Zara Philips, the Princess Royal's daughter, is on the GB Olympic team

[magical thyme]

13. I haven't looked at this year's Olympics, but not that long ago

the German Gold Medal team included a German police horse and his policeman partner. They practiced during their off-time, when they weren't patrolling.

One of our early top riders, Hilda Gurney, made the team on an off-the-track thoroughbred.

Yes, the 1%ers have bought their way into it, and at least some of us who participate are aware of and resent that. We have our own pony envy to deal with.

But there are also ordinary middle-class people who make it. In fact, most of our team consists of professional trainers sponsored by 1%ers, and they do not all have Ebeling's money or connections. Plus, it's not like the 1%ers do the actual training or riding. They just bankroll it. And unlike the Romneys, most of them don't try to claim big tax deductions out of it, either.