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Watching show jumping
Sep. 16th, 2023 09:42 pmI had a good day today, some mysterious energy, maybe because I rested intensively for a couple of days this week. Intensive resting, actually hard to do! It can feel similar to depression because it's like, OK I will just sit here and play solitaire or whatever. Anyways. It was SO nice to go to the dog park and feel like walking instead of just sitting on the bench. I talked to a couple of very nice people and had a lovely time.
Something that turned out to be perfect viewing for my recovering brain was Olympics show jumping (horses) from London 2012. There are hours and hours of this content on Youtube, with few commercials, and the announcer is so wonderful! I just fell in love with his voice and style. He talks softly, is knowledgeable and kind and warm. When he criticizes, it's done in a mild way.
There are various arena show jumping competitions (team and individual) and cross-country, which is this gonzo dangerous sport that is something I would never do but is fun to watch. Cross-country is part of "3-day eventing" so those horses and riders have to do this dangerous cross-country jumping event, then also arena show jumping and dressage, which are very different skill sets, it's amazing.
Dressage is pretty boring and very technical; I haven't watched any yet. Oh also there is modern pentathalon, but that was almost painful to watch, because it's so ridiculous, but it was interesting to hear this announcer's take on it, more critical than he otherwise gets.
To explain: modern pentathalon was conceived as 5 things an escaping soldier might need to do, but it's like an 1890 soldier, so it's swimming, running, shooting, fencing, and then a horse portion where they ride an unfamiliar horse, which is dangerous and difficult. I was pleased to learn that modern pentathalon will be dropping the horse portion in the coming years, to be replaced with an obstacle course.
Some show jumping to let you hear this announcer's style.
Equestrian events are one of the few sports where all genders compete together, which I love. And the athletes can range from young to old. The main downside to this sport is that it consists mainly of super wealthy people, and only from a handful of countries.
Something that turned out to be perfect viewing for my recovering brain was Olympics show jumping (horses) from London 2012. There are hours and hours of this content on Youtube, with few commercials, and the announcer is so wonderful! I just fell in love with his voice and style. He talks softly, is knowledgeable and kind and warm. When he criticizes, it's done in a mild way.
There are various arena show jumping competitions (team and individual) and cross-country, which is this gonzo dangerous sport that is something I would never do but is fun to watch. Cross-country is part of "3-day eventing" so those horses and riders have to do this dangerous cross-country jumping event, then also arena show jumping and dressage, which are very different skill sets, it's amazing.
Dressage is pretty boring and very technical; I haven't watched any yet. Oh also there is modern pentathalon, but that was almost painful to watch, because it's so ridiculous, but it was interesting to hear this announcer's take on it, more critical than he otherwise gets.
To explain: modern pentathalon was conceived as 5 things an escaping soldier might need to do, but it's like an 1890 soldier, so it's swimming, running, shooting, fencing, and then a horse portion where they ride an unfamiliar horse, which is dangerous and difficult. I was pleased to learn that modern pentathalon will be dropping the horse portion in the coming years, to be replaced with an obstacle course.
Some show jumping to let you hear this announcer's style.
Equestrian events are one of the few sports where all genders compete together, which I love. And the athletes can range from young to old. The main downside to this sport is that it consists mainly of super wealthy people, and only from a handful of countries.
