Beijing Olympics Day Six: Dressage

We are watching the dressage competitions this morning and wondering at the incredible amount of strain there must be on horse and rider. Even though the audience is well set back from the ring the clapping and flapping flags, along with the jets flying overhead must be deafening. The heat is evident in the very sweat soaked horses and faces of the audience. And have you noticed that TV camera person lurking in the bushes? That's enough to send the calmest horse into a good spook on its own! At this point the Dutch and German riders are having the most brilliant rides. But, there is still more to come. The final dressage tests will be ridden on August 19th. Canadian viewers can watch on BOLD (formerly Country Canada) while US fans can watch on Oxygen. My blog post of August 11 has links to schedules for both the dressage and the upcoming stadium jumping competitions.

What have been your impressions of the competitions so far? Leave your comments below!