How come you guys don't understand Olympic horse events?

[Snow]

First, they're hardly ever visible. I'd really like to watch them. And fencing. And taekwondo. But what do I see on the tube? Field hockey. TOns of b-ball. Tons of soccer. TOns of gymnastics, swimming etc. Dammit, I wanna watch the dressage riding, what some of you disparagingly refer to as "dancing with horses" and further demonstrate your ignorance with statements like "the horse is doing all the work". Try riding dressage sometime, folks, if you think it just involves sitting on your butt on a saddle.

Disclaimer: I am a middle-aged guy, of advanced beginner-to-intermediate skill at riding, and have done both jumping and dressage - more dressage than anything else. Here's the scoop: a) riding really is hard work and good exercise for the rider - you aren't just sitting there. 2) horses generally enjoy dressage; they find it interesting (I know, I'm anthropomorphizing and so on, but you can tell when a horse is enjoying something or not, they're pretty damn expressive).

Dancing with horses, aka dressage, is a martial art. I've been studying martial arts, mostly moodukwan, since being in Peace Corps in Korea many many years ago. Dressage is like martial arts forms or kata, except that you're doing it with a large, hairy, pointy-eared partner (and it's not Pagerbear) who may or may not be cooperative in this enterprise. It's good for the horses because it teaches them ways of carrying people that actually is better for them (ie, don't put your weight all on your front feet, shift it to your hindquarters).
Finally, it was/is a genuine martial art.

In olden days when knights were bold, English knights generally used huge horses (think Clydesdales & shires, Suffolk Punches) who would come flying at you with 2000 lbs or so of weight plus knight with pointy thing (again, not Pagerbear). Your typical French or German knight with small, wimpy, inferior non-SUV European horse was in a fair way to get flattened. So, they trained the horses in a set of moves that would allow them to get out of the way while still causing damage....there's a moving-forward-diagonally move called a leg-yield, for example. Watch the Lippazaners of the Spanish Riding School sometime. That's beautiful stuff, but most of it is actually warfare....and better believe it, it's also damn good exercise.

[supernova]

1. I wish the equestrian events

got more coverage. I love watching them though I don't ride myself.

[BigMcLargehuge]

2. Excellent Post!

I will show it to Mrs. McLargehuge, our resident equine enthusiast. She will be thrilled to see someone at DU other than me is/was interested in the Olympic horse events.

We seem to have some other stuff in common Snow, you do MooDukKwan, I do Hapkido and Kuhapdo/Kumdo. I am much more of an amateur rider than you. I don't do jumping or dressage, at least, not on purpose. I've liked Dressage since I first saw it for the military aspect you so excellently described.

Here is a pic of some of the McLargehuge's on our Quarterhorse, Dallas.

[Snow]

3. Nice-looking horse!

How old is he, like 4 or so? Looks like a youngster, anyway. (the family look good, too). Like I said, if you like martial arts, you oughta try dressage. The horses like it, and quarter horses do well at it, smart as they are. Also mules - I've seen some fine dressage by mules. Nothing against old horses, either. Up till I moved to LA, my favorite dressage horse was an elderly gentleman named Splash - a pinto of Hanoverian lines, age 42. He was something else - the proverbial schoolmaster. And apparently he has shown dressage all the way up to Prix St Georges level. See, dressage makes you live longer, too.

[BigMcLargehuge]

4. Dallas is 22 or 23... thanks for the compliment (I'll pass it on to her

with a carrot later this afternoon, Dallas not Cindy :) ). Dallas was a barrel racer and show jumper. I will talk to Cindy about Dressage. When Ian turns 6 I want to get him a pony, and maybe one for me as well.

[MuseRider]

10. Dallas is a good looking

old guy! I have an old quarter, we think he is closing on 30. I am thinking I may have to blanket him this winter, last winter was hard on him. How is Dallas bred? He is a looker.

[Pithlet]

5. I wouldn't argue that it isn't a physically demanding skill

I would just question its place in the Olympics. Just like I question the place of gymnastics and skating, although I do enjoy watching them. They're athletic, but they aren't sport.

I'm really in for it now. I've already dented my popularity in the peanut allergy thread :)

[slappypan]

6. I enjoy the equestrian events.

The dressage competition does look like dancing horses, especially the musical freestyle portion! Those horses are amazing animals, and I am in awe of what the riders can get them to do.

This morning I saw the equestrian portion of the women's modern pentathlon, the athlete get a horse assigned at random, and they have 20 minutes to get to know the horses before riding a show jumping course! Some pretty rough rides, there.

[Malva Zebrina]

7. we watched almost all of the equestrian events

on cable. We had a business once as horse show photographers. I do not have the local channels and will not pay for them because I do not watch them .

Simply beautiful to watch. I was not aware of the role or the history of dressage.


But what about those Ghengis Kahn Steppe guys who rode those small horses going like bats out of hell?

[Snow]

9. There are some native horses in Korea, small guys, on the island

of Cheju-do. Claim is that the island was used by the mongols for a horse farm, and the Cheju-do horses are original Mongol ponies. I think someone's been trying to confirm that with DNA. Those little guys are strong, but I never tried to ride - they're small.

Here's a look:

[MuseRider]

8. I am with you!

I am a cowgirl so have not done dressage but lots of training exercises like it. It is very hard work to ride a horse. I think most people get their ideas because they often get on a school horse or a trail horse on vacation and all you have to do is sit there. It is not the same thing at all as having a horse you have to direct. I have not even tried to watch after the first day when all the coverage was USA, it makes me sick. Are they still doing reining as an Olympic sport? I have some experience with that but mostly I do cutting, very poorly I might add. Yes, I would love to see more of it.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

11. Well, I don't know much about horses.

So the info you provide is interesting. I do agree that people should not spout off about how stupid some sport is when they don't really understand it. I would never be so clueless as to say it's the horse doing all the work, even as ignorant as I am about horse events. :)