Horse Racing Fantasy Community

If you’ve ever watched the Summer Olympics, you’ve probably spent some television time looking at magnificent horses and their riders compete in events that challenge the skill of the rider and the athleticism of the horse.

Events like Jumping … Vaulting … Driving … Endurance … and even Dressage require that horses, like human athletes, attain a level of excellence that separates them from other horses. Of course, lots of credit for the horse’s ability to succeed in such events has to go to the horseman or horsewoman who “partners” with the animal to help make its accomplishments possible.

A skilled horseman or horsewoman is every bit the athlete as the sprinter who wins the 100 yard dash at the same Olympics. However, the horseman or horsewoman needs to control and direct a four-legged animal that probably weighs more than 1,000 pounds. It requires maximum effort and years of training punctuated by incredible patience as animal and rider slowly learn to work together.

Horsemen and horsewomen in the Equestrian sports often receive much acclaim for what they are able to do … and it is well-deserved. But, in reality, they are not the real stars. They sit atop the horse and give it commands, lead it … but it is the horse that actually does the work. And it is work that does not come naturally.

That’s why Equestrian horses tend to be older. Unlike thoroughbred race horses, for instance, that run instinctively, Equestrian horses have to be taught to excel in any one of the seven disciplines that make up the World Equestrian Games. It takes years and years of training to get a horse to “prance” like a circus show horse or overcome its natural reticence and fear to jump over obstacles … or to handle any of the other challenges that makes up the events of the World Equestrian Games.

As a result, it’s not uncommon to look at a Program at an Equestrian event and see that many of the horses competing that day are nine, ten, twelve, fifteen years old …even older, sometimes much older. And yet, they are able to compete as if they were a spunky and healthy three year old thoroughbred. It’s amazing when you think about it.

It is equally amazing to note that the horsemen and horsewomen who compete with the animals are also somewhat old (for athletes), but it’s not surprising. They spend years training the animal to compete at this highest of all levels.

Clearly Equestrian sports are worth watching. That is probably why the Games have so many fans. They are likely to be well attended this year in Lexington, Kentucky … just as they have been in all of the previous Games.