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Originally posted by MKpacha We couldn't have asked for a better equestrian team, Ian and Eric are flawless in their abilities, and Jill is such an excellent veteran. All of them have well seasoned horses who were ready for this. Too bad for Jill's rail down, we still ended up with silver! Great Jump off to watch!

I was surprised to hear on the radio that Ian Miller hadn't won an olympic medal before...I was sure he won one with Big Ben. Its good to see that after 9 Olympics he finally has some medal around his neck.

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Originally posted by exstasie Theoretically, the Horse could win the event without the need of a jockey. However the Jockey couldn't win anything without the horse...

Theoretically, you have no clue where you are coming from. Have you ever competed in show jumping? Have you ever even stood beside a jump of 6 feet+? Do you think a horse just naturally goes around a course every day for fun?

You need the horse to jump, obviously. However, the horse itself would not be able to jump any of these jumps at the height they stand without the physical training from the rider.

Most horses are unable to jump anything over 4 feet without the physical support of enough muscle in their hind end. This is developed through endless hours of endurance training (with a rider on top of the horse... a horse running around in a feild would not allow them to know how to balance or support themselves for muscle training). Like cardio, for a human.

You could not run a marathon with ease, without many months of training how to breath properly and how to hold your body, how to push when you need to, and relax certain areas in your body, you most likely would injure yourself or have great strain in your legs. You would not have the muscle ability or the knowledge to do so.

Riders attend the gym constantly working on their upper and lower bodies. Palates is very popular as it centers ones body and helps to create balance. When I used to ride, I could easily push double to triple my body weight in my legs. (YOU TRY HOLDING A 2000 LBS ANIMAL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS).


The horse is guided through a steady body, soft hands and solid support from the riders legs. You turn your head, the horse will feel it. You have to go pee, the horse will feel it. I will place you on an olympic trained horse and put you in a ring with jumps set at 1 foot (which is small enough for them to step over) gaurenteed you would be thrown from the horse in the first 10 seconds.

In tennis, the ball is hit over the net through the guidance of the players swing, through a raquette which they hold. The ball would have never made it to the other side with out that players guidance.
Just the same, the horse would never make it over the jump without the guidance of the rider. They work as a team.


A biker would never win the race without its bike, just the same, a horse would not go around a course without its rider. We are not talking about greyhound racing here. there is nothing to lour the horse to go as fast as it can around a jump with grace, skill, and stability. That comes from the rider.

I really wish not to argue about this, as I could go on for days, and it is almost pointless as there is no one else that shows at a compettive enough level as I once have to understand where I am coming from.

Horse jumping is 2 parts. The horse and the rider, together, they create a well oiled machine. They win the medal together...

You are naieve to think that riding is not a sport. You try it, at that level, and get back to me.



thanks.

lol I think you just got served Jeff.

I've always wanted to try horse riding

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Originally posted by Orko We should leave it to sports where the athlete generates the power, not an animal.

If you want to take out all sports that don't involve athletes generating the power then you would have to take out all the sailing events and shooting events.

I can think of a lot of other events that have no business being in the olympics...to start with...any sport where there are judges giving scores should be eliminated and any sport that allows professional athletes (however they wish to define a professional athlete) should be eliminated (or at least get the professionals out.)

lol. i knew MK would fill you in.

as i understand, the horse is unable to jump those jumps without the rider since it's not natural for them to do. like she said, the horse just doesn't go around jumping these things. especially with 3 in a row or really high ones. also in a decent amount of time.

it's also an ancient sport of royalty. it stays in the olympics!

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Originally posted by MKpacha

When did I say that Riding shouldn't be a sport? Not me. I completely agree that it should be a sport and that it is probably one of the most difficult sports out there.

I am just saying that I can see where people might not see it as a sport since it isn't solely based 100% on the training and conditioning of the athlete.

No need to get all defensive...i'm not the one who said that it isn't a sport lol