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As far as I can tell, Flat Racing certainly (not sure about NH) would be eligible to become an Olympic sport.
We could run all aged races (3yo+) over a number of distances and then even have relays races at the end, Jockeys would have to pass the you know what (I’m not mentioning it) rather than the baton of course.
I think it would great.
No !
Tennis and football, along with a few other sports shouldn’t be allowed either.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
The idea of a relay race is getting me excited…
How would the teams be organised?
Would it be the horses who had to be bred in a certain country, the jockeys or both?
Would the horses be trained by the usual trainers or would there one coach for each participating nation?
How would the race be organised?
Would it be a 2m leg followed by 1m4f followed by 1m followed by 6f? Would it be the other way around?
Perhaps a 3m chase followed by a 2m hurdle followed by 1m2f flat and then a sprint?
Do the jockeys have to be amateur?In all fairness, it’s a much more enticing prospect than the Shergar Cup!
Most importantly, which course would it be held at? Would a new course be built specifically for the event? Would the course then be sold to the BHA or a new renegade body that wanted to compete with same?
It may have been at the original Olympics (albeit with riders in armor!), but it isn’t so appropriate for the modern games.
Mainly because like softball and baseball, only a few countries would dominate.And the equestrian sports that we have now are in danger of elimination. The FEI already kowtowed to the IOC with the introduction of the short-form event (got rid of the roads and tracks and
steeplechase
portion, leading to more unfit horses and injuries). Remember the 2008 events had to be held as far away as Hong Kong. Were it not for London being convenient to good eventing courses and facilities, the equestrian events would absolutely be on the chopping block.
How about snooker, darts and golf too
The Olympics has become far too bloated as it is; it should be restricted to what could be termed the ‘Greek Ideal’ of pursuits designed to determine
individual
athletic: prowess and dexterity: running, throwing, fighting, strength, swimming, gymnastics, shooting, archery
In effect, a celebration of those ‘sports’ that developed from necessary endeavour rather than those invented as diversionary entertaining pastimes, most of which involve the trivial pursuit of moving a ball hither and thither
As the horse has featured heavily in mankind’s ‘necessary endeavour’, dressage and show-jumping sit comfortably within the Olympic pantheon, but that’s quite sufficient
I’m guessing that Pompete was tongue in cheek but I’ve actually commentated on a relay horse race.
It was run at Higham point to point course in Essex as part of it’s "Midnight Steeplechase" programme.
Four teams of 3 riders (representing different hunts) had to ride a lap and hand over their w..ps to the next person waiting at the finishing line.
It was very exciting but a bit of a nightmare to commentate on as the changeovers could go very badly wrong if the rider galloped past their next person in the relay and we ended up with horses all over the course including the ones that had already completed their laps.
Technically, I don’t see why not!
But the madness has to cease and a line must be drawn at some point, and it’s here!
Blimey, lots of question there Bachelors Hall – I hadn’t really thought about the details
But here goes:
# Horses to owned/leased by each Racing Authority – 3 for each race distance plus sqaud horses for the relay races.
# Horse to be either Bred in the Country or have been in training from Yearlings.
# Jockeys to be Conditional or Amatuers and born in the country.
# One Trainer of any nationality.
# Course would have to be an AW type.
# Race Distances – 5f, 6f, 8f, 10, 12f, 16f (but in metres)
# Relay Distances – 5f, 10f, 16f each with 4 horses from each country.
# All races Hands & Heels onlyThere are already 3 equestrian diciplines, then the penthlon has SJ no? (not that I’ve ever seen anyone who can actually ride, but there we go), and they seem to be more in the olympic spirit (without trying to sound like a douchecanoe), like horses that riders have had fora while, slowly produced themselves and got to that level. Not that are ridden by some poor sod on min wage 99% of the time then someone else just for the competition.
I don’t realllyyy think it would work? I can’t see where it would fit?
As far as I can tell, Flat Racing certainly (not sure about NH) would be eligible to become an Olympic sport.
We could run all aged races (3yo+) over a number of distances and then even have relays races at the end, Jockeys would have to pass the you know what (I’m not mentioning it) rather than the baton of course.
I think it would great.
You’ve planted a seed there, Pete. A delegation with Jacques Rogge among them was spotted doing a recce around Great Leighs only this morning.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
i would also say no to this.
in my opinion the olympics should purely be focused on the human individuals talents, not animals.
yes horse racing is a combined talent, but definitly the horse is required to be more talented than the jockey, so i couldn’t really see the point in it.
if anything should be in the olympics next, i would put darts at the top of my list.
if anything should be in the olympics next, i would put darts at the top of my list.
My dad says that if you can win while drinking a beer (and not spill it), it isn’t a real sport.
Also darts is completely dominated by the United Kingdom. Of the current top 32 players in the world, 26 are from the UK. Darts is only popular as a competitive sport in the UK. It would be like putting American football in the Olympics.
I want some of whatever it is Pete is smoking
I can just imagine the owners of Black Caviar, Danedream and Frankel agreeing to a get-together supporting the idea.
The only thing is who pays the $15 million to get them assembled in the same place at the same time fit,well and ready to race
Uk Racing has it’s own Olympics it’s called the Cheltenham Festival or if you prefer Royal Ascot.
miss woodfoord,
thanks for replying to my reply. although i still disagree
this was a passage from an article on whether darts is a sport:
"As hard as it is to define, I’ve looked through all of the dictionaries and I’ve found that something needs to have three aspects to it to be classed as a sport.
First of all it needs to have competition. If you are playing bat and ball with your granny on Scarborough beach it does not become a sport until you put up a net and say ‘first to 15’. Darts clearly has that competitive element.
Secondly, sport demands hand to eye co-ordination. Darts is surely the essence of that particular skill.
The third factor is that you get better by practice. It’s clear that if you had Phil Taylor showing you how to throw darts properly, you’d be a better darts player in a month’s time than you are now".
So that pretty much sums it up. Also, i would think its one of the few things England would actually win at in the olympics. Why English people are so good at darts i don’t know, but America or elsewhere is surely big enough to mount a challenge.
Darts is the same as football and many others, they are games rather than sports.
I would be of the old school in saying that the Olympian ideal is too test mankind’s physical prowess. Horsemanship is something of an anomaly as in Greek times and up until the advent of the motor car and modern machinery, the mastery of the horse was an important part of life. The current equestrian events are a fair reflection of that historical significance.
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