Thursday, August 21, 2008

Summer Was Put on Hold for Two Weeks!

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Sunday Morning Olympics Originally uploaded by xbluegoox Sure the sun was out, but it was night-time in Hong Kong and that meant time spent ...
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See Any Place You Remember?

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Can you see your country? Originally uploaded by MusicPancake The steps to a footbridge in Hong Kong chronicle the locations and dates of pa...
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Typhoon Nuri Hurtles Toward Hong Kong as Jumping Concludes

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Maybe they should turn the jumping finals into a speed round? If a jumpoff for today's individual show jumping is required, it could be ...

The Golden Rider Returns to a Hero's Welcome in Germany

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Will winning the Olympic gold medal in eventing change German dentist Hinrich Romeike? German RTL Regional Television covered his triumphant...
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Olympic Experiences: British Dressage Rider Reveals Pre-Games Surgery

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They say that competing in the international arena builds character. And sometimes, it turns out, your strength of character can prepare you...
Monday, August 18, 2008

How Horsey is Hong Kong? Just Check Your Coke Can!

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Coke in HongKong Originally uploaded by womblue Horses show up even on the bar code for a can of Coke during the Olympic equestrian events i...
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Aussie Hero Hayley Saddles Up at the Last Minute for the Ride of Her Life

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Australian dressage rider Hayley Beresford's Olympic performances have had people from many countries cheering for her! (Equestrian Fede...
Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Hero of Horses: Orlov Trotter Balagur Goes from Circus, to Police...to the OLYMPICS!

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If this horse could talk....(Photo from Reuters News Agency) Someone, quick! Call Disney! Here's a horse worthy of their next animal fil...
Friday, August 15, 2008

"Wir Sind die Goldenen Reiters!" The Germans Were Singing Loud Last Night!

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Hinrich Romeike (center, with medals) and Ingrid Klimke (red shirt) and the German eventing team were singing, "Hey, hey, hey...we are ...
Thursday, August 14, 2008

Great Cheverell: A Cluster of Big Pins on the Olympic World Map

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One little town in Wiltshire, England can claim that almost one percent of its residents are Olympic athletes! What might really throw you, ...

WorldRides Video: The YouTube Olympics

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Riding the giant 17hh British-bred Miners Frolic, Team GBR's Tina Cook won the individual bronze medal in eventing on Tuesday, and was p...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Target: Tomorrow!

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Willeke assists defending gold medal holder Anky Van Grunsven as she schools alone in the dark. Anky's teammates have scored highly in t...

Cheer for Hiroshi? Everyone Will!

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In a few hours, one of the equestrian games' best stories will trot into the main arena and the stands will erupt in cheers. Hoketsu Hir...

British Show Jumper Lame, Withdrawn from Competition

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Portofino 63 will not have many fond memories of the Hong Kong equestrian games. The British Olympic Association (BOA) and the Brit...

The Hinrich Manuever: How Many Gold Fillings in Two Gold Medals? Ask Hinrich!

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Germany's Hinrich Romeike is a dentist who trains his horse at night after work. A gold medal. Now there's something you can sink yo...
Sunday, August 10, 2008

Meet the Riders: Alex Hua Tian Rides for China

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As his website says, he is "1 in 1.3 billion": China's only three-day event rider. Alex Hua Tian speaks English with a Chinese...

Cultural "Whoops" in Hong Kong: Judges' Huts Get a Paint Job

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Anky had plenty of time to look around the arena while she schooled Salinero in the rain last week . Dutch dressage diva Anky van Grunsven s...

Belgian Medal Hopes: Why Karin Donckers in Second Place Is So Special

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Karin Donckers rode beautifully to hold second place at the end of eventing dressage. (FEI/Kit Houghton photo) Belgium? In second place? In ...

Dressage Horse Vet Inspection at Sha Tin

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The horses that will compete in the Dressage competition of the Olympic Games later this week took their turn to trot before the Ground Jury...

Event Horses Move to New Base Camp Across the Island to Run Cross-Country

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Germany's Andreas Dibowski received a congratulatory hug from teammate Ingrid Klimke after his dressage test put him in 11th place...and...

WorldRides Video: Rolex Commercial

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We interrupt this blog to bring you the Rolex commercial! While this Rolex commercial is not directly linked to these Olympics games in Hon...
Saturday, August 9, 2008

Paris Weeps: Touziant Withdraws from Olympic Eventing Before Dressage

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Galan de Sauvagere and Nicolas Touziant. I already had them pencilled in on my medal list. Touziant (shown at left) has been all but unbeat...

Meet the Riders: Mary King of Team GBR Eventing in Top Ten Going into Cross-Country

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Mary King is an anchor of experience and talent for the British eventing team . Great Britain's Mary King began riding in her fifth Olym...
Friday, August 8, 2008

Eventing Inspection Recap: Parkmore Ed's Girth Gall Stops Hearts, Then Gets the Nod

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There was disappointment for Chile's Ricardo Stangher and Brazil's Fabricio Salgado when their horses – Literal and Butterfly – fail...

Today's the Day: Let the Games Begin!

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Feast your eyes! If you had ever told me when I got out of college that part of my job description as a horse-specialist journalist would in...

Arena Screen May Be Daunting Object for Horses in Dressage

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It's too hot to train outside, but Anky van Grunsven is doing it anyway. The Dutch diva of dressage writes home that she is pleased that...

Athens Bronze Medalist Beatriz Ferrer-Salat Withdraws Faberge from Dressage in Hong Kong

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Fabergé - Galoppwechsel Originally uploaded by HopiNethou More bad news from Hong Kong: The rain in Spain is laced with pain. Make that pain...

WorldRides Video: Eventers Ostholt, Fox-Pitt and O'Connor on Chinese TV

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All thumbs are up as world-class eventers Frank Ostholt (Germany), William Fox-Pitt (Great Britain) and Karen O'Connor (USA) share confi...
Thursday, August 7, 2008

FIT TO COMPETE? First Vet Inspection for Eventers in Hong Kong in a Few Hours!

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The inspection begins at 16.00hrs (4:00 p.m.) local time in Hong Kong on Friday. That's means it will be happening before most of us in...

Video: The Adidas Olympic Commercial

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The Olympics are as great or even greater for its commercials than the Super Bowl. Over the next few days I will be sharing with you some o...

French Eventing Team Loses "Hope": Espoir de la Mare Withdrawn From Olympics with Ligament Injury

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Espoir de la Mare ("Hope of the Sea") has been withdrawn from the Olympics Oh, mon dieu. Zut! Pas mal! And all those other French ...

WorldRides Video: Equine Airlift Unloads Precious Horses in Hong Kong

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This narrationless video was spliced together by the Hong Kong Jockey Club so you can all see how the horses are off-loaded from the cargo ...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Tropical Storm Kammuri News: Sheik Mohammed Takes in Stranded Olympic Horses When Flight is Grounded!

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Australian dressage and eventing teams met in their stable aisle at the equestrian center in Hong Kong. Their show jumping teammates are str...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Here Come the Kiwis!

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New Zealand is a force to be reckoned with any international equestrian sporting event. The Kiwis ride with gusto...and can be counted on to...
Sunday, August 3, 2008

Sing Along with the German Olympic Equestrian Teams!

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The Olympic equestrian events are the heart and soul of German equestrianism. The nation has a stellar record of gold medals won in the thre...

Netherlands: Orange-You-Glad About Anky?

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You know, when I saw that music video for the German team, I immediately thought: Next week, just watch, dressage diva Anky van Grunsven wil...
Friday, August 1, 2008

French Dressage Rider Withdraws Her Horse from Olympic Team

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The European web site Eurodressage.com is reporting that French rider Karen Tebar has withdrawn her Hanoverian mare Falada from their place ...
Thursday, July 31, 2008

Video: Sir Paul McCartney Donates Song, Support to British Paralympics Team

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Here we go, Olympics Part 2..with a twist and a turn and a set of wheels. As much as I enjoyed the "main" Olympics, I have been lo...

Video: Riders Escorted Through Hong Kong Airport

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British television covered the arrival of "equestrian athletes" (a.k.a. "riders") at the Hong Kong airport this week. Th...

The French Approach to the Olympics

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Most of the promotional videos for the Olympic equestrian teams look like they were produced by ESPN: Fast-cut edits, pounding rock music, l...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Get to Know: Italian Eventer Vittoria Panizzon

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Tall and handsome, Rock Model may have all four hooves on the ground, but his rider's head is often in the clouds. And that's where ...
Monday, July 28, 2008

Get to Know: Holland's Willeke van Uden, Dressage Groom

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A nky van Grunsven and her horse Salinero, shown here in the flight stall, are the co-favorites to win the gold medal in dressage. No, you w...
Sunday, July 27, 2008

Typhoon Fung-wong Downgraded to a Tropical Storm, Hong Kong Spared

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All those planes carrying all those horses have had plenty to think about the past few days as Typhoon Fung-Wong winds its way westward from...

The Horses Have Landed!

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Well, some of them, at least. The extremely efficient plan was to offload the horses from the jumbo jets and sprint them off to their stable...
Saturday, July 26, 2008

G2K (Get to Know): Canada's Kyle Carter, Eventing

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Get to know Canada's Kyle Carter in this video clip from www.ocala.com Kyle Carter lives outside Ocala, Florida, on his prophetically-na...
Thursday, July 24, 2008

Someone Flipped the Switch on the Amazing Olympic Architecture!

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How about this! Meet the Aquatic Center at the main Olympic site near Beijing . They turned the lights on tonight and one word says it all: ...

Take a Look: The 2008 Olympic Medals

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Take a look at the front (top) and back (lower) silver, gold and bronze medals for the 2008 Olympics. Each medal is also made with some jade...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Transport Team Ready and Waiting for the Planes to Land

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The air is a steamy, humid 32 Centigrade (90 Fahrenheit). The horse transport fleet stands ready: it includes about one dozen air-conditione...

Welcome to Fran Jurga's "WorldRides" Blog

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Ready...set....here we go! Who's who at the Olympics Equestrian Games in Hong Kong? And who are they riding? And what are their stories?...