a national sport organization, the international governing body for that sport awarded them the right to host the biggest event in the world?
I will be dedicating my next At Issue column in the August issue of Horse Sport to the news of Bromont’s successful second stab at hosting WEG 2018, but I thought I would share a couple of my emotional responses to the news with you here, while they are still fresh.
I must confess I was surprised when I learned the news on Monday morning. I really didn’t believe the Bromont bid had the financial package to woo the FEI. And while I’m still not sure they actually do (or will) have the dough to pull it off in a way that doesn’t leave a red bottom line on the books, I was also surprised by something else when I read the FEI announcement first thing Monday morning: a funny swelling feeling in my chest. I think it might have been patriotic pride.
Yes, that’s right. I caught myself being excited at the idea of WEG in Bromont, in spite of my well publicized doubts over the past year. There is great potential for WEG 2018 to be a hell of a wonderful event, and for the Canadian equestrian industry to benefit enormously from it. I have seen what Expo ’86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics have done for Vancouver. I know how awesome it can be. I also know it can all go sideways, but on Tuesday I had a chat with someone who gave me reason to believe Bromont 2018 will not go off the rails. That’s a pun, because the person I interviewed was Paul Côté, the former CEO of Via Rail, and more recently, the head of the Bromont bid committee.
When I sent Paul an email, I wasn’t sure if I would get the response I was looking for, or if I would get any response at all. Presumably, my bad attitude toward the Bromont bid over the past year reached his ears at some point, so I half expected him to tell me to take a hike. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Paul answered all my questions – even the tough ones – candidly and thoughtfully. But what impressed me most about our conversation is that I came away thinking, ‘holy cow! No wonder the FEI took a chance on Bromont. With the likes of this guy on the team, Bromont 2018 really can happen.’
I can’t guarantee that I’ll feel this way every minute of the next four years, but right now I’m a believer. Bromont 2018!
