I have discovered that my enthusiasm for the Olympics has dissipated over the past 4 years since the previous Games. I'm sure it's because I am no longer a dedicated, cut-throat competitor in my own little non-Olympic world of horse shows.
When I was competiting on the horse show circuit, I'd sit glued to the TV, watching every medal fest offered during the Olympics. I didn't care whether it was diving, track and field, fencing or beach volleyball. I was thoroughly caught up in the "go for the gold" mindset of each of the participants.
Now? Not so much. My spark of empathy has dimmed. In years past, I identified with the athlete who had to eek out a victory over their closest rival, who struggled to maintain their cool under intense pressure. Oh. And let's not forget those, "Dang, I missed it by this much," moments. I've been there, experienced that, too, in horse shows, so I was crushed and crestfallen right along with them.
With this Olympic Games, I'm more likely to prick up my ears only for the major contests. For example, like most viewers, I'm fascinated with gymnastics, though I haven't been capable of executing so much as a cartwheel since sixth grade. And I admit that my secret pleasure is any and all of the male swimming contests. Let's just say the scenery is nice. (Hey, I'm only human). Then naturally I want to stay on top of the equestrian events. But otherwise I'm lacking any sort of empathetic, long-distance connections to athletes competiting for medals in things like pole vaulting, synchronized swimming and archery. They simply aren't spiking my Olympic fever anymore.
If you're like me and you'd like to, as my friend Sonny would say, "Skip the potatoes and get to the meat," you can keep up with the coverage of the equestrian events by checking the frequent updates on Horse Channel thanks to this section accessed on the home page:
Olympic Equestrian News and Results
Though Horse Channel won't be providing updates on any other Olympic medal competitions-- you'll have to locate the results for kayaking and the shotput elsewhere-- at least you can stay up to date with what's going on with the world's top horses and riders. And isn't that what always makes our temperatures rise?
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4 comments:
It's too bad our eventing crew had such a rough bout on the XC course! I feel so badly for them! (not that I've QUITE been there, so I really can't begin to imagine the dissapointment). I think that's the hardest part of watching the olympics for me.
However, I am loving the German and Australian teams this year - so I'm still thoroughly entertained!!
I'll be keeping my fingers (and some hooves) crossed that our other teams will hold out strong and bring back some medals!
I don't get to watch much of the olympics. But I used to watch the jumping and dressage portions when they showed them. wish I could watch the reining!!!
I'M WISHING YOU THE VERY BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR SURGERY WEDNESDAY, AND A SPEEDY, PAIN-FREE-AS-POSSIBLE RECOVERY!!
Jamie
Thanks for your good wishes. I haven't caught much of the equestrian events yet. I seem to keep missing them, however, my sister is up to date on everything, so she keeps me informed. I'm hoping to see Debbie McDonald ride Brentina, regardless of how well she does. Debbie, my sister and I rode together (ponies and hunters) for many years, so there's a personal connection to her, which makes it all that much more exciting.
Oh that's really cool! It's so neat when you have friends that are really making it in the horse world. Not sure if you have her blog or not, but thought I'd leave it for you. http://special.equisearch.com/blog/debbiemcdonald/
Best of luck in your upcoming surgery as well!!!
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