Here from the start

By EVAN MCCULLERS

The Daily Inter Lake

Kim Liddell has been through it all with The Event at Rebecca Farm.

She remembers when there was no such thing, and she and several close friends would gather each year to participate in eventing competitions at Herron Park, which previously served as the premier eventing venue in the Flathead Valley.

She remembers the early years of The Event, a time when it involved only 100-200 horses.

And she remembers her cross-country runs, each and every one of them.

Much has changed around The Event in its 16 years, but Liddell, who has competed with at least one horse every year, is one of few fixtures who have been there all along.

“It’s pretty cool for those of us in the Flathead, that we can have something like this in our backyard,” Liddell said as she mingled with friends after competition on Saturday.

Liddell’s first foray into the area eventing scene came soon after she arrived in Kalispell close to 30 years ago. She became involved with the competition at Herron Park along with Rebecca Broussard and Pat Young, who was responsible for having Herron Park designated for eventing when the land was donated to Flathead County.

Broussard soon began dreaming of a bigger event, one that would be referred to as a “destination event” in equestrian circles. Sixteen years after its conception, The Event is routinely called just that.

“She had this vision and started and sort of phased out of Herron Park, because we really didn’t have enough people to do both,” Liddell said. “I hope she sees us now.”

While a premier competition now, The Event had humble beginnings.

“The first year was all dirt, remember?” said Cindy Marvin, a friend of Liddell’s who originally owned the land that Rebecca Farm now occupies and has also been involved with The Event from the beginning.

“They were trying to plant grass, get it to grow.”

“They’ve done a lot of work,” Liddell added.

“It was big, but not like this.”

The Event has now grown into one of the most popular annual happenings in the Flathead Valley and is attended by some of the top eventing competitors in the world.

Now, 600-700 horses compete each year in nearly a dozen divisions. Thousands converge in Kalispell each year from all parts of the country, and spectators number in the tens of thousands.

In 2016, The Event brought an estimated economic impact of $5.5 million to the Flathead Valley area.

“Everybody started getting more and more horses, and everything got bigger and bigger,” Liddell said.

“It’s pretty cool (how) we have all these people from the East Coast, and the quality of horses is much greater and the quality of rider is much greater.

“People come and vacation and eat and drink. As much as all us locals would like to get rid of the tourists, that’s what runs the economy. We still want the economy to flourish. Well, it’s not going to happen without the tourists.”

Liddell’s experiences at The Event have given her ample stories to tell, almost too many.

“Oh, gosh,” she said with a chuckle as the flood of recollections entered her mind.

The first thing Liddell, originally from Fresno, California, recalls are her rides in cross-country, the middle discipline in the equestrian triathlon.

“That’s why we event,” she said. “Otherwise, we could do straight dressage or straight stadium (jumping).”

Outside of competition, however, Liddell remembers the good times had with close friends. The Event, in addition to being a now-world-famous eventing competition, now serves as a sort of family reunion for those who were there before it became what it is today.

“The parties sometimes are epic,” said a friend of Liddell’s standing nearby.

“It’s a very social sport,” another chimed in.

“Horse people are all weird and crazy,” Liddell said.

“The parties are always a good memory. We always have good bands.”

Liddell, who now spends summers in Kalispell before typically heading to Temecula, California, to train during the harsh winter months, competed in the Open Intermediate division this weekend, finishing eighth.

She was slated to ride a horse in the CIC3* division, the second-highest of the four international divisions that compete at Rebecca Farm, but she was forced to scratch due to an injury to her horse.

This year alone is evidence of how far Liddell has seen The Event come.

When it began, there were no international divisions. Intermediate was the most advanced level possible.

Much has changed since those days, but Liddell remains. Barring unforeseen circumstances, she will, of course, be back in 2018 to do it all over again.

“It’s a blessing,” Liddell said.

“I feel fortunate. I mean, I’m 63. I feel fortunate I can compete every year.”