Equestrian-Hurricane Florence set to crash World Equestrian Games party

FILE PHOTO: France's Patrice Delaveau riding Orient Express HDC competes in the jumping first round third competition at the World Equestrian Games at the d'Ornano stadium in Caen, September 6, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

(Reuters) - The Super Bowl of equestrian sport kicked off on Tuesday as Hurricane Florence barrelled towards the World Equestrian Games (WEG), where riders from 70 countries and horses from six continents will battle for medals and Olympic berths.

Tucked away in rural North Carolina, tiny Tryon, with a population of 1,700, will be at the centre of the equestrian universe from Sept. 11 to 23 and in the projected path of Florence, the most powerful storm to menace the Carolinas in nearly three decades.