**UPDATED**
WHAT AN EXQUISITELY beautiful animal.
The rider is Jan Ebeling, with Buzzfeed having the video of their performance.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of riding it’s likely impossible to appreciate this sport.
I’ve never ridden a horse of this pedigree or done dressage, but it’s not hard for me to appreciate the incredible difficulty and what it takes for human and horse to work in such precision.
CNN is reporting that MoveOn.org is going to use Rafalca in a 30-second battleground state ad [update]. What a cheap shot waste of money that basically sings to the choir, when what they should be doing is slamming Mr. Romney on his tax policy.
“Magnificent”….”beautiful”…..yes!
I sometimes wonder if this horse were not (partly) owned by Ann Romney, if there would be less mockery, more admiration.
Moveon.org is hitting Rafalca in a battleground state ad.
I love beauty. I admire & appreciate elegance. We need more of it in our lives. I agree with Pilgrim above. If it were not Ann Romney’s horse and her sometimes supercilious attitude people may have a different take on this horse ballet.
Well said, Ramsgate.
Well, I got into horseback riding for “fun” and maintaining my sanity at the age of 57. I have never done dressage and never will, but I do appreciate horses and believe they are one of the most beautiful creatures on earth.
In fact, that year I adopted an older rescue horse that was on his way to slaughter. He is a thoroughbred-quarter horse mix that cost me only $745. I think he might have been a pack horse because he is calm and ponied well, but like me, didn’t know much about riding cues. I have worked with a natural horsemanship trainer and he and I are finally beginning to click as a riding team, although the most we do is trot around an arena or round pen. Nothing fancy.
Also, he was recently tried out as a therapy horse, doing work on the ground with people doing certain exercises, to help them learn more about their interactions with each other.
In his own way, he is magnificent too:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/Favorite%20Photos/merrygoround.jpg
Oh! He’s SPECTACULAR!
What’s handsome’s name?
When I was a teen I had the chance to buy an old 15 year-old gelding for $500, but we couldn’t afford it, as mom was lucky to make ends meet.
But I’ve always dreamed of rescuing race horses… It’s a fantasy I visualize and maybe one day… One day.
Good for you.
Thank you ladywalker68 and Taylor!
Thanks, Taylor, Lake Lady and newdealdem1! His name is “Reddy” a spectacular pick by my then 2 and 1/2 year old grandson, who saw a photo taken with me at the rescue. His coat is a reddish brown and my daughter-in-law said he kept saying “reddy” when he saw the photo.
Anyway, here is a little album of a few more photos, with a few of how he looked back in Oct. 2007 when I adopted him:
http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y80/ladywalker68/Favorite%20Photos/
You can click on the thumbnail for a larger view. Enjoy~
Oh, he’s just gorgeous! What a gift for you to enjoy this spectacular beast.
Thanks, Taylor! He is the best gift I ever gave to myself and it can be debated about who rescued whom.
And for what it is worth, Rafalca is stunning. I have a great regard for the horse and the rider and nothing against the idea of dressage itself. Although I don’t typically travel in dressage circles, I have met some wonderful dressage riders, trainers and owners, and of course, horses!
My hope for Rafalca is that the horses’ future beyond competition is secure. So many performance horses are dumped off and sold when they can no longer perform or be of “use”. They wind up in places exactly like the one where I found my horse. Although there are no operating slaughter plants in the US, horses still ship over the boarder to Mexico and Canada and are slaughtered there so the meat can be shipped to and consumed in places such as France, Belgium, Japan, etc…
For me, this is an awful fate for the creatures who have partnered with us for decades to build this country. Without the horse, it would have been much more difficult to get the railroads built, the fields, plowed, the wars fought, the wagons pulled to the west…well, I could go on and on. And it seems when you get into the debates about it with the pro-slaughter posse, they think that it is a viable way to control the horse population. What gets me is that the 2-leggeds of alleged superior intelligence believe there are only 2 choices: 1. Unwanted horses being starved, neglected, abused and dying a slow death versus 2. Unwanted horses suffering long trips in cramped uncomfortable trailers only to meet quick and terrifying and painful slaughter at the end of the road. Seems to me that with a little thought, we could come up with options 3,4,5, 6 etc…that involve none of the above.
Love the photo of your beautiful old boy!
Horse therapy has long been shown to be an effective therapy for people with physical and mental handicaps. Ann Romney could just as reasonably saved one of those wild mustangs that are rounded up every year most of whom are headed straight to the slaughterhouses. She sat in the VIP lounge along with others who particpate in a sport that even Charles Krauthammer called ‘hoity toity’. Among the elites who spare no expense in owning these horses are a Saudi Prince, the princess of Denmark and Queen Elizabeth’s grand daughter who won a gold medal opening day.
The sense of entitlement is overbearing. No one described these self important elitists better than a couple of working class men who grew up in row houses in Philadelphia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zV8xeA7Z5Q
I sure hope with Ms. Romney’s track record they drug test the poor Horsey.
??????????????????
Ms. Mitt the Twit was sued for selling a Dressage horse to an unsuspecting buyer that turned up to be pumped so full of drugs it’s name should have been Rush.
AND let’s not forget Mit the Twit and Ms. stay at mansion Mom took a $77,000.00 tax deduction for that nice horsey. MORE then the average income in the USA DEDUCTION. Just a couple of average Jane and Joes you betcha!!
sec, that’s one of the entitled issues that is separate from a love of horses and an appreciation of what these noble creatures can do in competition.
Like many, I love the noble horse especially love wild horses. Although I was born and raised in NYC, my parents took me on vacation upstate NY to “Dude Ranches” and that is where I learned to ride and have loved these equine gods and godesses since then.
And, I have loved the Equestrian Olympic events since I was a kid and I’m not part of the 1%. And, neither are many of us who love to watch Dressage and Cross Country and show jumping.
It’s a mistake for Dems and/or liberals to make fun of this event just because the Romney’s have a horse entered in the event. Horses don’t belong to a politial party and don’t give a damn about the political philosophy of their human riders, etc. So, I say leave these beautiful creatures alone because there are many of us who are not hoity toity entitled asshats who love these noble creatures and what they can do to make the world a more esthetic and beautiful place.
newdealdem1-I agree 100%. The horses should be off-limits but the dimwit Obamabot libs just won’t leave it alone.
I can’t tell you how many times recently I have started to listen to and then turned off Stephanie Miller as they start making fun of the Ann Romney dancing horses. Stephanie is a bleeding heart when it comes to her rescue dogs but she has shown no mercy to the dancing horses. It just annoys me more than anything because I know if Stephanie spent 5 minutes in the presence of one of these magnificent creatures, she would be probably be completely “besotted” and go out and adopt a bunch.
So in my best impression of the Britany Spears fan:
LEAVE THE HORSES ALONE!!!!
lololol… 
LEAVE RAFALCA ALONE!!!!
Frankly the number of horses basically tortured and abused to achieve this level of rich folks entertainment(they don’t call it the sport of KINGS for nothing) and in racing…as well as the THOUSANDS destroyed for insurance money makes me a little less down with this “sport”. And considering the Romney’s proven track record of drugging horses for profit…like I said, I sure hope they check this one out carefully.
My grandfather raised and showed three and five gate English Saddle breds and I loved everything about it. Love the horses, loved the smell of a horse barn and a tack room smells like heaven to me.
Like Newdealdem the horse events have always been my favorite events at the Olympics.
Watching the communication between horse and rider is pure joy for me. Thanks for the link.