Well Lynn, you certainly raised a couple of MY hackles!! . . .in agreement with what you said. So, I give you a thumbs up on your post and join you in the backlash. And to piggyback off what you said . . . I'm also sick of seeing horses pushed beyond their limits for the sake of human-designed competitions. I've read too many tragic news articles lately, wherein there was permanent injury or even death to horses for the sake of sport. Yes, there are human fatalities in sports too, which is an informed risk we take, but horses don't have a choice in the matter. They simply do what is asked of them, even if it means killing themselves. Olympics aside, I'd like to see the high-risk equestrian sports that push horses beyond what is natural for them as a species, be banned altogether. Ok, sock it to
me, gang! =)
~Carrie <\_~ // \\
"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears."
~ Old Arabian Proverb
--- On Tue, 9/2/08, Lynn White <lynndeepoo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Lynn White <lynndeepoo@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: [RC] Olympic equestrian decision To: "steph" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 9:50 AM
I know this will raise a hackle or two, but with the exception of the
pentathlon, I hope the equestrian sports as they are run now do get dumped
from the Olympics. Now if they did something like require that countries supply
qualified horses and riders and the horses would be chosen for riders at random,
THAT would be interesting and a more realistic measure of horsemanship. Don’t
get me wrong, I love watching top level dressage and jumping; and the cross
country course just takes my breath away. But the original spirit of the
Olympic games was about the common PEOPLE representing their countries and
competing against each other. The equestrian competitions pre 1960 were based
on the skills needed to be a top cavalry horseman. Now it has morphed into a
sport that has way too much emphasis on an extremely expensive horse. When I
think of it, I can’t imagine any sport further from the original spirit of the
games than the equestrian
competitions. And while they are at it, they can jettison beach volley ball
as well!
Lynn
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on
people"
-W.C. Fields
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