Loving-
Consummate horsemen + horses
Rich Fellers and Flexible Nick Skelton and Big Star Ian Millar and Star Power
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| Rich Fellers and Flexible Photo by Tudor and Company |
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| Nick Skelton and Big Star Photo from Horse.com |
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| Ian Millar and Star Power Photo by Reuters |
Add to that list Boyd Martin, who considered the welfare of his equine partner first.
Boyd you are my hero! We'll see you in Brazil. :D
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| Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere Photo from Horse.com |
Also, if you are watching the equestrian events via live streaming, you can hear lots of interesting sounds that the commentary obscures, such as the whispery clicks of shutters from the cameras, and the breathing of the equine athletes. One thing I noticed was that the horses who had the best rounds and scores breathed really regularly and happily... those snorting types of breaths.
Definitely not loving...
Hyperflexion, which besides being used by the usual suspects in the dressage warmup arena, also appeared in the earlier show jumping rounds.
Equally objectionable was the blatant spurring and smacking with crop incident - well after the horse had refused, and caught on camera. Looked like a temper tantrum to me. Unnecessary roughness. Same team that was hyperflexing between jumps. This team shockingly did not make it to the final rounds. Poetic justice...
Looking forward to the Grand Prix Special tomorrow morning. Better hit the hay - 5 am comes early.
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| Karen O'Conner and Mr. Medicott Markus Schreiber/AP Photo |
Don't forget about our Be All That You Can Be contest (prizes!!)
Accepting submissions HERE in the comments, through the end of the Olympics. :D
