Jungle Red Riders

Jungle Reds Writers:  HORSES. As American as apple pie. EVERYONE loves horses. Otherwise, how on earth to account for the long-running success of THIS television show?

The Black Stallion, Fury, Misty of Chincoteague, My Friend Flicka, National Velvet. The list of books and movies rolls endlessly on. And did you know the Olympic equestrian events are the one sport where men and women compete head to head (with one exception our guest will address...)

Author of the forthcoming HARD TWISTED and an equestrian, Chuck Greaves joins us with a primer on the Olympic equestrian events.  By the way, did YOU go through a "horses" phase growing up? Did you have a favorite equine TV show? A favorite BOOK or series about horses? A favorite MOVIE perhaps? Did you ever ride? Do you ride now? Ever have questions about the RULES of all those horse show events? Chuck will be saddling up to join us today and he'd love to hear your questions!

AND we're offering 4 copies of Chuck Greaves' terrific equestrian thriller, HUSH MONEY  to 4 lucky commenters!

Take it away Chuck!

Jungle Red Riders

In a year in which Steven Colbert seems to have spent more time riding Ann Romney’s horse than its trainer has, the dressage competition should attract unprecedented attention in this year’s Olympic Games, which begin on July 17 in horse-friendly London. Since my friends at Jungle Red Writers have been too busy plotting murder and mayhem to follow the run-up to the Olympic equestrian competitions,they’ve invited me to set the table for what promises to be a multi-course feast for even the most casual sport-horse fan.

But first some basics. The three equestrian disciplines – dressage,eventing, and jumping – are the only Olympic events in which men and women compete head-to-head. (That is, if you ignore mixed-doubles badminton, which I strongly recommend.) Each equestrian discipline involves both team and individual competitions,such that six gold medals will be up for grabs when the competitions begin on July 28 at Greenwich Park.
 

Dressage,or what Mr. Colbert calls “horse ballet,” is a subjectively-judged competition in which horse and rider must execute a series of complex patterns and maneuvers. Jumping is an objectively-scored competition in which horse and rider must navigate a course of jumps within a given time. Eventing is a hybrid competition that combines dressage and jumping with a grueling cross-country obstacle course.

The U.S. ranks among the world’s leaders in equestrian sport, along with Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, England, New Zealand, and Brazil. In fact, the U.S. jumping team (this year consisting of Rich Fellers, Beezie Madden, Reed Kessler, and McLain Ward) will be looking to three-peat for Olympic team gold, against stiff competition from the German jumping juggernaut. While Kessler, who only turned 18 – the minimum Olympic qualifying age –on July 9, is the youngest-ever U.S. Olympic equestrienne, her star will be eclipsed in London by English eventing phenom Zara Phillips,whose grandmother should have excellent seats for the competition,since she is, well, the Queen. (Phillips is the daughter of Princess Anne, herself an Olympic equestrienne.)

Speaking of eventing, the U.S. squad of Karen O’Connor, Phillip Dunton, Boyd Martin, Will Coleman, and Tiana Coudray should, as always, be competitive. O’Connor and Dunton are each five-time Olympians,which speaks volumes in what is certainly the most physically-demanding of the equestrian disciplines. Look for eventing powerhouses Germany and New Zealand, however, to give the U.S. team all it can handle in this exciting, viewer-friendly sport.

Which brings us to Ann Romney, the poor little rich girl who co-owns a horse named Rafalca, which will be ridden in London by her trainer,Jan Ebeling. Ebeling joins a strong U.S. dressage squad that includes Steffen Peters, Tina Konyot, and Adrienne Lyle. Peters, who carries the U.S. hopes for individual gold, will have the option of riding one of two horses, either Legolas or Ravel, both of which qualified for the competition in London, where he will face stiff challenges from all three members of the Dutch super-squad of Adelinde Cornelissen, Edward Gal, and Anky van Grunsven – the latter seeking her fourth straight individual dressage gold.

And here’s an interesting sidebar for all you would-be one-percenters: While much has been made in the U.S. about Ann and Mitt Romney’s wealth, consider a dressage stallion named Totilas, on whom Holland’s Gall in 2009 set the world-record score (92.30%) in Grand Prix Freestyle competition. Sold by owner Moorland BV in October of 2010 for the eye-popping sum of £10 million, Totilas is expected to compete in this year’s Games for arch-rival Germany, with 26-year old Matthias Rath in the irons. That alone should make the Olympic dressage competition worth watching.
 

Having personally competed in both show-jumping and dressage, and having attended multiple world championships and World Equestrian Games in the course of my twenty-odd years as an equestrian athlete (marginal)and spectator (semi-avid), I can assure Jungle Red fans that,whatever your level of interest in the equestrian sports, you’re in for a wonderful viewing experience at these Olympic Games, in preparation for which I hope this little primer has helped. 

So please join me in setting aside that book or manuscript, breaking out the cold beverage of your choice, and rooting for all of our great U.S. athletes, both human and equine.

Chuck Greaves is the award-winning author of the equestrian-themed legal thriller Hush Money(Minotaur), and the forthcoming Depression-era true-crime saga Hard Twisted (Bloomsbury.)
Visit him at his website and at his Facebook page!