My money is it will be eventing showcase. It’s XC through arenas on a very compact course (4 minutes). So I bet it will be through the infield park, on the tracks, maybe the arboretum nextdoor?
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I’m wondering what kind of financial disaster the entire LA Olympics is going to be with all the current and future travel bans the current administration is announcing.
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My fear is that, just as it has done in the past, eventing will become whatever the IOC it is. Eventing has already shown it is happy to do express eventing, eventing showcases, etc. The problem is that the PTB want to have that connection to the FEI/IOC because that is where their money comes from.
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My bigger fear is that this is Belinda’s way to finally offload Santa Anita. But we’re in the eventing forum so I’ll save my theories on that.
Although reading that the powers that be think there is plenty of room for an XC course exacerbates my fear that the Olympics are Santa Anita’s swan song. Because I don’t know where you are going to gallop unless you utilize the racing surface as part of the XC course. And you can’t tell me they’re going to destroy the racing surface “just” for the Olympics, especially not with all the money they have put into it. But if they’re done racing on it, well… 
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Maybe we will just put some VR goggles on the horses and stick them on a treadmill. Think of all the money we can save; virtual eventing!
(Please no one do this ever)
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What I found interesting was the phrasing of Lochore being instrumental in figuring out the XC portion at Santa Anita. Who knew he was there under the radar while Galway got hoodwinked?
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They can’t use the Arboretum but I suspect they’ll bring in a lot of dirt and cover the parking areas that belong to Santa Anita, which to be fair, are very large. But yeah. A lot of turns, expensive to build, possibly unstable footing, and they’ll tear it all out after the single day.
Maybe parking costs will be discounted if you sign up for your car being a fence?
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I’ll feel bad if countries boycott the US. Total bummer if it’s only a few athletes. I want everyone to come and compete.
This is brilliant! Saves money building fences (oh, excuse me, “questions”), and gives spectators a break, until it comes time to get the car repaired.
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Can we also sit in our car as it’s jumped? Great viewing. And, maybe we can give a prize to best decor; like tailgating at polo matches.
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You just don’t want to set the jump up so some horses want to bank it. OOOPS!!!
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Is it me, or does nobody remember the rolls-royce jumps at Rolex, or the Mitsubishi trucks jump at Badminton? WE had a stock-car jump at colorado horse park years ago.
The think about jumping a car is its inability to hold a horse up if you bank, so it can ruin a horse’s confidence if the car gives way underneath.
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How many people are comfortable banking a jump these days? I think it was at Burghley this year where one jump got banked a few times and the rider came off.
It would be as if we turned into Moscow in 1980.
What a world.
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or repeat of the 1984 LA Olympics when the Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the Games
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Kids these days! We banked a prelim table schooling in March. Then Peanut said, “nope, I’ll jump it.”
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My first car was such an old beater–would be a great frangible.
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I’m sure my old Toyota Corona would have disintegrated into a pile of rust if a hoof struck it with any kind of force.
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