Would it be wrong to cheer if Romney's horse doesn't medal?

[RandySF]

After all, the wingnuts sheered when Chicago did not get the 2016 Olympics.

[elleng]

1. No.

[flamingdem]

25. Neigh.

[Firebrand Gary]

2. YES! She is still an American and we want her and Rafalca to be on every TV screen in America.

We are better than those people.

[pennylane100]

6. I certainly am much better than them but I still will never wish them well.

These people are monsters. They do not care about the poor, the hungry, the homeless and the sick. They should be shamed and shunned whenever possible. I do not wish the horse harm but I hope it comes in last. It will not hurt the horse's feelings but it will wipe that smug look off Ann Romney's face.

Now, I feel so much better.

[Firebrand Gary]

9. I could give a shit about Ann Romney, we are so beneath her anyhow.

I love the Olympics, everything that they stand for so I choose to separate my politics. Mitt is a fucking asshole, how can ANYONE disrespect the Olympics so my that the refuse to watch their own horse perform? It's the OLYMPICS....WTF

[april]

27. no we are above her : )

[joeybee12]

10. No, I think cheering for all Americans is ridiculous

You want your countrymen to do well, but, quite frankly, we should wish all countries well.

[madinmaryland]

26. The olympics is the one athletic event that I do not take sides on.

I watch it to see the best athletes win, regardless of where they are from.

[jberryhill]

30. Seriously

I can't relate to the way it seems most others watch sports.

[Archae]

3. Either way Rmoney is screwed.

They win a medal, they will be said to have bought it.

They don't win, they'll get laughed at.

[brewens]

4. Robme himself doesn't give a shit, so what do we care. I posted

on Facebook that they were reporting a raucous crowd at the dressage venue! That they should know better than to sell alcohol at those equestrian events!

[LisaL]

5. It's not the horse's fault.

[MADem]

7. We, The People pay almost eighty grand a year of our tax dollars to feed that nag.

I think we can do whatever the hell we want--we paid for Annie's Little Indulgence, we feed the thing, so we can do what we want.

I'm rooting for Jamaica in that contest!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/oly-eque-dressage-day-idUSB93380820120727

[MrSlayer]

8. I don't think right or wrong enters into it.

From certain points of view it's the only response.

It's stupid but if Willard's horse wins a medal, they'll try to hang it around his neck. If it doesn't, he'll keep up the dummy act.

"oh gee, it didn't win? I had no idea."

I think that despite the elitist, richie rich poompaffery of the sport, if the horse brings a gold medal, it will raise Romney's stock.

[slampoet]

11. Having seen a little of the British team.....Romney has no chance.

[B Calm]

12. Why are dancing horses part of the Olympics

anyway?

[hack89]

16. The military arts have a long history in the Olympic

Dressage means "training" - it is based in the training that cavalry horses and riders received. It is a true team sport - it is just as much a measure of the riders skill as it is the horse.

[arely staircase]

17. what was the military utility of

a dancing horse? not wonder the Light brigade got slaughtered.

[hack89]

18. Immediate response to subtle voice and physical commands

Ney and Murat, if alive, would tell you how devastating a "dancing" horse ridden by a skilled rider could be.

And why do you neglect the charge of the Heavy Brigade?

You don't like Romney - got it. That is still not sufficient reason to make a fool of yourself. Did it ever cross your mind to take the 10 minutes necessary to Google the history of dressage?

[arely staircase]

21. may yoi have a

Wonderful day. God bless you and your family.

[hack89]

23. Stings, doesn't it? Have a wonderful day. nt

[arely staircase]

33. what stings? please explain. nt

[xmas74]

19. It's a show of the horse's responses

to very subtle commands and it shows how well the trainer/rider has control of the horse. On the battlefield this once was the difference between a horse who could ride into battle on command and a horse who tossed his rider or was completely out of control.

I'm not a fan of the Romneys but dressage is a very finely honed sport and those who train day after day deserve credit. (I don't see them as the actual trainers-I believe they are just the owners, correct?)

[magical thyme]

29. correct on all points, and ty

Jan Ebeling is the trainer/rider. The Romneys are the wallet.

[xmas74]

38. And Mr. Ebeling deserves the credit for what that horse can/cannot do.

The Romneys might deserve a bit of credit, if one of them actually picked out the horse. There's something to being able to pick out a horse, knowing that's the horse that will be excellent in the field. What I don't know is if they personally picked it out or if an adviser stated that it was a good investment.

Either way, I will root for the horse and the trainer/rider, though I don't think the U.S. will win.

[magical thyme]

39. Ebeling would have picked out the horse

he deserves the credit, but he also deserves the blame for what happened with one of the Romney's other horses, Super Hit. They competed that horse into the ground, drugging him to mask symptoms of unsoundness. And when it was clear he wouldn't be successful in competition again, instead of retiring him, Ann decided to sell him. And somebody loaded him up with 2 surgery-level sedative/analgesics in an attempt to defraud the buyer, who was another client of Ebeling, and who paid $125K for an unsound horse. It ended up in a lawsuit. Ann was ultimately dropped from the suit and Ebeling settled out of court.

It was cheating, unethical and inhumane on every level.

The veterinarian representing the plaintiff is also the US Equestrian Team vet. He stated he had never in 38 years of practice seen a horse so drugged up as Super Hit was, based on results of toxicology tests on blood specimens taken the day of the prepurchase examination. I expect he has been monitoring Rafalca closely to ensure that no cheating is going on this time round.

You are right that it is extremely unlikely that the US team will medal.

[xmas74]

40. I figured it was Eberling who picked the horse

but I didn't know for certain. There was always that chance that maybe she might actually know what she's doing and I gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Super Hit-I've heard about it. Absolutely disgusting.

As to them medalling-the ground would need to open and suck down a good majority of the other horses for us to be in the running. Dressage just isn't our sport-we don't have that incredible tradition behind us and we have a public who has no idea what it actually is. If this sport were offered outside of the upper classes, if it were more accessable for public viewing, etc, then we might be able to get a bit more excited. As it is, it is a very expensive sport that many would at least need sponsorship to even think of getting involved with.

Speaking of sports the U.S. public doesn't watch-did you see any of the women's rowing this morning?

[magical thyme]

41. no teevee, cable or satellite and dialup internet (pays for my horse's hay)

so watching the Olympics is pretty much out for me. I actually stopped watching much years ago, due to NBC's nonstop babbling which is annoying as all get out. I will probably go to the library to watch video of the top rides and gymnastics after the fact. I'm good with that.

Dressage used to be more accessible than it is now. The 80s and 90s saw an influx of big money and "adult amateurs" that crowded out a lot of small timers. Boarding out became a total nightmare, with "dressage queens" taking over barns. I never want to board out again; too many times I've been sabotaged and too many times forced to subsidize the wealthy clients.

There still are places to learn, but they are few and far between. For example, Vitor Silva set up a training farm in Massachusetts where there was room for working students. When I met him some years ago, at his 1st facility in NH, he was very generous with his upper level Lusitano, Trovador, allowing even rank beginners to sit on him. Lusitanos are very generous and very forgiving horses. Silva is not into competition; he does exhibitions of Iberian dressage at events in Mass and now down in Florida. His training is absolutely classical; it was a blast for me to see the look on his face when, after about 10 minutes of "getting to know you," Trovador was performing pirouettes, half passes and passage with a total stranger off the street on his back. While Silva is Iberian school, I was trained in a combination German/Austrian/British school. But the fundamentals remain the same; it's at most a change in dialect and really more about the individual horse.

I was lucky when I was young to have been able to take lessons with a 2-time national combined training champion who later trained at the Spanish Riding School and became a successful international coach. These days, I wouldn't be able to be in the same barn as he was. I was also able, through him, to ride 2 GP horses owned by a 1%er in my lessons so I could learn the movements from experienced, correctly trained horses. These days, the 1%ers don't loan their semi-retired GP horses to aspiring young riders; they sell them off as schoolmasters at top dollar usually to other 1%ers.

[xmas74]

42. Woudn't it be wonderful if the retired horses

were given to programs for underrepresented youth? I'd love to see that happen-for some, it might be the first time they've ever seen a horse up close and in person. The care, feeding, etc could really mean something to the kids.

The rowing was mindblowing today. I couldn't believe it.

[magical thyme]

43. there are thousands of retired horses looking for homes

the more desperate ones sold to kill-buyers at auction. I would like to see them all end up in some kind of retirement program. Former competition horses may or may not be good candidates; they tend to be on the large size so can accidentally inflict a lot of damage, it really depends on whether they are the more sensitive, reactive type or the more sedate, drafty type.

I definitely would like to see the 1%ers who benefit from their competition horses have the humanity and grace to fund their horses' retirements in whatever form it takes. I am anything but wealthy, but I managed to give my rescued horse a home for life. If I can pull it off, they sure as heck can.

Over the years I've seen tv programs and heard of programs for inner city youths to get out into the country, and horse care is included in some of them. The biggest problem is the expense. Horses are not cheap to maintain and unfortunately, we have an administration that seems to favor slaughter for the excess.

[xmas74]

44. There is a program,

in the city of Philadelphia, I think, that offers something along those lines. Inner city youth are given the opportunity to care for horses. They say it changes their lives.

This is the program I was thinking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Street_Urban_Riding_Club

There are similar programs in other cities but this program has the horses actually in the city, making access for underprivileged youth within reach.

[magical thyme]

46. thank you. I vaguely remember reading something about it at one point

don't remember the details.

This line has me in tears:

"The horses are purchased at a livestock auction in New Holland, Pennsylvania, giving a second chance to horses that would likely otherwise be killed.[4]"

[xmas74]

47. I need to look for the movie sometime.

I believe this is the club that developed an incredible polo player who never would have had a chance to ride otherwise. I'm trying to find the info but I think it's wonderful. If this can be done then how many other equine sports can receive a similar boost from programs of this nature?

(Edit-not the same club but from the same city. The young man is part of the work to ride program. Here's the article about him-http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/08/top-ranked-polo-players-hail-from-philadelphias-inner-city/)

[malaise]

13. Do you know the last year an American won a dressagebronze medal at the Olympics

You don't need to cheer against the poor horse - it won't win and neither with Willard in November

[eShirl]

14. Not if you're cheering for a different horse

personally, I hope this horse and rider win:

Japanese equestrian defies Father Time as the oldest competitor at London Olympics

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/bwIMay2dhNs.AIxvrCX6sg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/

[GoCubsGo]

31. Me, too.

And, I hope that even more for his wife.

[hack89]

15. What about that rider who has dedicated so much for this moment?

doesn't that count for something?

[FSogol]

22. Sorry Ann.

[hack89]

24. But what about the rider? nt

[blueamy66]

20. No!

Cheer away!!!!

[Siwsan]

28. I guess I'd be on 'Team Zara', for this event

You know, give those 'unenthusiastic' Brits something to get excited about. (INSERT HEAVY SARCASM NOTIFICATION HERE).

Plus, she rides her own horse so she AND her horse would be the winners.

[goclark]

32. What time will it be shown?

[LWolf]

35. It would be wrong to wish any of the horses

used in any sporting event ill.

No matter who the owner is.

[riderinthestorm]

36. It won't come even close to medalling. She'll be somewhere in the middle of the pack

Americans suck at dressage. Rafalca is lovely but this pair won't even get near the top placings.

[Bluenorthwest]

37. Rafalca is famous for being famous. Not really in running for the win.

nt

[DefenseLawyer]

45. I think the first thing everyone should think of when they think of Mitt Romney

is some rich guy in a ridiculous rich guy costume riding a dancing horse. Go for the gold!

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. If it medals I will be shocked

No serious, the US has not been a strong contender in any of the horse sports for some time.