Ann Romney’s horse won’t win an Olympic medal

yahoo ^ | 8/7/12 | Holly Bailey

[Uncle Slayton]

Ann Romney's horse Rafalca won't win a medal in the dressage competition at London's Olympic Games. But Romney, the wife of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, still praised her horse's "fabulous" performance.

"It was wonderful," Romney told the Associated Press' Nicole Winfield after watching her horse compete Tuesday in London. "She was elegant and consistent again. We just love her."

[stormer]

[hitchwolf]

Yes, they tampered with Romney’s horse....

I actually feel bad for you if you legit believe that.

[StAnDeliver]

"No, the horse was not sabotaged for political purposes or unfairly judged. The gold-medal-winning Brits, including Charlotte DeJardin on Valegro, were superb. Truly breathtaking. They deserved the victory. Rafalca was good but not in that class. Her canter pirouettes are not wonderful and the passage and piaffe, eh. She is a good girl, a fine horse, just not quite of that caliber."

A wonderful mare, yes. Except for Peters, the US simply did not show well. Jan tried to put a good face on it.

“I wish the scores would have been a little bit higher, but I’m really happy with the horse,” Ebeling said. “She went great. Didn’t really have mistakes.”

Rafalca is competitive here [US], not so competitive there [Olympics].

[Salamander]

It’s one of those things that’s so breath-taking and beautiful, I can barely stand to watch it...:)

[LibertarianLiz]

Horses have bad days too.

I remember (years ago) when I had a sheltie and we were training for obedience work. I went to a "meet" to watch some other dogs work out and there was a German Shephard working out in one of the rings. This was a experienced obedience dog at the top of the ladder for awards (a UD, I think). Well, this dog just decided that, that day he wasn't going to do it. He was just lolly-gagging around the ring. He wouldn't go over the jump. When the woman got out of the ring with her dog, she had friends waiting and they were all laughing about this as this was very unusual behavior for this particular dog.

So, yeah, animals also will have days when they just don't want to work.

[Tennessee Nana]

Its them horse haters and their ilk...

[freekitty]

i agree

[ottbmare]

Maybe the horse just sucks like Romney the liberal.

The horse does not "suck." She is very good, very talented, and both well-trained and well-ridden. She scored over 70%. That is extraordinary, and a few years ago that score would have represented an untouchable triumph. The goalposts have moved, however, and there are a few horses in the entire world who are infinitesimally better than she is. As I said, the quality of her single-tempi changes is not a political issue, so we can leave her part-owner's husband and his personal history out of it.

[ottbmare]

If you think Olympic dressage is beautiful, you should see it when it's done without the constraints of competition; when it's done for art, for the pure pursuit of beauty. The delicacy of communication between two species becomes almost like ESP. It has a spiritual component, but make no mistake: like ballet or martial arts, it takes strength as well as grace.

Dressage at Schloss Buckeburg

And then this, just to show the artistry and intense communication a young girl and her Iberian stallion can achieve alone, without bit or saddle:

Alizee

Sorry for the ads.

[virgil]

Is that a Lippizanner (sp?) horse I saw jumping up while extending front and back legs? What wonderful horses. Thanks for the links.

[ottbmare]

I think almost all the horses at Buckeburg are Iberians, either Andalusians or Lusitanos. The ones that are truly white with pink muzzles and blue eyes are definitely Iberians. There is one gray horse that looks white, with a touch of gray in the tail and gray muzzle and dark eyes. He is shown doing a capriole. Could well be a Lipizzaner. I’m not sure because he only shows up for a second or two. You have a good eye.

These are all movements the horse does naturally, when he is joyful (or courting, or fighting, or just being a horse). They are not being forced; we ask, and they either offer or not.

[Salamander]

That’s really cool but it appears to be more in line with Haute Ecole than dressage.

[dressage does not include any of the ‘airs above ground’ or levade, etc]

[ottbmare]

I must respectfully disagree with you. True, competitive dressage, as seen in the Olympics, the WEG, etc., does not include the airs and movements of the high school. But competitive dressage is very far from being the pinnacle of dressage. The airs above the ground are certainly a part of academic dressage; they’re just for people and horses who aspire to a higher level than competition dressage. Ask the Spanish Riding School. Ask Philippe Karl, the Henriquets, Nuno Oliveira, JP Giacomini, or the other great dressage riders of the 20th and 21st centuries.

[Salamander]

But that is exactly what I said.

Anything that includes the airs above the ground [sauts d’école] is considered Haute Ecole which is the ultimate expression of ‘classical dressage’ versus ‘competitive dressage’ and the schools of training that I was thinking of are those you just mentioned.

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall08/Scheff/haute.html

Nice website with a few good videos.

I found this which conflicts with most of the ‘experts’ defending dressage on YouTube:

“Another sure sign of a tense horse is a tail that constantly swishes and pinned-back ears.”

That is true and I’m not sure why they keep saying it’s “normal” and that the horse is “happy” when its body language practically screams otherwise.

[Salamander]

Why the hell are people even quibbling over this?

The woman has the right to invest the time, effort and money into a dressage horse if she wants.

It’s nobody else’s business.

It’s also an insanely competitive sport and there are some great horse/rider combos out there and somebody’s inevitably going to lose, regardless of ‘who they are’ or aren’t.

This has to be one of the most asinine ‘arguments’ I’ve ever seen on FR.

More time goes into training a dressage horse than just about any other type.

The Spanish Riding Academy doesn’t even blink at a decade-long training period.

This is *not* a 4H Western Pleasure class.

Sheesh, people.

[Salamander]

This is just my opinion but I would have liked to see more animation and higher lift.

She is an honest horse who is not stressed, with ears forward and tail steady.

She’s not as ‘flashy’ as other horses.

But she is honest and technically sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucIpMo28Nqg

Then there’s this guy who lets it all hang out:

http://horsemanpro.com/articles2/classical-dressage.htm

And for giggles, look for “Mule Dressage”.

[ottbmare]

This is just my opinion but I would have liked to see more animation and higher lift. She is an honest horse who is not stressed, with ears forward and tail steady. She’s not as ‘flashy’ as other horses.

Chacun á son goût. The thing is, horses like Toti have spoiled us, and now we expect to see high action and a lot of drama. Yes, her tail is so relaxed, her jaw is relaxed, she's wearing a bit of lipstick, her paces are pure, she is supple, flexible, balanced, forward, full of impulsion, a happy camper. Her pirouettes aren't very good, but see how easily she makes those single-tempi changes? She's a fine horse and a worthy member of the US team. Trouble is, the goalposts are moving. Two or three Games ago she would have won gold.

[dfwgator]