Has that damn horse pranced yet? If not, when?

[CTyankee]

But isn't Ann in Israel? Is she gonna miss the horse dancin' ?

[JoePhilly]

1. I think the dancing starts on Aug 2nd.

[CTyankee]

2. thanks. nothing against that poor horse, just the Romney's...

[JoePhilly]

4. YUP ... its a great example of how the rules are different for Mitt and the super rich ...

and as President, he'd tilt the playing field even farther in the direction of the super rich.

[Warpy]

26. Their HOBBIES are tax deductible

while our out of pocket healthcare costs are not until they reach the catastrophic level.

[Scuba]

29. +1,000

[riderinthestorm]

33. The Rmoney's operate a legitimate business - boarding, training, sales, lessons.

Ann's therapeutic riding is not structured as a business and is her own private hobby.

She only got $49 allowed on that $77k deduction she tried to take by the way.

$49.

[Warpy]

37. It's still a bloody hobby

with the boarding stables set up to defray the cost. Fancy horses aren't cheap.

[riderinthestorm]

38. Then my entire life's WORK is a "bloody hobby" as a dressage and combined training

trainer and barn owner, same as Ann Rmoney and Jan Ebeling.

[Ikonoklast]

48. Ann Romney doesn't need that income to feed the family with.

For her, it's a hobby.

For you, it's a business.

[roguevalley]

7. dressage is beautiful. Smart horses doing beautiful things. I don't hold it against

the horse. he didn't choose his owner. Mazel tov, horse.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. Meh...if horses were meant to dance, they'd dance without being trained to dance

I respect your opinion, but for me, dressage just looks unnatural. It's like organ grinders and their monkeys. In the wild, monkeys don't wear little Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band outfits with funny little hats, and they don't carry little tin cups. It's the same with horses. They don't dance. At least not on their own. True, the horse didn't choose the Romneys. What horse in his right mind WOULD?

[roguevalley]

19. heh-heh-heh. You got that right, hon. :D

[larkrake]

20. they do dance on their own

dressage teaches them to do it with a riders weight

[LibertyLover]

31. Dressage movements

are all things a horse does naturally in the wild, including the aires above the ground. Dressage training teaches a horse to do those actions on command with a person in the saddle for most of them. Some of the aires above the ground are done at the end of a long lead called a lunge line. If you want to see some outstanding dressage work, google the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.

[snooper2]

32. just like dancing hamsters!

[LibertyLover]

43. That is so cute -

Katie reminds me of my rats jumping around when they play. Thank you.

[Lizzie Poppet]

40. Ever watch horses in pasture?

They dance all the time.

The moves in dressage are basically the things horse and rider learn to do in training for cavalry combat. Modern competition dressage has morphed a fair bit from the actual combat techniques (much like modern sport fencing isn't really all that much like real swordfighting any more), but the origins are still obvious. While there are some exceptions (Rolkur...), there really isn't anything in dressage that isn't something the horse is perfectly fine with doing. From the saddle, you can't really make a horse do something it just doesn't want to do. That's a good way to find yourself lying in the dirt wondering wtf just happened.

[randome]

52. Maybe they dance but we don't know how to interpret it.

Just sayin'.

[darkangel218]

3. Even that horse probably hates their guts :p

Remember, animals are a lot smarter than the average brainwashed rightwingers.

[B Calm]

5. I still think dancing horses is not a sport!

[larkrake]

21. It is like figure skating, exactly, or gymnastics

it is gymnastics

[tridim]

27. Gymnastics isn't a sport?

Are you insane?

It is the very definition of sport.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. I'm bettin' it's just not going to be as riveting and fulfilling as all the hype would have us think

but if it IS...

[PCIntern]

8. I think it should be required watching for all Americans...

Ho ho.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. As Ann would say, "you people" have already had enough ;)

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. Prance! Prance, damn youuuuuu!

[pinboy3niner]

11. "Oh, hush, Ann. I'm dancing as fast as I can!"

"Après Israel, le Poland!"

[Fire Walk With Me]

42. I'll tell ya, the expectation is killing me.

Just thinking of all the time this horse spends NOT prancing for our delight burns me the hell up

[Aerows]

12. NBC will show footage

Right after they declare that WWII is over.

Am I the only person that wishes we could get commentators to shut up more than they speak? My word.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Isn't this asking for a spoiler?

And quite brutally honest, the Romneys have ruined what otherwise is a NICE sport to watch. It is like watching NASCAR, or you telling me that you can afford a race car?

Anyhow, since YOU ASKED FOR IT and it is fine by the place.

Here is YOUR SPOILER...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18904350

Sorry, you will have to physically move your cursor to the BBC site.

Oh and even a further spolier the US is not considered a strong contender in that sport.

I hope keeping it to just a link will be sufficient not to be a spoiler... for further news on this, go to fb, if you are truly interested.

[Aerows]

14. I'd like for some of the commentators to shut up

And for us to actually see the event as it happens. As it stands, you already know who won. It takes away the competitiveness and the drama. I do not remember other networks covering the games being this bad.

This is so over the top bad coverage, it's a wonder why anyone would want to watch it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Why I turned NBC off

and rather read the coverage of it on the BBC... or watch on livestream...

And by the way, will not post any of this crap here any longer either.

[CTyankee]

23. Sorry you interpreted my post that way...my apologies...but not really asking for a spoiler, just

yes or no would suffice. I'd just as soon it be over and done with and I don't care who won, quite frankly...

[nadinbrzezinski]

36. It's not you, it's management

They irked me enough where yes I am posting things in REAL TIME, on FACEBOOK. The olympics here are mostly dead to me.

But serious, if the US actually medals in any of the equestrian sports I will be shocked, since it will be a hell of an upset.

[NCTraveler]

54. The US was second in the equestrian medal count in Beijing.

First in medal count in 2004.

[Coexist]

15. Horse Prom comes to those who wait..

[Ikonoklast]

49. "Nobody puts Rafalca in the corner!"

[Coexist]

50. +1000

[pinboy3niner]

51. And, whatever happens, there's no crying in Horse Prom!!!

[Bluenorthwest]

18. In August...I have friends who will be in attendance

I will post what they say as soon as NBC allows Americans to hear that news.

[The Straight Story]

22. I would tell you to ask Mitt - but not even he seems to know

LOL

[RobinA]

24. Not Getting

all the attention/hate given to this horse issue on here. I mean, so what? It's her hobby, it doesn't bother anybody unless one choses to be bothered. It's an Olympic event, Ann Romney has a part in participating in it. You can like it or not. I don't happen to like those sports that feature large, grunting men. So I don't watch. There is no larger issue here, it's leisure.

Making fun of what other people do...isn't there a name for that? Starts with a "b," ends on "ullying." At least that's what it would be called if it were done on a playground and was directed at the kid who would rather read a book than join his friends trying to get a ball through some structure.

[Posteritatis]

25. People wouldn't care if a Romney wasn't somehow connected

If she had some connection to one of the track events, people would be complaining about that too, I think.

[Lefta Dissenter]

28. I love dressage

I just hate that the RMoneys use Ann's hobby as a tax deduction to cheat the American people.

[riderinthestorm]

34. The Rmoney's operate a legitimate business - boarding, training, sales, lessons.

Ann's riding therapy is not itemized as a business and is her hobby.

Their $77k tax deduction wasn't allowed. They did get a $49 tax deduction instead.

$49.

[ananda]

30. Guess what? I love the Olympics!

I plan to watch everything I want and ignore the politics.

[lonestarnot]

35. RMoney made such an ass of himself and got out of Dodge to leave the poor thing all dancy pants w/o

him, while he went to try to stir up a war. So who cares?

[UTUSN]

39. R#2 & K for, bwah-ha-HAH for the thread title!1 n/t

[moondust]

41. Assuming you're anxious to dance along at home?

I know I will be.

[flamingdem]

45. Please make a video

for us to watch!

[moondust]

47. I think a contest would be fun.

[flamingdem]

58. good idea!

The Super Pretty Pony Prancing Rafalka contest!

I need to know the time it's on teevee in California to set up the camera!

[AngryOldDem]

44. Don't cuss the horse because the owners are repugnant.

I'm watching some of the equestrian events now on the NBC Network but I'm just about to switch it off. I'm tired of wincing and holding my breath every time a horse comes up to an obstacle.

[CTyankee]

46. sorry...I did say it wasn't the horse's fault but I can see your point.

I should have said "has that damn dressage happened yet?" I think that would have expressed it better...

[randome]

53. What I want to know is this: how do they keep the horses from crapping all over the place?

Do they make them constipated somehow? Do the cameras simply cut away until the 'deed' is done?

Inquiring minds and all that!!

(Wouldn't it be cool if their horse won and during a picture session, it dumped a big load on the ground?)

[CTyankee]

55. My guess is that it has to do with their feeding schedules. They probably have a good idea

of the transit time for feed to go through a horse's system and plan their feed times accordingly.

But I really don't know...just remembering when I was potty training my kids...

[randome]

57. I had twins to potty train so I have...uh...fond memories of that time, too.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

56. It's one of the most pretentious and absurd things ever...

And I'd rather watch paint dry.

The fact that a rich man running for office is participating in it makes it worse...