Good News! Dressage Isn't Elitist: Possible On A 'Normal Budget,' Says Romney Rider

[bigtree]

Jul 28, 2012




Jan Ebeling, the 53-year-old who will be riding Ann Romney’s horse Rafalca in the dressage at the London Olympics, said today the elitist tag put on the sport is unfair.

Ann Romney’s part-ownership of the horse has been lampooned by critics of her husband, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, as being symbolic of the family being out of touch with normal Americans. Dressage, which involves horses carrying out controlled movements, can be pursued on a “normal budget,” Ebeling said. He declined to put a figure on what “normal” might be.

“If you look at our team, there’s nobody who’s a millionaire,” Ebeling said in an interview at the Olympic Park. “When I grew up we had no money. I worked my butt off. I cleaned stalls. People saw the talent and would let me ride their horses. Money is not something that defines dressage. It’s something you can do with a normal budget.”


“The only sport the Romneys could be involved in that would make them look wealthier than dressage would be gold-coin diving in their family safe,” Hadley Freeman, a columnist for the London-based Guardian newspaper, wrote on July 25.

The Olympic equestrian arena where Rafalca will perform is no stranger to wealth and privilege, with Prince Abdullah al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Alvaro Affonso de Miranda Neto, husband of Athina Onassis; Princess Nathalie Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein of Denmark and Zara Phillips, granddaughter of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, among the riders competing across a range of disciplines . . .

read: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-28/romney-dressage-rider-hits-back-at-elitist-jibes-over-olympics.html



from The Political Carnival:

The Romneys declared a loss of $77,000 on their 2010 tax returns for the share in the care and feeding of Rafalca, which Mrs. Romney owns with Mr. Ebeling’s wife, Amy, and a family friend, Beth Meyers.

The average wage earner in America makes about $46,326.00 a year,

[turtlerescue1]

1. Dunno, but it sure looks like that tack and blanket

exceeds my yearly income.

[roguevalley]

14. First of all, I love me some horses. My family ranched for generations and the cow

horses are the smartest in the world. Miniature horses rock my casbah.

sports like dressage, though beautiful to watch are very hard on horse's legs. many if not most of them are on drugs for the stress fractures and other injuries and old Ann Romney is being sued for selling a horse to someone else that has injuries and they were masked with about three different drugs.

Some fricken sportswoman, Ann Rmoney.

Rest your eyes on the awesomeness:

[The Wielding Truth]

16. What is the horse in your sub picture? It's so beautiful.

[Autumn]

43. That would be a Gypsy. A neighbor has them. Wonderful horses

But if you want to see an awesome horse, google a Friesian. My neighbor has a Friesian Stallion. I have to go over once a week to get my petting fix. And then I just drool.

[roguevalley]

45. they are awesome. I love draft horses. they are so foot proud.

[The Wielding Truth]

50. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

Love them.

[kestrel91316]

17. Hell, the duds for the rider alone probably exceed MY yearly income.

[riderinthestorm]

44. Really kestrel? You make less than $1500/year? I thought you were a vet?!

Custom boots $600 (and worth it since you spend hundreds of hours in them and they are damn uncomfortable)
Custom shadbelly $600 and a one time expense
Stock tie $20 another one time expense
Breeches $200
Gloves $50 (on the generous side)

So probably @ $1500 total for an Olympic level outfit. I know some of the swimming and track gear is expensive too. Do we whinge about that?

[kestrel91316]

48. Well I figured the clothes for many thousands.

I am a vet. I own a cat practice, and the recession has flooded us with red ink for over 5 years. My net income after expenses is shockingly low and it has wiped out my savings. As a single woman with no second income in the home, I don't have a safety net.

And veterinarians' income has not even remotely begun to keep up with inflation for decades. We are the poor redheaded stepchildren of the medical professions, lol.

Yes, some veterinarians make a lot of money (not a lot compared to physicians). But thee are plenty of us who really do struggle to keep the doors open when the economy takes a downturn.

I know how to mislead and frighten clients into spending LOTS more money, and too many of my colleagues do exactly that. I refuse to, and so I will never be wealthy, but I sleep well enough at night and am not ashamed of my ethics.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. I used to do dressage when I was a teenager and it is very costly

Even though I used to ride a borrowed horse the rest of it was very expensive. My grandmother helped out.

[2pooped2pop]

3. and you can apparently take a tax deduction

that is double my yearly income! Go dressage! It's not just for the rich.

I'm gonna get into it just for that deduction.

[elleng]

53. They DECLARED $77,000, only RECEIVED $49.00.

[cindyperry2010]

4. My head just spun completely around and off my neck

really did he say that with a straight face what utter b . s .

[MADem]

5. As Mister Ed woud say, PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT....

Annie's horses never have to sing this tune:

[Johonny]

6. So long as your a good poor person a rich guy will let you pet the horse

see you don't need a lot of money so long as someone else has a lot of money. Mitt Romney is surrounded by people that seem as self oblivious as he is. Worked hard and clean Romney's horse shit and as a favor you get to ride the horse once in a while. Mitt Romney's vision for America!

[SDjack]

7. If dressage is possible on a normal budget, why is

Jan Ebeling (age 53) riding rMoney's horse? Apparently, Jan is good enough to be in the Olympics but doesn't have the resources to have his own horse. Smarten up, Jan. The rMoney's are going to pay you just enough to keep you in debt to their "company store." You will die shoveling shit in their stables.

[DCBob]

55. +1

exactly.

[riderinthestorm]

61. I've avoided responding to this post for 24 hours to mull over a response.

So here goes. My husband also rides, trains and competes other people's horses in dressage and combined training. And there definitely is a sense of being at the "beck and call" of your client whose paying the freight. You are aware of the tension at all times - that you are the hired help applying your expertise on the client's child. I use the word "child" to describe the horse purposefully. For most clients the horse really is akin to their child - a furbaby just like you think of your cat or dog. So a rider/trainer must tread carefully in schooling the horse and being effective, and not pissing the client off when you have to reprimand their "child".

As far as Jan Ebeling and Ann Rmoney's relationship, I can only speculate but I'll try. Ann probably is LOVING the access to her heroes - the other dressage riders at the top of the sport. She's getting a front row seat to the greatest collection of riders and horses on the planet - not just the dressage arenas but the combined training and show jumping horses as well. The past year for her has probably been just one incredible weekend after another as she gets to be one of the privileged insiders. She's paid big money for that privilege and Jan Ebeling is her ticket in. She wouldn't be there if she didn't have him riding her horses.

He's got a lot of value for her that way. Beyond that, I'd guess they're now friends. Our clients, especially long term ones, have become close friends. We go to their weddings, baby showers, birthday parties... we have dinner together and backyard BBQs. While our clients could always leave and go elsewhere, we've cultivated a relationship that would be hard to keep together if they went to another trainer.

As for Jan being "owned". Well yes in a sense, he is. He is truly indebted to his benefactors - his clients who provide him the horses and the support. However, as a top rider/trainer he now can go anywhere else. He can teach, train, work anywhere in the world. With his success on Rafalca (he's been successful on other horses too don't get me wrong, I just use her as an example), he's basically transcended the relationship with the Rmoneys. Someone else would support him if he wanted, probably another dressage queen like Ann, who would love to be in that special inside circle. He knows that.

If Ann and Jan Ebeling continue their partnership past the Olympics, its because they are both pretty equal partners in the business at this point. Each needing the other, each comfortable with what they bring to the business, and probably friends.

[Nay]

8. This justification from RW enablers who dissed Kerry as elitist cuz he went wind surfing on a

board that prob cost $500 at most. Jeezus Christ on a crutch. Those asshole Romneys deserve every punch they get over dressage.

[karynnj]

13. Not to mention, Kerry didn't have someone else acctually do the windsurfing

Not that he have a lot of time to wind surf.

[Swede]

9. Wonder what airfare for a horse is?

nt

[ProSense]

10. "Normal budget":

Buy a horse http://www.graemont.com/dollar.php

...and then join the circuit:

“Having people like that is very important to the success of this sport and our country being represented,” said Mary Phelps, the publisher of an online dressage news site, who estimated that the costs of exhibiting a horse on the international circuit could run to $200,000 a year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/us/politics/ann-romneys-hobby-spotlights-world-of-dressage.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

I mean, after those cost are covered, it only cost about $500 a month (or more) to maintain the horse and keep it in a pasture.

These people are on crack!

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. Ride, yes. Own, different issue.

I had a coworker who took dressage lessons. For every 5 hours of stable cleaning, she was given 1 hour of riding lessons. She worked in animal rescue and tended to horses already as a volunteer, so that was just something she wanted to learn.

Owning and training a dressage horse is a completely different issue.

[kentauros]

49. Yes, owning and training/riding are two very different issues.

However, I have gotten the impression that once people get it in their heads that dressage is "elitist", then game over. They'll never admit that they might have it wrong.

It's also curious how we label certain sports or hobbies. I know we have some members here that are pilots, and not all as their profession. It's a weekend hobby. Have we ever called them "elitist" because it's expensive to lease and fly a plane? I haven't seen it, though I certainly don't read the whole of DU daily.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Stay at Mansion(s) Mom

[surrealAmerican]

15. So, his point here is that ...

... you don't need to be obscenely wealthy, you just need to suck up to somebody else who is?


He'd have been better off keeping his mouth shut. The horse has more cogent things to say than he does.

[Lizzie Poppet]

18. Quite so...but not at the Grand Prix level.

Dressage competitions occur at a wide range of levels, and most of the competitors in the sport have "normal" incomes. So do the horse owners - and at most levels of the sport, those are one-in-the-same, anyway. However, at the top level (Grand Prix), fabulously expensive horses are commonplace and while some riders aren't affluent (getting the ride by virtue of having top-level skills), pretty much everyone else at that level is rolling in it.

[bigtree]

19. that's just it, isn't it?

As some posters say above, this is the perspective of someone who has assumed a lesser role in the cost equation of the sport. It's well and good to find folks who are able to advantage themselves of these fine horses . . . especially without assuming the load of the actual costs involved in the animal's upkeep.

Mr. Ebeling is quite right to defend his own ambition and ability to ride the great animals, although, I'm not sure he's correct about a 'normal' wage supporting his own expenses. I can imagine a rider getting by in a less prestigious event with a modest income, but he's kidding himself if he thinks a 'normal' American wage earner could manage such a elaborate hobby; or, for that matter, find themselves such an excellent opportunity as he has and maintain all of that with a 'normal' income.

Perhaps, as the one poster suggested, they could shovel horseshit for someone and insinuate themselves into the position. Good for Mr. Ebeling, for sure. Not such a reality for most, I would imagine.

[CBGLuthier]

20. I don't know or care about dressage but what the Romneys got is a welfare pony.

We live in a nation that does not give a fuck about our health or even lack of food but those rich fucks get themselves a fucking welfare pony. Fuck her and the horse...

[JoePhilly]

21. I dated a "normal person" who owned and rode a Dressage horse back in my 20s.

She lived on what had been her family's horse farm. She boarded horses, about 9 or 10 of them. And she owned 2. She hired some one to maintain the stables part time, and she did a lot of the work herself as well. She also worked part time as a nurse.

She wasn't rich. She covered expenses through boarding the other horses.

The competitions she rode in were mainly local and regional. Nothing like the stuff the Romney's are doing.

I remember her talking about how much the saddles and other equipment cost. Apparently, her saddle was an older model, something her family had obtained years earlier. She said it would have taken her years to be able to afford one of the newer more modern saddles.

[arely staircase]

22. ah, dressage the sport of down to earth everyday people

like the Saudi royal family

[Ruby the Liberal]

23. MotherJones: Avg US family spends $16,352 annually for shelter

Amount spent to board Romney's horse: $28,000

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/ann-romney-olympic-horse-rafalca-explained

[pinboy3niner]

26. Picky, picky, picky

[progressivebydesign]

24. Remember when the GOP used "elitist" as an insult, and pretended they were salt of the Earth?

Wow.. how the times have changed, because their candidate actually IS an elitist. At least they've stopped that BS that they were the party of the workin' folks. Sadly, the workin' folks didn't get the memo. They are supporting a party that is nothing but corporate $$$ and billionaires, at the top. But those folks who keep voting for them, the ones that think that rich people fairy dust is going to sprinkle down on them, refuse to see it. Geez, it couldn't be more blatant. It confuses me, then I remember that the GOP is running another vapid white man... and it all gets clear again.

As for the horses and dressage? Love that they list Ann as a "p/t owner." Not exactly true, she's a full time business partner in a business. She is a CO-owner, not a "part time" owner. They run a business, and she takes fat deductions for her therapy horse. I'm sorry.. I know we're not supposed to say anything, anyone here on DU have a therapy, or service, animal? Would you have your dog head overseas to the Olympics? Or would you have it training and living with other people? It's like saying someone who owns a polo pony is a therapy horse, when it is ridden by other people...

[slampoet]

25. If that is true then he is implying that the Romneys are trying to buy a medal.

[Ezlivin]

27. The dressage aisle at Walmart is HUGE!

You need a friggin' horse to get around.

[gvstn]

28. It is affordable!

You just have to find ways to economize. First-class tickets to London are for the family only--the horse goes economy...

[Initech]

29. Its elitist no matter which way you look at it.

We can't have baseball in the Olympics but this is somehow an Olympic sport.

[riderinthestorm]

30. He's right, not that anyone on this site will listen to that.

Anyone who rides, practices dressage. Its the foundation for all riding. Cowboys, therapeutic riders, trail riders, working ranchers - you name it and its being done.

At the Rmoney's level, yes, its well out of reach of virtually everyone (but then so are a lot of other sports at the Olympic level like shooting, rowing, tennis, golf etc).

The Rmoney's have their horse operation working as a business. That's how they took the deductions they were able to take. Anyone operating an animal business does the same (actually anyone working in any business does this).

[Motown_Johnny]

33. Dressage is the foundation for all riding?

Where the hell are you getting that one from?

I used to live at a place called "The State Bridge Lodge" in Colorado. There is/was a horse stable right across the river. The owner's boyfriend was an actual "cowboy" who made his living on a horse. I knew any number of people who owned their own horses and never once... NEVER ONCE... did I ever hear the word "dressage".


If you can back up that statement please do so, if not then please edit or delete.

[riderinthestorm]

34. Absolutely. "Dressage" is actually french for "training". Its about producing a more harmonious ride

Everyone who rides learns and practices how to get their horse more responsive to the aids and cues for stopping, steering and proceeding through the gaits on command - that's dressage at its most fundamental. Everyone who wants to do more (like barrel racing, or jumping, or maneuvering cattle) learns even more things like half passes, reinbacks, half halts, and "getting the horse on the bit" to ensure more flexibility, a smoother ride and a more responsive horse to do more difficult things.


At its apex, dressage is used to replicate ancient battle skills that were taught to warriors in order to be the equivalent of a tank in battle. At the Olympics they've simply strung together those ancient battle maneuvers and put them to music to make it palatable to everyone.

At the Spanish Riding School in Vienna you see it unvarnished, by soldiers (in ancient garb but still dressed as soldiers).

Doesn't matter though if someone calls it "practicing in the backyard", "training", "schooling", or dressage - its all the same thing whether you are an Olympian or a trail rider.

I will make an exception for jumpers - a lot of that technique is different but nobody jumps who hasn't already mastered the fundamentals of dressage.

[Cerridwen]

35. Yes, it is. I suggest you google "cowboy dressage"

and you'll see that them ol' cowpokes are figuring it out.

Dressage is nothing more than training the horse and rider. It's not really difficult to understand...unless you work to do so.

The old world cowboys are now figuring out what it is they were missing back in the heyday of beating the shit out of horses to make them do what they wanted.

That you grew up around cowboys and that you now have no knowledge of training is not a surprise. I grew up in the "wild, wild west." My ancestors knew shit about life and/or horses.

I was related to those old world "cowboys" who didn't know shit about their horses and would have killed them to break them. They thought it was cool. And they would have died had they lived in a world in which horses were the primary means for transportation and livelihood. But those macho fuckstains would have waved their shit in your face and called it good.

I have 2, 3rd cousins who rode rodeo. A great uncle who farmed and would treat his horses like shit. But he had combustible engines to pick up the slack.

I know and have known cowboys. They knew the worth of their horse; their livelihood. Your knowledge of the dude ranch not withstanding; they practiced dressage whether they called it that or not.

Now, the cowboys are learning dressage.

Welcome to the 21st century of horsemanship.

[Motown_Johnny]

37. It says "The Best Of Both Worlds" which means they are different

not that one is the foundation of the other.



http://www.cowboydressage.com/

[Cerridwen]

38. Google harder. One source does not a "movement" make.

Read Gutenberg translation

No, actually, it means the "cowboys" are trying to justify killing horses in the name of breaking them. I've met the real deal and the bush wannabes. They are not the same.

Read.

[riderinthestorm]

40. Check out any Stacy Westfall youtube video. She's a master at cowboy dressage

she however would call it "western riding". But its dressage all the same - even down to the flying lead changes.

[xxqqqzme]

54. I thought it was

Ann Rmoney's therapy. Did he incorporate his wife too?

[riderinthestorm]

58. I've been audited 3 times in 25 years. Horse businesses are regularly targeted by the IRS

Since so much money laundering can occur. Not that the Rmoney's appear to have gotten any close scrutiny as the IRS has slacked off going after the biggest money people in the past few years.... Us small fry businesses are a much easier target since we can't afford the big gun defense.

That said, I presume their tax preparers have given the Rmoneys top advice and that would be to keep Ann's therapy horse off the books and as a private expense. Everything else though would fall under the "business" - that would be sales, training, equipment, transport, breeding. boarding etc. Rafalca's a mare so I presume they've been harvesting her eggs for later breeding (they will use a surrogate for her since she's so valuable as a riding horse they won't want to take a chance of her dying while foaling. Besides they'll get more babies that way). Hell, Rafalca may be incorporated as her own business altogether.

[Gormy Cuss]

62. But as you acknowledge, Olympic dressage is for the elite.

Do you think that Ebeling was talking about any dressage, or the sport of dressage?

[riderinthestorm]

64. I won't presume to speak for him but would assume he's speaking about the sport.

Yes, Olympic level dressage is in its own class but I also know that virtually all of the riders were talented people without any resources who worked their way up from shoveling shit to the highest ranks.

Jan Ebeling is no different than any other young boy or girl who gets hooked on horses at a young age - works in the barn to earn riding time and lessons, has some skill, is put on more and more horses to help the barn owner/trainer, is noticed by others at competitions or in the barn, is put on more talented horses, begins to shift from doing stalls and chores into doing more training/riding....

For people like me, my husband, Jan Ebeling and virtually any other rider in the Olympics - most of us started out at the bottom shovelling shit.

FWIW, we have two clients who "do dressage" on their rescued BLM mustangs. The horses were shipped to us when they were adopted to be broke to saddle and these women stayed on as boarders/students. They don't compete in the sport but love the art of it even as one of them rides in a western saddle and the other one rides bareback. They are in LOVE with Rafalca and are watching her progress avidly. They are solid Dems. One of them is a teacher's aide at the local elementary school, the other is a Microsoft tech - they live extremely frugally to support their passion. They are your average dressage rider in my experience. Some may have more money and a bit fancier horse, some are riding their parent's backyard homebred.

I'm trying to get people to understand this while I have this window. There's a perception that riding is so elitist but there are actually DUers doing sports that cost much more who don't get this kind of grief. Pilots, boat owners, motorcycle clubs, skiing, scuba diving ...

[zbdent]

31. I tried water polo, but the horse drowned.

Lost my deposit from the rental, too ...

DAMN!

[Motown_Johnny]

32. So Rmoney's rider is a very talented horse stall cleaner.

Why am I not surprised?

[alphafemale]

36. "..........would let me ride THEIR horses."

Yeah. How was that again?

[annabanana]

39. "gold-coin diving in their family safe"

Ah - hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

[Klukie]

66. Hahahaha

[pa28]

41. I'm glad she realized her dream but I'm not seeing that she owns a stake.

She did not take a 77k deduction on her taxes.

I guess we should be all rooting for Rafalca because it's America's horse. We'll also pay for the expenses related to the Olympics like transportation (how do you transport a dressage horse to London anyway?) food and custom made horsey accoutrement.

I guess I should really see this as an inspiration. I get nervous about deductions like business software and computer equipment but if you can deduct 77k in one year for a dressage horse I guess you can deduct anything.

[riderinthestorm]

42. Nope. The equestrian sports fund themselves. You don't pay anything

unlike most of the other Olympic sports which are sponsored by the US Olympic foundations.

The equestrian athletes and horses get NO government or US Olympic Committee support whatsoever, in ANY FORM- whether financial or otherwise. The US Equestrian Team has a special, separate branch within its structure which is exclusively devoted to fundraising and supporting international teams, called the USET Foundation. Most of THIS group's support comes from private contributors- the nickel and dime types which comprise most US citizens. About 5 percent of it comes from corporate and business sponsorships, such as those from the Rolex watch and jewelry company, for example, or the various car companies which sometimes donate vehicles as prizes during show jumping competitions. And of course some of it comes from private sponsors like the Rmoneys.

The Rmoney's have taken legitimate business deductions. Unless you are angling for EVERY animal business to be exempt from taking tax deductions (think hard about this or your favorite dog or cat kennel will be struck out, or the therapeutic riding program down the road, or the local farm feed store, or your raw milk producer....)

[pa28]

46. Thanks for the informative response.

You sound like you have some back round with the subject and I'm relieved to know I won't be subsidizing the cost of Rafalca's appearance directly. Dressage events are fun to watch and I think you saved me a little tooth grinding.

Still, I'm bothered by the fact you can take a 77k deduction legally and on the same basis of a dog or cat kennel.

Republicans call us elitist but Rafalca is still subsidized by ordinary taxpayers who pay a higher rate than Mitt Romney. If I had Romney's wealth I would never dream of deducting a dressage horse. This seems like an abuse to me.

[riderinthestorm]

47. They have a legitimate sales, training, breeding and boarding business

This is applicable to dogs, cats, ferrets, parrots, rabbits... you name it, it would fall under the same tax rubric.

They are simply doing it at the international level, much more expensive so they're able to write off even more expenses. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get a look at their tax returns to see how they've structured their business to get such a write-off. I'm guessing there's criminality there - or at least some outrageous claims.

I've been in the dressage and combined training business for more than 30 years. We have a 40 horse sales, training, breeding and boarding business. I'm intimately familiar with all of this. I know Jan Ebeling (Ann's trainer) and have seen him compete some of her horses. I've seen her from afar at competitions but don't know her personally.

[DCBob]

56. Interesting.. I see you really are an expert on these matters.

Last edited Sun Jul 29, 2012, 10:16 AM - Edit history (1)

Thanks for sharing that.

Although the criticism of the sport in general is unfair, the criticism of the Rmoneys who have probably spent millions to have an Olympic-class competive horse is totally justified. They compete at a level that only the rich and famous can afford. When others in America are struggling to make their monthly rent or mortagage payment, the Rmoneys are probably spending more than that every day on a pretty horse. Why is that criticism off-limits?

[riderinthestorm]

59. That criticism is completely fair. I've never said it wasn't HOWEVER...

before we go too far with that, I'd say that sports like dressage (and show jumping, fencing, rowing, shooting etc.) need big bucks "angels" to survive. At that level certainly but at any level where the top athletes help to spark the interest at the lower levels.
The athletes themselves typically aren't wealthy. Jan Ebeling, her rider, is absolutely speaking the truth - most of us grew up poor without the resources we'd need to make it in the sport without a benefactor. The benefactor helps with providing horses or housing or opportunities or competition support... there are a rare few who make it because they have big bucks themselves AND they have the talent but that's actually pretty rare. You have to have the talent and you can't "buy" that - not for shooting or fencing or boxing or (insert your favorite sport here).

Big league sports like baseball, football, basketball etc. have farm teams that provide the support but the sports on the fringes don't.

I happen to think the preservation of some of these old skills has value. I don't care for shooting but understand the value in having experts. Or archery or fencing. Dressage is no more than the training of a horse and rider to be an effective combat team (at the highest levels). The people who participate in this sport at the lowest levels understand exactly the role the Rmoney's have played in helping to preserve the sport. While I dislike them intensely what they're doing for the sport is actually pretty admirable and pretty much the entire horse world, and those who ride and compete at the lowest levels, understand that.

[DCBob]

63. Well thats a different take I had not considered..

However, I dont think we should cut them any slack regardless. I doubt they are spending millions on their lovely talented dancing horsie to help the poor and destitute in the dressage sport.

[riderinthestorm]

65. Jan Ebeling was probably poor and destitute when he started. People like the Rmoneys

take talented riders like him and support them.

In general, absolutely they aren't doing anything to help the poor and destitute in dressage but most of the riders were probably taken under the wing of someone with money and helped to rise in the ranks.

I've already said (on other occasions) that there are real areas of criticism with the Rmoneys: 1. they certainly fraudulently sold a horse with terrible soundness issues. 2. Their tax deductions smell - in the horse business, I smell it and I have a good nose for shit. 3. It would be a miracle if all of their barn staff is legal - the very backbone of this industry is really the Mexican and Central American laborers who lend the muscle to getting things done.

[Marr]

51. "...and would let me ride their horses"

Yeah, that's not an argument that the sport isn't elitist, friend.

Romney will let you run after him, carrying his golf clubs, too.

[Politicalboi]

52. Let's see, at

$8.00-$15.00 an hour, according to Jan anybody can do it. Well I guess I have been wasting my money on my own survival, and should have gotten a horse that dances. Through the tax deduction alone $75,000, I could buy more hay.

[DCBob]

57. "if you look at our team, there’s nobody who’s a millionaire" .. WTF??

Arent the Rmoneys on his "team"??

I guess he is referrring to his riding and shit shoveling team.

[coalition_unwilling]

60. “The only sport the Romneys could be involved in

that would make them look wealthier than dressage would be gold-coin diving in their family safe,” Hadley Freeman, a columnist for the London-based Guardian newspaper, wrote on July 25.



Oh, fuck, you can't make this shit up!

[HiPointDem]

67. kicking it for they hypocrisy