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[RC] Future of Olympic equestrian sport under threat - k s swigartD'arcy said: Fascinating article! I sense a world wide push for every equine rider / supporter to invade the UK in show of that support. As a matter of fact I am going to be there! And maybe we can all put our money where our mouth is! Count me out. I would like the horse sports to be removed from the Olympics. I only wish they had done it sooner--i.e. before the FEI dumbed down eventing in an effort to keep it in...here's to hoping that it isn't too late for a return to the long format in eventing if the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic host cities don't have any say in it. Certainly, the Kentucky Horse Park has adequate facilities to run a true three day event for the WEG. Maybe if a nail were driven into the coffin of Olympic horse sports, we could go back to doing eventing right??? Probably not, but I can hope. However, the IOC is right to remove horse sports from the olympics. There are the horse quarantine issues: holding this year's olympic events in Hong Kong was just damned silly, making exceptions to the quarantine rules for Sydney and Atlanta so they could be held there was...imprudent, and expensive, I might add. Unlike other Olympic sports, horse sports are not a human athletic endeavour (which is why they can be won by old ladies) it is the horse who is the athlete. Dressage for the uninitiated is about as comprehensible as Sanskrit. Eventing is counted as a good day if nobody (either horse or rider) is seriously injured or killed. And show jumping is riddled with drugged horses. Horse sports in the Olympics made some sense when the Olympics was, in essence, mock military trials AND there was such a thing as a mounted cavalry. However, the Olympics is no longer a mock military trial, and even if it were, the mounted cavarly has gone the way of the dodo so it would make more sense to have mock competitive dog fights in fighter jets. I cast my vote...by all means, take the horse sports out of the Olympics. Especially since you can see more and better horsemen at the World Cup (where all the best riders are invited, not just a limited number from each country). kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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