by Susan Stafford-Pooley Today was a rather bittersweet, as it is my last day in Rio. Part of me wants to stay for the rest of the jumping, considering how promising the Canadian Team looks, but duty calls back at the office and an editor’s work is never done. I am so grateful for the opportunity to […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley My first live Olympic show jumping experience was today, watching the first individual qualifier. I walked the course this morning and thought that if this as supposed to be the “Welcome” class, it sure wasn’t very welcoming! The fences were HUGE, although it wasn’t the enormous oxers that caused the problems, it […]

by Susan Stafford Pooley My mental health day yesterday was fabulous – I went to the main transportation hub (mind-boggling number of buses), visited the Main Press Centre to get my cool Olympic swag, walked around Olympic Park for a while, then hopped another bus to Copacabana Beach. I walked for miles, saw lots of […]

                      by Susan Stafford-Pooley The Dressage Team event wrapped up today following the Grand Prix Special. The Germans, who own some of the most talented horseflesh in the world that has ever gone down centre line, dominated the competition and clinched the gold medal, winning […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley Day 2 of Olympic Grand Prix dressage featured some real superstars in that exclusive club. They were a joy to watch, even for a hard-core eventing/jumping fan like me. I love the live scoring; you can rate each movement in your head and immediately see if you are on the mark, or […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley Early this morning I was thinking I wouldn’t have a whole lot to write about today, as it was only the first day of dressage and we only had one rider going. Boy, was I wrong! First of all, Megan Lane and Caravella had a wonderful, relaxed test, certainly a testament to […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley As many of you know, this is my first Olympic Games. I have been to more jumper shows and three-day events than I care to remember, and I am a bit of a tough old bird by nature, but I have to say that watching Michael Jung win the individual eventing final […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley Today was cross-country day – a day that tests the endurance, fitness, stamina and courage of journalists and photogs alike … oh, and horses and riders too. Let’s not forget them. The course was sprawling and very hilly (and far from the media centre), which necessitated a lot of walking uphill and […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley No bullets today – at least not in the press tent – so it was a good day. Out on the military shooting ranges surrounding the Olympic Equestrian Centre it was a different story, however. I felt so badly for Colleen Loach, whose dressage test included a (hopefully) unintentional ear-piercing sound system […]

by Susan Stafford-Pooley I began writing this sitting in a wifi lounge at the Panama City airport, watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on TV. I was en route to Rio, but not quite there yet. Despite getting up at the crack of dawn (or Sparrow Fart, as my father liked to call the period just prior to the […]