The other day the kids and I were joking about what Olympic sport I could possibly still have a shot to qualify for. God bless Hiroshi Hoketsu and Ian Millar; they give me hope that I'm not to old to dream about an competing in equestrian. I'd probably be better off if I stopped this jumping silliness and focused on dressage. If I use 71 (Hoketsu's age) as a benchmark, I've got roughly 30 years to practice.
Swimming is out. I'm not Dara Torres, who at age 43 attempted to qualify for the 2012 Games, which would have been her sixth Olympics. She missed her goal by nine-hundredths of a second (0.09). I was never more than adequate at the sport. If my team needed an extra body in a relay, they'd throw me in. Not really the base you want to try and build an Olympic bid on.
Long story short, I decided I might have a shot at pentathlon. I can swim, I can ride, I can shoot. I can also run. I just can't run well. I used to date a fencer. That gives me a head start on that, right??
Then I saw this video on Horse Nation this morning:
Meh. Maybe not.
Love the "simmers" typo! I read it as "My husband and I were SINNERS in college" ... which is more than I wanted to know :-P
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think it would be a blast to try pentathlon. I'd be terrible, but it would be fun!
My friend from our local pony club in Maryland region is only 1 of the 2 women on the us team for Pentathlon. Her name is Suzanne and back home when she is going to the olympics she is a steeplechase rider. Its so awesome to know someone who is actually there!
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that you would be a shoe-in for the top spot in show jumping, since they have "four other sports to train for, and don't spend time on a horse." Really? the most dangerous part, and they don't train for that? LOL.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Emme, I had that exact thought! LOL
DeleteBoy, you sure can tell they don't train for the riding part - most of them seriously SUCK. Which sucks for the horses, too, with the oafs crashing down on their backs and hauling on their faces!
ReplyDelete@Jessica - I will be happy to root for your friend Suzanne, since at least she will know how to ride, hurray!
Funny that you mentioned this, though, as I was thinking Pentathlon would be my only chance, too - I can swim and ride, I'm sure I could be taught to shoot and fence. The running part - not so much! (I'm a notoriously wretched distance runner) Oh, well, I'll just think about the fact that I'm also not willing or able to jump 3'6" anymore... ;-)
LOL! Yeah, I'm not really a runner either, but to get into the Olympics, I could suck it up and put on a good front! HAha.
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