MSNBC was supposed to have Eventing Dressage today from 4:15 - 4:45. I wanted my son to watch so called him in from outside. If they showed seven minutes that was it! Why even get my hopes up?
Looks like the rest of the events are while we are at school. Here is hoping we get a few highlights in the evenings.
Good luck.
I took out a DVD from the Library of an Olympics. Australia had won the gold medal in Eventing.
I kid you not. The only dessage on the WHOLE DVD was the last 6 strides. The halt and the leaving the arena on a loose rein!
They started their coverage early. They showed 4-5 tests and it was about 30 minutes of coverage.
If you have Internet I believe the online streaming is showing full replays of all events.
And tomorrow is live cross country from 9-2
NBC and the BBC have full-coverage, on-demand video for all the events. You can always watch those in the evening. Canada may as well; I just haven’t looked at their coverage.
Fivethirtyeight has a survey on ESPN right now that asked if you had a choice of one of two sports which would you choose. They did pretty much all the Olympic sports and concluded that Equestrian was considered the worst sport in the Olympics.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/best-worst-olympic-sports-survey-ranked/
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8784487]
Fivethirtyeight has a survey on ESPN right now that asked if you had a choice of one of two sports which would you choose. They did pretty much all the Olympic sports and concluded that Equestrian was considered the worst sport in the Olympics.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/best-worst-olympic-sports-survey-ranked/[/QUOTE]
Sad that equestrian sports are ranked below synchronized swimming.
[QUOTE=kcmel;8784499]
Sad that equestrian sports are ranked below synchronized swimming.[/QUOTE]
Well, the average person can watch synchronized swimming and picture themselves doing it.
Not so much equestrian events. For all but cross-country, they are watching people in evening wear ride animals they [the audience] have no personal connection to. And in all events, the crowds are very subdued compared to other events–some groans in the jumping phases if someone misses a distance or gets a rail, but otherwise generally quiet stands until the end, when the applause is… applause.
Even in cross-country, which has the sportiest look, the crowds seem disconnected to what is going on.
So if you don’t have any connection to the sport, and they are dressed in clothes that look out of place in a modern sporting event, and even the people at the event don’t seem very engaged in it, and you can’t picture yourself doing it… of course you’d flip the channel and go watch synchronized swimming. At least you can swim. Or know someone who can swim.
it actually was on today, BUT of course it wasn’t live, and it was in the middle of fencing and something else. Let’s face it- eventing dressage is as boring as watching paint dry.
it will be live tomorrow. :yes:
And Tuesday.
And as for the above, yeah, people can’t relate. How many non horsie people think, I can ride ol Dobbin, what is the big deal?
[QUOTE=kcmel;8784499]
Sad that equestrian sports are ranked below synchronized swimming.[/QUOTE]
It’s below RACE WALKING!
[QUOTE=Larksmom;8784562]
And as for the above, yeah, people can’t relate. How many non horsie people think, I can ride ol Dobbin, what is the big deal?[/QUOTE]
Imagine how cool it would be if the promoters of the sport would capitalize on those experiences instead of dismissing casual riders and one-time trail riders as not being cool enough to sit at our lunch table?
Imagine, for example, a promo video that started with a kid on a touristy trail ride in the woods and progressed to lessons and then to jumping and then to galloping and jumping cross country, with fences getting larger until it becomes an Olympic-level course?
How cool would that be? Not only would the people who have been on trail rides have a way to connect their experience to the Olympic-level efforts, but they would also get a glimpse of what goes in to making an Olympic-level team–the time and work and effort and some of the things that goes into it.
The internet is the only way to go. It had every minute, of every ride.
I am already totally frustrated with the coverage on TV, with the times not matching, and the endless commercials about the Olympics, while not showing actual competition. I have tried to watch some events I’m interested in, but have given up. The NBC Olympics website has been a total nightmare for me to use too.
I do realize that the equestrian events aren’t as popular as say, swimming, but it’s such a letdown after watching such GREAT coverage of Badminton, Devon, and other recent big events of various kinds online on horse-specific websites.
I guess that is the difference. Most streamed horse events are presented by horse people, to horse people. NBC is just doing this because it ‘has’ to as part of its coverage of all the sports of the games. No wonder the Olympics always fails to generate more interest in horse sports–it is a self-perpetuating cycle. Bad and inadequate coverage leads to little attention for it, which leads to even less coverage and care.
I wish they would show less of the preliminary rounds for the popular sports and more of the medal rounds of the less popular sports.
Internet is great if you have fast download, when you have snail internet its impossible.
[QUOTE=Wonders12;8784598]
It’s below RACE WALKING![/QUOTE]
And ARCHERY! I couldn’t sleep last night (might have had something to do with being attached to my couch all day and getting no exercise) so I watched archery. I was asleep in 5 minutes.
Maybe I should record it for the future – better than sleeping pills.
[QUOTE=js;8784732]
I wish they would show less of the preliminary rounds for the popular sports and more of the medal rounds of the less popular sports.
Internet is great if you have fast download, when you have snail internet its impossible.[/QUOTE]
I completely agree! I have no interest in watching preliminary rounds and if I turn on the tv, like I did last night, and see that’s all they are showing I’ll find something else to do or watch. Last night it was Netflix. :lol:
[QUOTE=kcmel;8784499]
Sad that equestrian sports are ranked below synchronized swimming.[/QUOTE]
#1 is volleyball, so that begs the question …
If we put the riders in bikinis, would it improve our ratings?
[QUOTE=Halt Near X;8784536]
Well, the average person can watch synchronized swimming and picture themselves doing it.
Not so much equestrian events. For all but cross-country, they are watching people in evening wear ride animals they [the audience] have no personal connection to. And in all events, the crowds are very subdued compared to other events–some groans in the jumping phases if someone misses a distance or gets a rail, but otherwise generally quiet stands until the end, when the applause is… applause.
Even in cross-country, which has the sportiest look, the crowds seem disconnected to what is going on.
So if you don’t have any connection to the sport, and they are dressed in clothes that look out of place in a modern sporting event, and even the people at the event don’t seem very engaged in it, and you can’t picture yourself doing it… of course you’d flip the channel and go watch synchronized swimming. At least you can swim. Or know someone who can swim.[/QUOTE]
Only out of touch with Americans! In Europe, not so much. These sports are always highly watched.
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