The sport of Dressage is not one that the average person might know a great deal about. Americans like to watch sports like Football, Baseball, and basketball. These sports are ones that the regular guy can understand and relate to. The Romney clan however think that Dressage is the perfect sport! Most people have never even heard of it!
So what is it? There really is no easy way to describe it other than Horse Dancing. It is fun to watch, but it is without doubt just a little elitist. While there are likely many parents that have heard “I want a pony for my birthdayâ€, I’ll bet that very few hear “I want a horse for Dressageâ€.
It is an elitist sport, actually I use the term sport loosely. Is getting a horse to dance while a well dressed rider wearing a Top Hat and Tails sits atop a sport? Certainly it is not one that resonates with us mere mortals.
The Olympics however do view Dressage as a sport. It is odd that they turned down my suggestion of the Auger, Ice Fishing and Beer Drinking triathlon, yet Horse Dancing is ok! I think it is stupid, dig the hole, catch the fish, and drink the beer, that is sports! It could also be a team sport, involving Ski-Do’s and the need to construct a shelter and still consume beer.
So, let me ask a question. How many of the ‘wannabe’ presidents are into Dressage? Horse Dancing seems to be firmly in the Republican court. The Romneys are the proud owner of Rafalca. This 15 year old horse is not expected to win any medals in the Olympics, But it does give me Pause for thought. Is Mitt just Dressage or is he real? Is he preened and prancing, or is he serious in his quest to become president?
Most athletes taking part in the Olympics are in fact rather regular folks. They are not rich folks that can not afford to ship a horse across town, never mind across the pond to England.
Simon Barrett
7 users commented in " Mitt Romney – Is It All Dressage? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI am a poor person and I ride dressage really. I am that poor. What you don’t get is that dressage means training the horse to respond to the rider in correct balance. If you knew my finances you would be amazed. Its not about dancing horses. Mitt Romney I don’t like him at all. The horse I like.
not a post, its just trash.. really bad, written by somone realy ignorant about the equestrian sports.. what a shame..
stupid, stupid STUPID!! Do you know ANYTHING about dressgae?!?! I have worked my ass off to get where I am now! You have NO IDEA how hard it is to ride dressage! Much harder then drinking beer! You could never do what dressage rideres do! It takes YEARS of practice!!
Sorry, I feel very strongly about this 🙁
And just saying the horse in the photo is behind the bit, and is not proper dressage. The horse does have nice gaits and has his weight properly on his hind quarters, but the connection through the reins sucks.
I agree. This man is uneducated about the equine world and really has no place to speak. Dressage is the hardest level of riding and to “sit” a horse without bouncing all over the place, to use leg cues and make every subtle and have a horse respond with power and grace is a team work. I have never rode dressage myself, but i do ride western and I do know if I could do dressage it would really boost my riding abilities. I have never seen a fat Olympic rider, but I have seen fat beer drinkers…the real sport then?
Thank you! The reason we look like we are doing nothing is because we’ve managed to train the horse to be so sensitive to anything from a shift of balance to the twitch of the reins that no one can even see what we are doing anymore. It takes incredible precision, and fitness. Unlike what many people believe, horse-back riding is indeed a cardiovascular sport.
This is such a shame. Though not in any way a Romney fan, I feel the need to defend dressage. In fact, dressage is far from an elitest sport- even the riders who ride in the olympics, though many have turned their riding success into horse training business, rarely have the money to fly horses around the world, as you seem to claim in your article. In fact, it is sponsors like the Romneys that allow hard-working and talented ATHLETES to compete internationally. You say few children ever wanted a pony to do dressage…? Then count me as one of the few. I’ve always been horse crazed, and especially crazed with dressage. Why? Because with correct dressage training, you can take even the cheapest horse and with enough hard work (not money– just lots of stall cleaning!) improve them beyond recognition.
Leave A Reply