In case you hadn't seen footage of his World Cup upset, here tis. Sure, Anky brought her second string horse, and the Dutch judge may have been a bit biased (anyone but the Germans, right?). But Ravel gave a wow performance IMHO -- remarkably uphill and fluid, and those lovely ears are worth a few points in my book. Peters' humility sealed the deal on a historic upset. It's good for the sport.
Here is the "man on the street video":
Here is the video from horsedances:
Horsedances also has professional video footage of all rides. Personally, I love the video of Monica Theodorescu & Whisper. Whisper gets a treat only moments before entering the ring -- Harv would approve!
Dressage vs. figure skating
I used to watch a lot of figure skating and when the scores didn't match the performance, one commentator actually said that "judges reward consistency/quality that a performer has shown in the past." The skater that gave one shining "personal best" performance might be rewarded next year. What a bunch of political baloney! I have to admit I'm not that up to speed on the politics of dressage but I was mystified by the judging at the Olympics (turning a blind eye to Satchmo's disobedience). Perhaps Ravel/Peters win is karmic payback. What do y'all think?
More Info... (commenters, add any links you know of!)
Chronicle of the Horse coverage of the World Cup outcome
Eurodressage weighs in on the World Cup...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Steffan Peters' winning ride
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Steffen is not my favorite rider, his rein sawing bugs me. But he did have a very nice ride. I had been looking forward to seeing Jan Ebling make it to the freestyle, Rafalca was excused I heard for lameness (I was only able to attend Saturday's events). Over all it was a good ride for many of the riders. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting that - they've been my favorite pair since I first saw them because Ravel is so naturally talented and "at home" in the movements.
ReplyDeleteAnd right now I'm just overwhelmed I was all misty eyed during the performance, and I had tears streaming down my face when those people shook their American flag for him. It just feels amazing to be an American in Germany, and see Ravel do such good work.
Omygosh, thank you for that. (This must be what those soccer fans feel?)
~lytha
I don't know, I thought the horse looked a little resistive at points but I was glad to see not a lot of that over-flexion. I hate rollkur, absolutely despise it. For that alone, he gets my kudos.
ReplyDeleteI think dressage to figure skating is an apt comparison. I like good scores, I even like a ribbon, but in the end I really just ride for personal goals.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting both videos, there should be a rule against tv commercials interrupting a dressage routine!!
ReplyDeleteI loved his choice of music, and the one and two tempis to 'You can Dance'.
Good fun!
Adele> Actually, Rafalca didn't qualify for the freestyle (there's a minimum score required). Apparently she was very spooky in the Grand Prix.
ReplyDeleteAh! Thank you for clarifying that. I did hear about her being very spooky, but someone told me she was off or something. I'm not sure. Either way, I was looking forward to that ride, but I wasn't disappointed by Steffan. :)
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