A Summer Olympic-winning dressage horse costs well over a million dollars.

[sir pball]

And that is the entirety of my statement.

IKYK

[Swede]

1. Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers): $70,000,000

Are you not entertained?

Kyle Tucker (Los Angeles Dodgers): $60,000,000
Juan Soto (New York Mets): $46,875,000
Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies): $42,000,000
Aaron Judge (New York Yankees): $40,000,000

[sir pball]

2. Fail. You didn'tt get it.

It wasn't about professional athletes in the top paid leagues.

It was about supposed "amateur" athletics being economically exclusive.

I will explain further, if you would like.

[Arazi]

3. I kinda lost my hate on the horse sports

Last time around I finally learned they’re all based on old military stuff just like fencing and shooting sports.

I think preserving that stuff is cool. Somebody’s got to be able to do it or some of our best movie scenes like Arwen’s ride in LOTR, or the riding in westerns would be CGI or AI and that would suck.

[sir pball]

4. Oh, no hate on horse sports

A lot of it is military, and a lot of it is based on a close bond between a human and their animal.

I was making an entirely different point, given a different thread…and since you seem genuinely unaware I will spoil:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221002642

[Arazi]

5. Well the riders don't own those horses

The actual owners are rich like Anne Romney but the riders are just regular athletes like many others at the Olympics.

Someone made the comparison last time this came up to musicians who get “loaner” Stradivarius violins. No way can they afford that instrument but through thousands of hours of practice some rich person decides to let that musician play it - sometimes for many years so they become a total unit.

I’m good with that.

[sir pball]

6. True, but the lessons to ride those horses aren't cheap either.

My niece is into competitive riding, and while my sister doesn't own the horse, the lessons alone are kind of finanically painful. Even if your rider doesn't own your horse, you've probably spent six figures training them up.

Point being, equestrianism is by a long shot the most expensive Olympic sport; on any end ain't nobody but the most privileged doing it.

[dsc]

8. Sometime though the owners do ride

one of the UK royals actually competed for example. I think Princess Anne but I could be wrong on who.

[leftstreet]

7. They need to have Cat Dressage

Link to tweet

?s=20

[tinrobot]

9. Perhaps. Then again, good running shoes are pretty affordable.

If you can't afford dressage, then pick a different sport.

[sir pball]

10. Have you priced good running shoes lately?!

I'm not really joking,

I'm an avid runner and properly good shoes are…no, they aren't world-class equestrian pricey, or even as much as my skis, but my trainers are $180 and last about 300 miles.

At 2,000 miles a year, it's not an entirely insignificant outlay.