In the Olympics Horses Should Get a Medal As Well As the Rider

I’m going to be politically correct. I’m going to write about animals generally which I think I’m allowed to do on a cat website. You may be watching the Olympics. You may like horses. I don’t particularly like horses but I was very impressed with Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin riding her horse Valegro.

This is a fantastic horse. He is magnificently obedient, well trained and highly consistent. He is reliable. He performed what he was trained to perform to very high level when he had to.

https://youtu.be/Qu_0n-xbL40

Charlotte got a gold medal. It was richly deserved. I believe that her horse should have received some sort of formal recognition from the IOC at the medal ceremony. Dressage is a partnership. Perhaps most of the work is carried out by the horse. If so Valegro is the more important partner. Shouldn’t he have received some sort of recognition; his own gold medal, which could have been pinned onto him at the medal ceremony?

I believe that the Olympics is a little bit too human-centric in the sports where the horse performs in partnership with his/her rider. Do you have any ideas about this? Do you think I’m being silly and overly politically correct?

I think that if the Olympic committee decided to do as I have suggested then it would gently and subtly enhance animal welfare. It would give animals a greater status and in doing so improve their welfare.

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Comments

In the Olympics Horses Should Get a Medal As Well As the Rider — 8 Comments

ed on August 20, 2016 at 1:26 am said:
im with u on this one Michael. i think the horse is as important, if not more so, than the rider…lets face it without the horse there IS no event, right? so, yeah, Mr Ed deserves a medal as much as his rider did. im sure though that at this level the rider looks that the whole thing as a group win, but hey maybe they SHOULD lobby for their animals to get medals too. in THAT way it COULD raise awareness of how important animals really our in our world.
you know there was a time when our animals VERY important to us. our livelihoods depended on them. farmers had cats & dogs to fend off predators, rats, etc. if ANYONE killed them they were in for a world of hurt as well as legal problems which would include monetary compensation AND being forced to provide a new animal to take over for the job of the last one. its unfortunate that people look at their pets, the pets of others, as an appendage(& a useless one at that)to be clipped & discarded without any thought or care…& we let them get away with it! i mean our legal system does due to the shift in titles of these animals from “working animal” to “family pet”. its sad, but maybe an Olympic medal COULD help to redress the balance. who knows?
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Cat's Meow on August 18, 2016 at 11:49 am said:
I agree. Once the horse is trained, he does all the work. The rider just tells him where to go and what to do next. The animals should be recognized as well as the owner/rider/trainer/handler in all animal sports.
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- M E King on August 18, 2016 at 12:11 pm said:
  Believe me. It’s a team effort every time.
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  - Cat's Meow on August 18, 2016 at 12:17 pm said:
    Absolutely! I rode for many years. My horse deserved as much, if not more, credit as I.
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    - Michael Broad on August 18, 2016 at 12:22 pm said:
      Thanks a lot. I really appreciate your support and comment because I was sticking my neck out a bit on this one 🙂
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      - M E King on August 18, 2016 at 9:14 pm said:
        I have never seen anyone pin the ribbon on anything but their horse. All of my horses rosettes are carefully mounted in scrapbooks along with pictures of my horses. I see it as an easy extension for most riders at this level to see their horses medaled with them.
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      - Cat's Meow on August 19, 2016 at 3:49 pm said:
        You’re welcome, Michael.
        I agree with M E King, a true horseman would indeed be honored for their horse to be the medal recipient.
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M E King on August 18, 2016 at 12:56 am said:
I could not watch the youtube. These horses are indeed athletes in their own right. They are already the elite in their sport. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to medal them with their teammate. The pair move like smooth flowing water. She does have a tendency to tic her chin down now and then. Honest Charlotte he’s perfect.
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