[Closed] Dressage

Why the BBC insist in just interviewing the riders and not the horses is beyond me. They should at least be given a medal.

No bloody wonder riders have a scathing opinion of cyclists when this is the general attitude maintained here. It's an incredibly demanding discipline and until you've tried it properly you're not really in a position to criticise its inclusion in the Olympics or not. (And having ridden a horse does NOT count).

So is flatland, which has to be the equivalent in cycling terms, and yet that's not in the Olympics (because that would just be silly).

As far as I can see, it's just a dog show for horses, with the only difference being that the human is on it rather then running next to it.

I was at the dressage yesterday...

I normally find it incredibly boring, even when my wife is doing a test (at a lower level obviously) I struggle to pay attention. As does the horse, which can be amusing sometimes...at a small local competition a while back she strayed a little wide and then decided to jump a flower arrangement, got a chuckle from the other watchers but didn't do anything for her score 🙂

Yesterday morning was a bit so so (no GB riders for a start) but I did actually start to take an interest in the afternoon, and it got quite interesting towards the last few when GB started looking good for gold. First time the Germans have lost in years.

[i]Entry level dressage horse = £60,000.00[/i]

Entry level dressage horse for the average person, about the same price as a mid range full susser. If the horse is a bit rubbish/needs work then it could be even cheaper. Obviously the upkeep is higher, but you don't need to be earning megabucks.

Re. the scoring...even for me I could see how the marks where awarded to certain moves and with my wife commenting away it makes sense, but I can see that watching from home the scoring could appear completely random until someone starts pointing out their errors.

Why is it that they can make a horse walk sideways, stand on its hind legs, trot in rhythm etc but they can't stop it taking a massive dump in the middle of an international performance?
The horses at the Spanish riding school in Vienna did exactly the same thing.

To anyone saying 'oh x Y or Z sport shouldn't be in the olympics'; guess what? It's not about you. Fortunately.

Although the previous inclusion of baseball, I have to say, was a bit of a joke.

I have a great deal of admiration for anyone who climbs on to the back of some big, powerful potentially stroppy beastie, that is perfectly capable of independent thought, and then tries to get it to do stuff it may not want too.

There's a very real possibility that its not going to end well at all

Have you met my ex-wife?

Entry level dressage horse for the average person, about the same price as a mid range full susser.

Yeah, but that's a second hand horse. You'd get a new bike for that!

Couple of years down the line and you'd need a new one due to horse fatigue as well. You'd be better off ditching dressage and just getting a Halfords horse-shaped-object while learning.

What sort of money is top end stables and food for a year? I take it we're not talking Finish Line Dry prices here?

Couple of years down the line and you'd need a new one due to horse fatigue as well. You'd be better off ditching dressage and just getting a Halfords horse-shaped-object while learning.

Ah, but you can't eat your discarded bike can you.

True, the rag and bone man has refused to move the horse carcass from my garden though.

WunUndred 😀

As far as I can see, it's just a dog show for horses

Couple of years down the line and you'd need a new one due to horse fatigue as well.

You can always make a bit back on it though ...

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What sort of money is top end stables and food for a year? I take it we're not talking Finish Line Dry prices here?

How about the upkeep of bikes as opposed to trainers for just running?

What about the cost of new covers for the settee - they're all worn out from the amount of time I spend slobbing there watching sport on TV.

Would be even worse if you had a horse there slobbing with you.

I think I understand this a bit better now, having seen the comments of Judy Harvey, "respected rider and trainer as well as BBC commentator at London 2012".

Charlotte's horse Valegro has a faultless outline, by which I mean there's no tension in the horse, The neck is very important, as is the way the horse carries the bit in its mouth.
Adelinde's horse Parzival gets a bit tight in its neck, whereas Charlotte's horse had a beautiful curve from the front of its withers [the area between the shoulder-blades] up to its ears.

So what you're telling me is that Valegro won the gold medal?

Are there any rules about the nationality of horses, or could a foreign horse win GB a gold medal (I appreciate I'm on shaky ground here given arguments about Wiggo's nationality, not to mention certain other GB gold medalists who's English is so shaky that their comments get lost in translation)?

I watched the dressage today - absolutely amazing. The last 4 just got better and better and the Dujardin was a clear winner for even my inexperienced eye and the music choice was perfect.

I wonder if the horses meet up and do some drunken dancing after the event?