Oh yeah, almost forgot - RomneyCARE RomneyCARE RomneyCARE
Posted on 08/07/2012 9:57:11 AM PDT by 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
It is just sad that Ann and her horse as Olympic athletes would have worked so hard to represent the USA just to be sabotaged for political gain.
I can’t help myself. There’s gotta be a “... and the horse you rode in on” joke here somewhere.
Obama’s dog won’t win a medal either .... not since Obama ate him.
“I can’t help myself. There’s gotta be a “... and the horse you rode in on” joke here somewhere.”
Move on. Put it behind you...
Ann Romney was NOT competing on the horse. Anoth rider was, who has much more experience.
Does everything have to be a political conspiracy?
Could it be that other horses performed a little better than Rafalca?
Horses have bad days too. Several horses/riders who were favored to win the jumping events did really crappy (knocked over the rails)and didn't even place.
Horses tampered with by Obama agents......facepalm.jpg.
As owner of the horse, she does compete as does the horse and the rider in the American pastime of Dressage.
They’ll just have to strap her to the top of the wagon and take her back to the ranch.
Probably won’t medal because of all the money in the horses saddlebags weighed it down.... /sarc
Oh yeah, almost forgot - RomneyCARE RomneyCARE RomneyCARE
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.
But to be quite fair, the US is a relative newcomer to dressage. They’ve been pursuing it in England and Europe for 500+ years, one way or another, and the depth of talent there is incredible. It’s BIG business there. Until forty years ago, however, very few Americans had even heard of it. We’ve come up to speed fast, partly through importing European horses and breeding them here, partly from bringing European trainers over. We aren’t quite there yet, though we get closer all the time.
Another consideration is that some of our top talent does not pursue dressage as a competitive sport but as an art form, so they’re out of the mix. And the European nations’ government support for horse-breeding has created an industry we can’t approach here.
Disclaimer: I hate the FEI and its hypocrisy. Politics is involved, but NOT in ways that prejudice the judges against American horses and riders. The judges here are doing pretty well; it’s the commentators on the rides who are, um, nuts.
Are you serious? Give me a break. Being paranoid 24/7 is no way to go through life.
One of the most beautiful sports ever.
Oh yes another conspiracy theory. Maybe the horse just sucks like Romney the liberal.
Beautiful animal! I’d never heard of freestyle dressage before. Thanks for the link.
This is just such a blessing. I have laid awake for the last three nights wondering how the Romney’s would be able to pay the taxes on the Gold Medal if they won it. Now I can relax.
Everyone can’t win. Each competition stands on its own, and some performers just do better than others, on any particular day.
My daughter used to ride dressage. It’s fun to watch.
Yes, they tampered with Romney’s horse....
I actually feel bad for you if you legit believe that.
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].
It’s one of those things that’s so breath-taking and beautiful, I can barely stand to watch it...:)
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.
Its them horse haters and their ilk...
i agree
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.
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:
Sorry for the ads.
Is that a Lippizanner (sp?) horse I saw jumping up while extending front and back legs? What wonderful horses. Thanks for the links.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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