(“Now the Disneyfication of de Coubertin’s vision is nearly complete.”)

Robert Dover thinks so. Everyone who live-streamed the NBC feed of Valegro’s freestyle agrees. So do thousands of little girls from the age of six who daydream their ponies to Olympic glory. But is that enough? This question gets aired publicly every four years. It is a topic which committees in the IOC and corporate sponsors undoubtedly debate at length during all the months in between.

Face it—what are the Olympics now if not a TV show? We can recite our own equestrian Olympic feel good stories, but are they as relatable to the viewing public as ones which feature skateboarding, trampoline, or cycling? As recently as the 1970s Olympic show jumping was held in the main stadium right before the closing ceremonies took place. Now the Disneyfication of de Coubertin’s vision is nearly complete. If “our” sport is nudged aside by ones which are less expensive to put on or draw higher ratings (read advertising dollars) in the 15–34 demographic, someday we may just have to settle for our World Championships being the pinnacle achievement to strive for.

 

So as not to end on a “down” note, here is a funny personal story peripherally related to the Olympics and horses. Back in the mid-’70s when I had a collection of beginner and novice level school horses and was learning to ply my trade, I got a phone call:

“Hi, my name is Larry. I teach phys ed at the middle school, and I want to try out for the Modern Pentathlon team. My running and swimming times are competitive. I’m a pretty good shot and I’m taking fencing lessons. I was told that the riding portion was going being replaced by cycling, but they just announced there would be no changes in the disciplines for at least another 12 years. Can you teach me to ride?”

My answer, of course, was a qualified “yes,” but I asked him what he needed to be able to do.

Reading from the requirements he said, “On a horse I have drawn by lot, after a 10 minute warm-up I have to jump a course of 12 to 16 fences 3’9 in height and 4’6 in width including double and triple combinations.”

And then the kicker –. “Can I learn that in 2 weeks?”

This was a great opportunity to hone my eye rolling technique, but I invited him to come have a lesson to see what his task was all about. Larry made good progress. He was athletic and he tried hard. In a year’s time he went from never having ridden a horse to competing successfully in Novice level horse trials. He never did make it to the Olympics but he met a lot of young women. And 40 years later cycling has still not replaced equestrian in Olympic Pentathlon.