I saw this on the eventing forum and had to run over here and show you. Great blog by Kerri McGregor, Assistant Manager for the Canadian team.
Thanks for sharing the link! Its awesome to see the pictures. I have a question though, are those the riders that are in the pictures? They look a little… ummm… how to put this delicately… unfit for the olympics? Sorry, but just look at the Chinese around them and look at them. They look very big.
Sorry.
Nope, those aren’t the riders! They are the grooms. And I’m willing to bet that they actually are pretty fit what with all the hand walking, grooming, icing, etc.
But if it makes you feel better, almost all of the riders look more like traditional athletes.
If you’re talking about the women leading the Canadian event horses, those are the grooms!!!
They went ahead of time so they were well-prepared and could help the horses settle in.
Thanks for posting the blog! Woot! Go Ashley and Pop Art! Go CANADA!
WOW! You’re nice! :eek: Hope none of the grooms lurk around here.
[QUOTE=dsgshowmom;3398688]
Thanks for sharing the link! Its awesome to see the pictures. I have a question though, are those the riders that are in the pictures? They look a little… ummm… how to put this delicately… unfit for the olympics? Sorry, but just look at the Chinese around them and look at them. They look very big.
Sorry.[/QUOTE]
I don’t usually respond to things like this…but, come on. :no: The only possible consequence of writing something like this is entirely negative. Shame on you.
That said, I certainly wish I were as fit, knowledgeable, and competent as the people in those pictures. They wouldn’t be handling Olympic horses if they weren’t awesome!:yes:
Very, very cool pictures. Thanks so much for that link! 
I am five feet five inches tall and weigh 125 pounds - so not a huge person. I lived in Nanjing this past year, and when I shopped in Chinese stores and bought Chinese womans’ clothing, I wore a size XL or XXL. Just for perspective. Coming back to the US there is always a mini-cultural shift for me as I go from being a tall, biggish kind of person in Nanjing to being a middling to small one here.
I am really loving the pictures. I am always a bit fascinated by pictures of int’l quality horses being led in hand or just hanging out in their stalls. They are nice looking but they look like…well…horses. Then you see them doing their jobs, in the dressage rings or on the Xcountry and suddenly KAPOW they look like int’l horses!
Bumpity bump
Bumping this up again as this blog is really worth a look. Lots of cool pics, especially if you are a fan of the Canadian dressage team.
Thanks so much for posting this - I’ve really been enjoying it. 
Bumping up again
Kerri has posted more pictures, including nice back stage pictures from the Canadian show jumping team including grooms and owners. The grooms and owners certainly deserve their time in the sun too!
