Are you kidding me? Seriously? I feel like I’m stuck in a Ziggy comic strip. Or the Ziggy card I once saw that said “it’s always darkest before it becomes pitch black”. Today, as many of you already know, Tiffany Foster was disqualified before participating in the first round of the team show jumping (yesterday’s […]

I’m sure you have all been crying in your chardonnay about the absence of a video accompaniment to my blog of several days ago, the one titled Royal Goodbye. I’ll spare you the details of the technical difficulties and get right to the good stuff. Even if you already took the trouble to read that […]

If Canada isn’t in the running, it’s a no-brainer for me: cheer for our imperial overlords, the Brits. Of course it doesn’t hurt that my favourite dressage horse of all time is ‘Blueberry’ (that’s Valegro’s barn name because he’s round like a  blueberry). The team scores after Grand Prix are close enough to guarantee one […]

I  thought I’d take a little break from my feeble attempts at blow by blow coverage (don’t forget I’m also blogging daily or semi-daily on Straight-Up) and give you a step-by-step description of how my days usually go here at the Games. To really give you a taste of the cultural experience, I’ll insert the […]

Ok, it’s enough already. Really. Just stop. Can Fate please go and rain on someone else’s parade now? Only two Canadian horses into the first half of team dressage and we already have a big EL beside Canada on the team standings. I understand OLN has provided some surprisingly thorough footage today, and what with […]

To avoid the eye strain of reading, watch this video of my newest partner in blogging crime, Kenneth Brannagh’s successor to the Shakespearean throne, SS, reading the post below. Now that the eventing is behind us, we can get back to having a ‘normal’ Olympic equestrian competition. The presence of Zara Phillips on the GB […]

Just a quick post to let you know Hawley is going to be fine. The fall gave her a concussion and she has what’s called a stable sacral fracture. She broke her bum but it’s the kind of break where the bony bits are still where they should be. Unfortunately, the COC’s official statement said […]

Well this cross country day sure had its highs and lows. Highs for the Brits, Germans, Swedes and Kiwis. Low after low after unbelievable low for Canada, most of which I saw, thanks to the brilliant TV coverage all over the venue and media centre. Let me get the bad news out of the way […]

After I posted yesterday’s blog about my impressions of the opening ceremonies, I engaged the talents of a certain fine fellow whom I shall name SS for now, at least until I remember to ask him if it’s ok to share his full name with you. I first became aware of SS’s oratory skills back […]

That’s what cross country day is, after all – right? A few impressions following my course walk yesterday, before the first horse sets out on this virgin track in 50 or so minutes: It’s long. Not too long, but at 5700 metres with two short but very steep climbs (and almost equally tiring descents), I […]