Official Equestrian Coverage Schedule

Instead of a news writeup, here is what you really want to read: the equestrian olympic TV schedule for NBC.

I am in no way affiliated with NBC. I just like horses. I’m not even going to waste any space with pictures. All these times are courtesy of Yahoo:

Saturday, July 28

Individual and team eventing dressage: 1:45 pm. – 2:45 pm. (NBC Sports Network)

Sunday, July 29

Individual and team eventing dressage: 2:15 pm. – 3:00 pm. (NBC Sports Network)

Monday, July 30

Individual and team eventing – Cross Country (LIVE): 8:15 am. – 12:45 pm. (NBC Sports Network)

Tuesday, July 31

Eventing – Team Jumping final (LIVE): 6:00 am. – 8:15 am. (NBC Sports Network)

Eventing – Individual Jumping final (LIVE): 9:15 am. – 10:30 am.

GO USA, or whoever you root for.

Rafalca Jokes Aside?

Ann Romney and her horse “Super Hit”. Image courtesy of Washington Post

In an article in the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire, it was released that a recent ad featuring Rafalca was pulled from the air. The ad, which featured criticising remarks about Romney’s tax return statements also showed footage of Rafalca competing in dressage events. It’s no secret that horseback riding is an impressively expensive sport, but in a statement by President Barack Obama, it was mentioned that he considered the ad was in bad taste and said he was against personal attacks on family members. In an interview with Good Morning America, Mrs. Romney’s hurt reaction caused concern that the ad hit too close to home: Mrs. Romney uses dressage to combat her multiple sclerosis and has spoken about its benefits in public before. Have we had the last laugh about the Romneys?

Ann Romney and Rafalca, who will be competing in the London 2012 Olympics. Image courtesy of The New Yorker.

Taking On ‘The Week’

As an avid equestrian that reads The Week, I was insulted by an article written recently in the July 6-13 2012 issue on the ridicule of the Romney’s horse Rafalca. Admittedly, the buzz around the horse has been a bit much, but that wasn’t what pissed me off. The tab that caught my eye on the top of the page, depicted Rafalca performing with Jan Eberling with the caption, “Making fun of dancing horses”. Intrigued, I turned to page 16 to read what was the most irritating posts I’ve read slandering equestrianism in a while.

Just in case you missed this especially offensive article, feel free to ask me for a copy, I’m happy to scan it with my phone and send you a copy.

Horse Dancing for Breast Cancer

Pictured: Julio Mendoza of Mendoza Dressage. Image courtesy of Friesians Direct.

Julio Mendoza of Mendoza Dressage is renowned for his talent with horses. Whether it is performing the “garrocha” or more traditional dressage maneuvers, it demonstrates a high level of professionalism and talent. On June 23rd, he will perform for the Potomac Valley Dressage Association Ride for Life’s Dancing Horse Challenge which will be held to benefit the John Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Center. The event is set to take place at Prince George’s Equestrian Center, in Upper Marlboro, MD.

(A short clip of Mendoza’s 2011 performance has been embedded below)

Romney’s Rafalca Headed to Olympics?

Ann Romney has long been a rider to combat her Multiple Sclerosis, but it seems the Romneys may soon have a chance at Olympic stardom. Rafalca, a horse owned by the Romneys has recently made the short list for the 2012 London Olympics in dressage.

Pictured: Jan Eberling aboard Rafalca. Image courtesy of Dressage News.

Should the horse succeed, Rafalca will join the political must-see list of competitors alongside Zara Phillips (who has secured a spot in eventing on the British team). As Stephen Colbert vivaciously declared, Dressage will be the ‘official Sport of the Summer’, and it will be interesting to see how veteran dressage rider and Jan Eberling are effected by being such high-profile horses at the event.

On a less professional note, I would like to advise the New York Times that not all horse events are called “races“. In the article’s title ‘For Ann Romney, a Different Sort of Horse Race”, it is implied that Rafalca is a racing horse. This is highly inaccurate. More succinctly, what Rafalca does is compete at a “horse show“. A tennis game is a “match“, similarly a track competition is a “meet“. You wouldn’t refer to a soccer game as a soccer “meet“, so please do your homework before carelessly mis-labelling an equestrian event.

What do you think? Will we have a star-studded summer olympics?

Equestrians Lose a Legend: Mourning Jack Fritz

Image courtesy of Equisearch.com

Capt. John H. “Jack” Fritz was well-known in the equestrian community for being a founding member of what is now the United States Eventing Association, and serving as a chair during the founding meeting of the United States Dressage Federation. Fritz was also acclaimed for playing a large role in the creation of The United States Pony Club and the United States Equestrian Federation. An avid promoter of equestrian sports, Fritz was awarded the USEF Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, and  ‘Horseman of the Year’ in both 1968 and 1969. He was inducted into the United States Eventing Association’s (formerly Combined Training) Hall of Fame in 1999 as a ‘non-riding’ member, and is currently recognized by Chronicle of the Horse as one of the 50 most influential people in this century. In addition to his monumental contributions to the equestrian world, Fritz was also deeply involved with American History Studies: he was a notable professor of history at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, and was also a Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University’s Madison campus.Additionally, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees and Officer Trustee of Centenary College. Responsible for drawing up many of the founding guidelines that make each of these organizations what they are today, Jack Fritz will be sorely missed. He is believed to have passed away on the morning of February 9th at the age of 87.