>>>> I must add, in my personal opinion, equestrian sport has no place at the Olympics at all, as the riders are relying on another being for their sport, rather than their own athletic prowess.
I've thought about that too. I think I disagree (surprised?) a little bit about the riders depending on the prowess of another being, since most of these riders work for years with an individual horse before getting to that level of competition. It's not just the horse's prowess, nor is it just the rider's prowess. They are a team. Regardless though, you're right to some extent anyway. Olympic ratings aren't JUST based on the human-athlete's performances. I have seriously come to question the justification for ANY international competition. Maybe it's not such a big deal in Europe, where the countries are physically attached (well, except the UK) and geographically small. But to move horses from continent to continent? That's horribly stressful, horribly expensive...and is it really worth the time and stress, and the risk of exposure to regional diseases, to the horses, as well as the expense? I really don't think it is. I think most people seriously underestimate how stressful it is to move a horse 500-1000 miles, or even 50 miles in some contexts. To get enough Icelandic horses to pick breeding stock from, I had to move a good many horses 500-3500 miles. There simply weren't any closer. I watched them like hawks after the hauling, and most did ok, but ALL showed some signs of being really tired, at least a little worried, and somewhat stressed. Some were notably tired and stressed. I gave them all time off after the move, to relax in a pasture with no demands. They didn't have to go through a formal, government-defined quarantine, or "jet lag", and they weren't expected to be at top performance within days or weeks, while carrying riders who are no doubt feeling the stress of competition. I'm sure that horses that do this regularly become SOMEWHAT used to it, but do they ever totally get used to it? I doubt it, and the statistics for ulcers in performance horses would tend to back my feelings up. Seriously, I worry as much about the emotional/mental stress these horses go through, as I do the physical stress. I just don't think it's worth it. Local/regional competition is plenty stressful on horses and riders, so I just don't think it's worth it to, for instance, move a horse from North America (New Zealand, Australia, Japan...) to Europe for international competition. To top it off, I think I read that cost to transport each US horse to the Netherlands for the World Championships was something like $20,000-25,000, per horse! Just for transport, for one competition. Not only is international competition horribly stressful to the horses, but it's certainly an elitist endeavor that isn't open to everyone...It's a lot of stress, risk, and expense just to satisfy the egos of a very small number of humans. So...why exactly do we need the FEIF? Karen Thomas, NC
