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Original poster

To think that equestrian events are ridiculous

936 replies

BFrazzled · 02/08/2021 23:05

In the Olympics.

Poor horses. This ridiculous dancing in dressage, who the hell thought of that?

There was one winner of the dressage contest who supposedly also won in the nineties. No mention of the horse, guess it was with a different one then Hmm

OP posts:
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11
plominoagain · 03/08/2021 14:01

@sadperson16

Blimey,they have dubious taste in music.
Mine love a bit of Classic Fm to snooze to on a wet afternoon . Many a day I’ve brought them in early due to miserable weather , turned the radio on and found them snoring gently half an hour later . Tbf , it has much the same effect on me…
bruffin · 03/08/2021 14:00

So of course they are jealous in the sense that for them it is completely unattainable, but I think this is a valid reason why this sport isn't popular with many.
How do you know how many people like it either to take part in or like to watch, my dh an apprentice engineer when i met him , used to go to dressage classes, had to give it up as he was very busy with work etc

rantymcrantface66 · 03/08/2021 13:59

I've seen some great dressage to hip hop too. Not suited to every horses movement though.

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 03/08/2021 13:59

Do you realize the difference between being fit in that horse sense and being fit to compete in absolutely any other manpowered sport in the Olympics?

Both are far from everyday or amateur sportsmen level of fitness, but yet very far apart as well.

Do you ride? Because if you do, you'd have an inkling of an idea of how much fitness it takes to do anything complex and demanding on a horse. An hour's hack out, not much. An hour's focussed dressage, a fair bit. Dressage as a career - I don't want to think about it, makes me ache.
And besides that, they are hugely skilled.

Tiddleztheelephant · 03/08/2021 13:59

@IceandIndigo

Yeah I agree. I don’t really like the Olympic events that only rich countries can afford to compete in and equestrian events are the epitome of that.

If it were up to me I’d also get rid of team sports (anything involving more than four people) and anything where there’s a major competition that’s more prestigious than the Olympics (tennis, golf etc). It feels like there are more ridiculous events added every time.

That's quite a trimmed down Olympics you'd have then Grin

Where do you stand on the new addition of skateboarding?

mbosnz · 03/08/2021 13:55

Yes, thank you so much!

Astronutter · 03/08/2021 13:52

@mbosnz

Do any of the horsey people here remember a man doing a dressage routine to the 'wiggle, wiggle, wiggle' song? Fat chance I know!
This one?

(For those not into dressage, this was a charity display, not competitive!)

alloalloallo · 03/08/2021 13:44

@sadperson16

Blimey,they have dubious taste in music.
We leave the radio on for my arthritic oldie - her favourite is Absolute Classic Rock

She loves a bit of 80s rock

Bryonyshcmyony · 03/08/2021 13:42

@sadperson16

Blimey,they have dubious taste in music.
The Hamilton soundtrack is banging tbf
mbosnz · 03/08/2021 13:41

A man with his horse, obviously.

mbosnz · 03/08/2021 13:41

Do any of the horsey people here remember a man doing a dressage routine to the 'wiggle, wiggle, wiggle' song? Fat chance I know!

sadperson16 · 03/08/2021 13:38

Blimey,they have dubious taste in music.

alloalloallo · 03/08/2021 13:36

@Bryonyshcmyony

The worst thing about the Olympics so far is the amount of ignorant shite on social media about the equestrian events.

Fair play to all posters responding calmly and informatively about dressage and horses, all the faux ignorance - or to be honest real ignorance which I understand isn't people's fault - just pisses me off.

Yes!!

This!

DD hates dressage, so avoids it it like the plague unless she has to do it for a ODE, so it’s never something I’ve really got into but I love watching it. Even I understand it’s not just prancing about with the horses doing all the work

Do these naturally dancing horses have any preference for specific types of music? How fussy are they?

When DD is doing flatwork or schooling with her pony, she has music on on her phone and seems to like it. She’s more stridey and enthusiastic and seems to prefer dance music. It also blocks out other noises that she likes to listen out for to spook at

IceandIndigo · 03/08/2021 13:29

Yeah I agree. I don’t really like the Olympic events that only rich countries can afford to compete in and equestrian events are the epitome of that.

If it were up to me I’d also get rid of team sports (anything involving more than four people) and anything where there’s a major competition that’s more prestigious than the Olympics (tennis, golf etc). It feels like there are more ridiculous events added every time.

Bryonyshcmyony · 03/08/2021 13:24

Dds horses fave is the Hamilton soundtrack

WiddlinDiddlin · 03/08/2021 13:22

Now I really want to see an olympic team of Icies... tolting at various speeds for the dressage.. er, not sure how they'd tackle the cross country jumps or show jumping, probably shut eyes and tolt straight through things...

GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 03/08/2021 13:20

I agree with @gwenneh - there’s also having to work out your floor plan (your routine) to show the required movements, and make it flowing, and design it to best show off your horse’s abilities.

And horses do like different types of music - some I’ve known have liked classical and find it relaxing. I tend to use big band music because it’s rhythmical and suits my horse’s personality. I saw a freestyle recently where all the music was from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and it really suited the horse which was of a finer build and had quite a delicate way of going.

Polkadotties · 03/08/2021 13:17

I also school with music playing. It keeps my horse’s attention to me rather then listening to all the other sounds going on

Bryonyshcmyony · 03/08/2021 13:14

Dd always schools her horse with music on her phone. She likes it and he certaintly seems to.

gwenneh · 03/08/2021 13:12

@sadperson16

Do these naturally dancing horses have any preference for specific types of music? How fussy are they?
They most certainly do. Picking music for a freestyle is…a process.

On the surface you have to choose music that matches the tempo of your horses gaits. So say you have a gait that you’ve timed at 95 BPM. You then go and find a song that hits that mark. Then you do the same for all of the other gaits.

Then you get it into the arena and start working the gaits to the music. The horse may like or dislike certain songs and respond with cues - picking up their ears, sitting back, and moving with enthusiasm as opposed to just moving. Repeat until you have a few fitting songs that work for both horse and rider AND have a bit of a central theme, then you start stitching the whole lot into your freestyle.

Previous horse liked The Killers, Devin Townsend, and an 80’s medley. Current horse quite likes Sisters of Mercy and does not like Queen.

Astronutter · 03/08/2021 13:11

@Polkadotties

This is an Icelandic horse. I can’t see this being able to go round an eventing course.
Tbf I’m sure that’d be a blast to take around a 60cm unaffiliated, and it’d probably not be averse to being let loose on a higher level course as a lawn mower!
Bryonyshcmyony · 03/08/2021 13:07

@Polkadotties

This is an Icelandic horse. I can’t see this being able to go round an eventing course.
Lol and Awwh in equal measure
rantymcrantface66 · 03/08/2021 13:06

There are only Icelandic Horses (the breed) in Iceland. They do not have an olympic equestrian team, so im really not sure how this is relevant.

Even if they did they certainly would not be using Icelandic horses. I can just imagine the ponies waddling round the arena with their unique gait in between horses like Gio and London 52 😆

sadperson16 · 03/08/2021 13:05

Do these naturally dancing horses have any preference for specific types of music? How fussy are they?

plominoagain · 03/08/2021 13:05

@Smartiepants79

‘The horse does all the work’ So if I put you on a dressage trained horse you’d be good to go then?? I’m not a dressage fan but this kind of comment is nonsense.
I'd had my own and ridden for twenty years before taking on a neglect case that turned out to be an advanced medium dressage horse when we looked his details up. Once he was recovered and rideable again , and we restarted schooling , my instructor would be in hysterics as I would be trying to ask for a canter circle , only to find myself bunnyhopping sideways across the school in flying changes because I'd moved one leg two inches too far back. It's all very well having a push button horse, but you have to have the knowledge and skill to push the right buttons