Individual Dressage, Olympics Wrap-Up

The rides in the Grand Prix Individual Dressage that NBC aired yesterday morning were breath-taking.  I have to admit that I was watching sitting astride a kitchen chair, and trying to guide each horse with my legs and back.  I was exhausted by the time that Charlotte Dujardin made the last ride on Valegro, and took the Gold medal for Great Britain.  Adelinde Cornelissen on Parzival garnered the Silver medal for the Netherlands, and Laura Bechtolsheimer on Mistral Hojris took the Bronze - also for Great Britain.  I also totally enjoyed the rides of three others in particular:  Anky van Grunsven was riding the great Salinero, now 18 - they finished in 6th; Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz on Fuego, performed their Spanish dances and won 10th place; I was disappointed that Steffen Peters and Ravel were 17th out of 18 horse and rider pairs, but they gave their best for our country.  It was a truly magical morning, watching these fantastic horses and riders perform Grand Prix Freestyle to such wonderful music.
  The United States, for the first time since 1956 (when I was born), did not win a single equestrian medal; nor did Canada.  The final count was spread across five countries:  Great Britain had 5; Germany 4; the Netherlands 4; Switzerland 1; and Sweden 1.  Great Britain earned 3 Golds, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze; Germany garnered 2 Golds, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze; the Netherlands earned 3 Silvers and 1 Bronze; Switzerland got 1 Gold; and Sweden earned 1 Silver.
   The final competition using horses will be the Modern Pentathlon, with the Mens competition being Saturday, and the Womens test on Sunday.  The modern pentathlon consists of five disciplines (from Greek word pente) that will be contested on a single day in the following order:
1. Fencing: Epee (35 bouts)
2. Swimming: 200m freestyle
3. Equestrian: Show jumping (15 jumps)
4. Combined event: 3000m (1.82 miles) cross-country running + laser pistol (15 targets)
It should be an interesting event!
    Last night, the Broncos steam-rolled the Bears, winning 31 to 3...  Of course, it's the pre-season.  Of course, Peyton Manning did start for the Broncos.  Of course, Jay Cutler did not start for the Bears...  In any event, it was a fun game to watch.  I have found that the NFL Channel will be showing the Jets games tonight, so I can watch Tim Tebow (whenever he's allowed on the field)...
   My kits wanted lots of love this morning, but seem to be content at the moment.  Rosie and Remy had a great afternoon, evening, and night.  I was a little freaked out to arrive at the house yesterday afternoon and find the garden crew having a "war" in the street, using crab apples and gooseberries for ammunition.  The head gardener had called Nancy and told her that the plants were absolutely parched, so I gave them 4 times the usual amount of water this morning...  And I start caring for Shady and Cloudy today, also.
   I hope you have a wonderful weekend!