Happy.

The 2008 Olympics are over! I can't wait for the next one!

Maybe Isabell will win in London!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed watching the Olympics. Me and the working students went over to Jochen's house and watched it live on his computer that he had hooked up to his TV. It was unbelievable. I have seen the olympics before, but usually they only show the top 10 or so. We watched every last rider on every single day. Wow. I am so impressed at the level of riding- I mean, even the bad ones were incredible. I don't even know what to say. 

So, here is my wonderful recap of the Olympics:

Isabell Werth- my hero. amazing. steller. beautiful. All of the above. That woman is tough as nails and is a fierce competitor. What I thought was so brilliant to watch from her aside from the beautiful training was how unbelievably each movement was executed. She is such a pro. It was also interesting to see that when she finished all her tests they showed her go back into the warmup to stretch her horse down. Love it. She did have trouble in her piaffe work- unarguably. She has said in many interviews that he is very headstrong and stubborn. Maybe that was her only trouble, I don't know- but he appeared to be happy in all his other work. If I meet her someday I think I will melt. Some say she didn't deserve a medal because of her mistakes in the piaffe, but I still think she rode her little heart out and deserved gold (not to be biased or anything). 

Anky- solid. I have to say, I'm not really an Anky fan- I don't love her style of riding and I always think she and her horses look so tense and mechanical....but- she also rode her little heart out and executed the tests brilliantly. There had to be so much pressure on her to perform well and isabell was breathing down her neck the whole time, but, she delivered. My favorite part was that as soon as she learned she had won she let out a happy little "yoo-hoo!"

Heike Kemmer-also super solid. She is tall too! I don't believe she had any mistakes in any of her 3 tests. Maybe she did, but I can't remember. Anyways. I really enjoyed watching her.

Steffen Peters- Steffen-my friend! His horse was without a doubt my favorite one there. I love him except he's the same age as Caruso (10yrs) and therefore I must hate him out of jealousy (me and Caruso have yeaaaaaars to go).  He was greener in some areas but steller in others. I love steffen and his horse. Some think he was cheated out of a medal....I don't know- unless there was a tie for gold btw Isabell and Anky and Heike got silver and Steffen got bronze. 

Courtney King- I was so proud! She rode so well and was really solid all three days. I was really impressed. She looks so elegant on a horse. 

Debbie/Brentina- painful to watch. I felt so bad for debbie. :(

Cute Russian Pony- could piaffe up a storm. He was so cute I just wanted to hug him. 

Andreas Helgstrand- needs to get over himself. I just want someone to poke him in the nose to deflate his huge head. 

I also really liked Hans Peter-dksfjkals?, the woman from mexico, the Danish princess from Denmark, and Emma Hindle from Britain.

There is always so much controversy over the scoring and that its so subjective and unfair and bias. I think there always will be. No matter what the results there will always be someone complaining. Someone's subjectivity will always say otherwise. That's why we have 5 judges- to even things out. I think it is highly improbable although not impossible to pay off 5 judges in order for them to give isabell or anky gold. Whatever the case- what's done is done. I think the scores were fair. I think Isabell blew me away but had some unfortunate mistakes and anky impressed me with her professionalism and tact. They owned these games. 

America did not fair so well at these games- not receiving one dressage medal. I think the future is bright however. Courtney, at 30 years old, has shown that she is an international force to be reckoned with. Steffen, on Ravel, has shown that at 10yrs old his horse has enormous potential and at 14 he will be in prime shape for London. 

Andrew Phillips on his horse Caruso the Great- that's a different story :)   

I am so grateful for the US team and all the dressage Olympians. They have inspired me.