Ann Romney's Horse Aims for Olympic Glory

"dressage"

Thanks!
It is a new word for me and I know no French

its just a really idiotic sport for the 0.0001%ers where everyone dresses up in top hats and jodfers, must look like a twit , must sit atop a braided underweight warm blooded horse who prances around a ring to certain step routines. The rider gets the medal for looking like he or she has a rod up its ass, but the horse does all the work

How sybaritic.

only if the equestrienne are female, otherwise its a very effeminate "Sport"

Dosent every american own a therobred?

and we all eat brie and caviar for breakfass, washed down with a decent Taittingers

How speciesist can you get? GIVE THE MEDAL TO THE HORSE.

But he isent a people, only people and corporations can get medals.

Wealth doesn't make insignificant the kind of dedication and skill that allows any rider to be good enough to compete at the elite level.

It's way less dumb, to my mind, than chasing balls around, and harder, because you have to form a synthesis with another being.

I can see people resenting the wealth, but I think it petty to denigrate her skill. You'd better resent all the wealthy if you are going to be consistent.

its a very benevolent training program you must dmit. The equestrian team training consists of spening ones life merely astride a horse and not worrying a jot about ones own physical shape and stamina.
"Chasing balls around" requires eye /hand foot coordination and terrific stamina. An athletic skill is not riding horsies. We live among dressge champs (three of this yer horses are from our area) and often the riders have NO association with the horse. AT least teh Queens grandniece owns the horse she rode.

Any human endeavor that is partially assessed on the basis of ones attire needs to be viewed with suspicion .

Nonsense. If one is to be a top competitor in equestrian events you need to be in bloody good shape.

I dont believe they have no association with the horse. They may cheat and have little in the USA (certainly not the same here) but no horse will compete at that level without time with the rider.

Calling a horse a horsie is not an argument...it's silly. I'd love to see you do it.

Aren't your ball chasers expected to wear uniforms?

Crap. Lots of top dressage riders are male. Also, isn't the Olympic dressage part of a three day event? That's only for fools and the very brave.

Calling something effeminate is ignorant and rather Neanderthal. I thought much better of you. I'd not have gone NEAR a cross country course even at my most foolish.

many horse owners hire a rider who becomes an employee of the farm. Thats just like a jockey in racing. I didnt say that you could be in bad shape, I just said that phyical condition isnt the major determinant, Training for the rider doesnt take years like in archery or "kicking a ball"

I see riders come and go at our neighbor outfit. His is a corporation that markets horses for dressage , so hving great stock, well trained , and then, acclimated to a specific rider, i the way most of th world does it. "National Velvet" is just a movie.

Found me out did you.
AS far as "You try it", I have , several times and all at the insistance of friends who do live horsie lives. I believe the Insutrial Rvolution made us left dependent on livstock for travel (unless were Amish)

njoy the horsies, they are fun albeit anachronystically so, IMHO.

We must learn to divorce our arguments from intended ad hominems. I thought better of you too. Try to convince me of the correctness of your view, dont try to ridicule me into seeing your point, its gonna have the opposite effect. (My new mantra is"First guy to lose his or her cool has lost the game")
My opinion is based upon 30 years of experience living among dressage havens, carriage teams and dray horse competition, all srrounded by AMish who use horses like real tools, its still mychoice and observation.
Id put up any average Amish farm kids horse handling skills against most of these dandied overdressed horse toppers.
The competition is hardly based upon a n exceptionally skilled athlete , its more like the subjectivity of Olympic Ice dancing and figure skating except the horse is the athlete.

Most of these horses know their routines and many times I see, at my beighbors, where a trainer keeps a horse on a long tether and the hrse goes through the gate walks WITH NO RIDER ATOP.
That is quite telling.

you are nuts if that's what you believe. I've got some friends/acquaintances involved with various equestrian events and it is very physically and mentally demanding. They work out a lot, on their own and with the teams of horses they work with.

it takes decades