I don't follow American celebrities, much less the Brits, but someone who appears to be the UK version of Paris Hilton (am I right?), Katie Price/Katie Jordan, has been the subject of discussion on dressage bulletin boards of late. She has taken up dressage,and she's openly sharing her Olympic aspirations:
clipped from www.veoh.com |
If you watched the above video, maybe your eyebrows were raised, as mine were, when she suggests that going to the Olympics in dressage is within anyone's grasp -- in fact, anyone "with the right horse" can go. And she has three horses, so surely one of them will suffice, right?
Hoo boy. I know little about her career, but I did the Wikipedia article about her. She seems like kind of a lightweight to me, but at least she's enjoying herself. A lot of dressage riders look terribly pained...
Notice she keeps rubbing her eyes at the outset of this video. I can't advise Katie on dressage, but she needs to lose the eye makeup!
Here she is at some sort of demonstration/performance...
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Wow, she sits the trot as bad as she posts to it.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess she should just stick to the canter in her olympic freestyle then. ;)
Sure, Price has a shot at making the UK Olympic team if their top riders sit around eating bon bons for the next several years waiting for her to get better.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of rooting for her, to be honest. I love how she's managed to get so many dressage riders in a tizzy. I'd like to see her make it, because I am pretty sure some of the 'six thousand years at training level' contingent's heads will explode. And that promises endless amusement.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise -- she's not the first person to think it just takes the right horse. I'm not putting any weight on that. I am putting weight on the fact that she's in Europe, which doesn't toodle around at the lower levels forever, and she has a very high concentration of upper-level riders and trainers to draw on in a relatively small geographic area.
If it can be done, I'm betting it would be easier in Europe than the U.S. I don't have any opinion on whether she'll actually stick through it and make it happen, but I love that she's trying.
I wish there weren't so many people who are GREAT riders but can't afford (in terms of time and money) to get to the next level "the fast way" which I think is to buy a made horse.
ReplyDeleteI don't know enough about KP/KJ to really say much other than WHY SO MUCH MAKEUP? But she strikes me as kind of a lightweight. Similar to Caroline Kennedy wanting to waltz into a Senate seat before paying her dues, her attitude kind of rubs me the wrong way.
I have to admire that she has the guts to say it. I will also say she actually makes white breeches look cute, where I myself make them look like a cottage cheese ad. I dont know much about her but if a sport could use a come from behind Kid its dressage.
ReplyDeleteThe PINK, the spray on tan, the boobs and the dead spider look false eyelashes just make my head hurt. Dressage Barbie... what a concept.
ReplyDeletelol, she makes 'dressage queen' a quite literal term, doesn't she?
ReplyDeleteI would have no problem with her competing in the olympics if she wanted to do it for the good of the horse. But take a look behind her... huh, a lot of rollkur going on.
She's probably at one of 'those' barns.
She gives new meaning to the phrase "those lips, those eyes." ;-)
ReplyDeleteOkay now I'll stop being mean.
After watching those videos, I can't imagine that she'll be making the Olympics any time soon. A great horse a great rider does not make ... and I think you need both to compete at that level.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, at least she's bringing some attention to equestrian sports.
I'm with you Stacey, I'm much more interested in seeing riders who've worked hard to get there despite not having big money than someone who just buys expensive, push-button horses.
Good God!
ReplyDeleteI agree with her statement "anyone can do anything they put their mind to". Everyone has to start somewhere. She sure has a achieved a lot more in her life than most people. Her name is virtually on everything... She is always out there moving, shaking, and getting things done.
ReplyDeleteHer riding skills leave something to be desired, but she can afford the best training and the best horse. A horse has a LOT to do with it. Any old horse can't be great at dressage, it takes breeding and heart. She can afford one with both. With lots (and lots and lots) of practice, she can become a much better rider.
The future will tell. I hope she can do it, she adds some flair to the horse world. I myself would like to be a bit more "over the top". Anything that attracts attention to horses and makes them more popular to the mainstream, I'm all for.
oh my. that's just what we need more of in the horse world - spoiled rich brats who buy their way in with the right horse. i don't know how much it happens in dressage, but the h/j world is dominated by this kind of rider. i mean, that's always been the idea in the hunter ring, and behind the jr eq in the US - get the right horse and all you have to do is sit on top and look good. it's a lot like modeling. and as for the olympics, who says it isn't possible? look at nona garson - there's a woman who couldn't ride her way out of a paper bag, but with the right sponsors and horses got herself a spot on the olympic team. happens all the time :-\ too bad though, since there are a lot of truly deserving riders who lack the resources and will never have that chance...
ReplyDeleteTo respond to Jackie:
ReplyDeleteI doubt that any dressage horse is push button. The more advanced the horse, the more refined the rider has to be.
An international horse is another kettle of fish entirely.
I'd say that, with as crappy a rider as this girl is, she's going to need quite a string of good horses because she's going to ruin them all. I haven't seen hands and seat that bad in a long, long time! I think the horse she's on things the same too. He's none too happy about her riding either. Swish, swish.
ReplyDeleteDeanna, call me old and jaded, but being a celebrity is not the same (to me) as being accomplished. I sometimes entertain myself by wondering how far someone like Paris Hilton, or in this case, KP, would have gotten if she looked like me ;-). I have no problem with my appearance but I know it's not the stuff that makes a celebrity.
ReplyDeleteThere is a machine that makes stars out of people who they think will appeal to a certain market. Very little is actually required of them. KP may be more than this, but I can't really tell from her resume.
All I can say is, if you hands still bounce that much, stick with black gloves...
ReplyDelete;)
I suppose with years of good training (for her) and a good horse, when she's ready and it's possible. By 40, maybe not.
I suppose it is good that she is bringing some attention to the sport. And I appreciate that she is shaking up dressage's "stuffy" image.
ReplyDeleteBut I admit that I'm jealous. She doesn't ride well, to my eye. But I'm sure money & fame are bringing her the opportunities to sit on some very talented horses and learn from some very talented people. Olympics or not, she's having experiences I could only dream of. I'd love to have those opportunities, but have neither the money nor the fame.
Ugh. It's criminal to allow someone with a seat that bad to use a double bridle.
ReplyDeleteWere they actually calling out the pattern? I thought you were supposed to memorize it...
ReplyDeleteHaha, has anyone seen the episode of her show 'Katie and Peter' where she actually castrates her own horse? She is a little strange...
ReplyDeleteCastrates her own horse? Why? I'm sure she can afford a vet. How much attention does one need?
ReplyDeleteWhat next? I know! How about the episode where she removes her breast implants by herself because she can't find the perfect sports bra to keep them from doing a sitting trot long after she's halted at X!
Meow.
Solitaire mare, what a hoot! You brought out the latent feline in me ;-)
ReplyDeleteher hands make me sea-sick.
ReplyDeletei second the "black glove" comment.
at lest she is atrscting a lot media to the sport
ReplyDeleteto anonymous - Haven't we all just about had enough of the "media" already?
ReplyDeleteTruly, not all publicity is good publicity, esp. if it conveys that $$ is all that is needed to excel in dressage.
ReplyDelete