(almost) always thinking

Barbie Does Dressage

11 October, 2008 at 6:20 pm 2 comments

As promised, I was at Horse of the Year Show on Friday.  So of course I had to watch Katie Price / Jordan perform in the Dressage Special.

Katie is the slightly crooked one on the right – yes, they did light the arena pink…

Does she deserve credit for having the guts to ride in front of thousand of people?  Yes.  Did her riding do her credit?  Erm, no. 

I was watching with a friend who competes in Dressage at a much higher level than Katie ever will and we sat there gob smacked as she cantered when she was supposed to be trotting, just about hung on while her horse leapt about misbehaving and managed a very nice half pass (a complicated sideways manoeuvre) when she wasn’t actually supposed to be doing one.

There’s a difference between having the courage to do something and the ability to actually deliver it.  I didn’t expect her to be brilliant, I just expected her to put on a good show within her ability for a knowledgeable horsey crowd.

The mainstream news are all reporting that the demo was a huge success, with the crowd behind her all the way.  I was sitting just behind the press seats in the arena and kept hearing a woman a few rows back yelling “we love you Katie” and so on throughout her performance.  When I turned round at the end to see who it was I’m 90% certain I recognised Katie’s manager.  Perhaps she was just making sure that the press printed the ‘right’ story…

By way of contrast, later in the day the Household Cavalry did an amazing ‘we will rock you’ themed display with live music, special effects and incredible riding which was more like a rock show with horses and quite frankly left Katie’s attempt looking rather feeble even for an amateur.

Oh and Katie, if you’re reading this – in the horsey world you’re supposed to use a shovel to muck out stables, not to apply your makeup.

Entry filed under: Life. Tags: dressage, Horse of the Year Show, Household Cavalry, HOYS, Jordan, Katie Price.