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[RC] Endurance in the Olympics - k s swigart

Paul Sidio said:

It has been stated many times that Endurance Riding
will never be an Olympic Sport.  The main reasons
given are that it is just too spectator and television
unfriendly.

If you ask me, the main reason that endurance riding will never be an
Olympic sport isn't that it isn't a spectator sport (and, btw, it still
isn't a spectator sport even if you can sit in a stand and watch it, but
that is beside the point); endurance will never be an Olympic sport
because it isn't a human athletic endeavor and the IOC won't be adding
an event that is the equivalent of giving out medals to horses.

The other Olympic equestrian sports were included back in the days when
there was still such a thing as mounted cavalry and the olympic events
were, in many way, mock military trials.  The only reason the current
equestrian events are included in the Olympics is ... tradition.

Unlike marathons, which can be run in urban
locations in front of thousands of spectators,

Actually, marathons (which only take 2+ hours not 10+) aren't really
spectator sports either and the only thing that anybody pays to watch in
the Olympic marathon is runners crossing the finish line, and even that
happens between the other events that the people are there really to
watch...like the 100 m dash.  And, I contend, the only reason it is
included is...tradition.

kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)

"If the end justifies the means, everybody is justified." John G. Beck,
PhD



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