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[RC] Kat said "But the French DIDN'T win..." - katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxliz said: Where did I hear the French got a GOLD medal? I suspect that you heard that a French rider was awarded the individual gold medal. However, it was a gentleman from the UAE that won the gold medal; a French rider won the individual silver medal. But it was the Italians who won the team gold, the Australians won the silver, the Belgians the bronze, and the Canadians were the only other team that finished the requisite three riders. The French team only finished one rider (incidentally, the same rider that won the individual silver, which suggests that pursuit of individual achievement doesn't preclude finishing for the team) and wasn't even in the running. The French team did win the team gold in 2002 in Jerez, but they also were not even in the running in 2000, when the event was held on their home turf in France. There isn't anything in the record of WEC accomplishment that suggests that the French are so good at it that the US needs to figure out what the French are doing right and the US is doing wrong. Additionally, theories about the French attitude in general about equestrian sport providing them with an edge in horse sports other than endurance are not borne out by a perusal of the records for international/championship level competition for them either. The Germans and the Dutch are the powerhouses in dressage (with the US and maybe Spain snapping at their heels), the Germans are the powerhouse in show jumping (with the US snapping at their heels); and the US, the British, and New Zealand are the powerhouses in eventing. So far, the US owns reining (but that may change as other countries figure the sport out and develop their own programs). I don't know enough about driving and vaulting to know whether the French are particularly capable in those disciplines, but I have heard anything to suggest that this is the case. I suspect that the Germans are predominant in driving as well. This isn't to say that there have not produced some great riders and great horses, but they aren't any better known for it than anybody else (unlike the Germans). It used to be (and may still be the case, I am not sure) that French riders were limited in their achievement in international horse competition by the fact that they were required to compete on a horse that was born in France. Certainly, French accomplishments have been better in endurance than in the other horse sports, but they don't dominate the sport to the extent that the whole world needs to figure out how to "catch up" with them. Nor does the US have make excuses about there being a lack of support for horse sports in the broader culture to explain some perceived lack of success by comparison. Endurance is, in fact, still a wide open sport; at least on the team level. And, I suspect that the reason for this is, as was alluded by Truman, that success at the team level in endurance is as much a matter of luck as anything else :). If the FEI wanted to really make endurance a respected team sport, they would figure out how to design an event with a better completion rate so that the teams that win aren't just the ones that are lucky enough to have enough people finish.e I am not sure that this can be done. kat Orange County, Calif. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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