[Adamantane]

No doubt you could approximate the latter by going duck hunting with certain groups of good ole' boys, and perhaps the former by watching old Esther Williams movies while under the influence of illegal substances ;-)

[ccoronios]

There are a few others I could stand to see dropped...table tennis, among them.

And GOLF???? You've GOT to be kidding. Ooops...need to realize that not everyone likes the same things... ;-)

[Mozart]

According to the news that I heard these decisions are based on ticket sales and TV ratings. i.e. money making potential. Kind of sad when the Olympics was supposed to be a celebration of amateur sport (although I know it isn't anymore).

I really don't know how equestrian ranks for TV rating but I guess it was a good thing that the last host country was the UK with it's strong equestrian tradition hence sold out events.

[FalseImpression]

I just about choked when I heard that GOLF was being considered.... Golf? a sport??? it is a game, but then we are talking Olympic GAMES... what next? darts?

Not that I am a fan of wrestling but my former neighbour came from Iran as a refugee and has become Ontario champion and had high hopes of going to the London Olympics. Stupid redtape and elections delayed his paperwork... So I know a little bit of the training and dedication to that sport.

[Foxtrot's]

They need to change their motto - "Further, Faster, Stronger" - because of tv ratings and big business, the Olympics has lost their way.

But all this aside, the athletic community still has big dreams and sets a bar for up and coming athletes, who, even if they don't go to the Big O, live a healthy life, learn to strive and be the best they can be in all aspects of life.

However, when they had the winter Olympics in Vancouver it was one big party for two weeks, and we had such a lot of fun, and enjoyed a lot of free activities. But it can become costly.

[MunchingonHay]

I really don't know how equestrian ranks for TV rating but I guess it was a good thing that the last host country was the UK with it's strong equestrian tradition hence sold out events.

coupled with the fact that here in the US, we had a presidential candidate who's horse was in the Games. Which in turn, turned up the interest in the equestrian Olympic games.


While we may be safe for next two Games, we need to keep the pressure on about getting on TV., promoting all the disciplines, and educating the public that we are not an elite sport, to stay in the gnat sized interest of the US public.

[Lady Eboshi]

"Curling." Everybody does THAT, right? Looks athletically demanding enough to be the national pastime of West Palm Beach, or possibly to pass the time on disabled and listing cruise ships. Right up there with table tennis, aka "PING-pong" OLYMPIC sport? Now, BEER pong might have potential!

Seriously. Wrestling is a popular and competitive core sport in the athletic department of virtually every single public and private high school and college in the USA, and I'm betting most of Europe and other places as well. Can't say I'm objective--my Dad and best male friend were both varsity wrestlers. But when they put in, as someone above said, "Dancing With A Ball" and the Beach Volleyball which is nothing but a Teeny-Weeny Bikini contest, sum ting WONG!

I think Olympic sports should be, well---OLYMPIAN!

[caballero]

Is it in the best interest of equestrian sport to remain in the Olympics?

There is a view within some of the eventing community that at least their sport would be better off not only out of the Olympic Games, but out of the FEI entirely.

[Mozart]

I think it is. I think a sport loses relevance and credibility if it is no longer in the Olympics. Olympic participation and performance is also hugely important for gov't funding of a sport.

[caballero]

I think it is. I think a sport loses relevance and credibility if it is no longer in the Olympics. Olympic participation and performance is also hugely important for gov't funding of a sport.

Motor racing is hugely popular, and in some of its forms hugely relevant since many current automotive technologies got their start or their acid test in motorsports. Yet it has never been represented in the olympics.

Rifle and pistol sports, as practiced in the olympics, are virtually irrelevant in the US where the majority of shooting sports are much more action oriented.

Basketball (in the US) and football (soccer) in the rest of the world hardly need the olympics to sustain or improve their popularity and relevance.

Baseball is hugely popular in North and Central America, as well as Japan, yet it loses none of its relevance in those areas despite the facts that it is neither an olympic sport nor popular in Europe.

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make re government funding unless you are not an American. There is virtually no government funding of olympic sports (or sports in general) in the US and many of us consider that a very good thing.

[Lady Eboshi]

I think it is. I think a sport loses relevance and credibility if it is no longer in the Olympics. Olympic participation and performance is also hugely important for gov't funding of a sport.

If the gummint is now funding riders, I need to know where I can get the forms for that.

[Mozart]

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make re government funding unless you are not an American. There is virtually no government funding of olympic sports (or sports in general) in the US and many of us consider that a very good thing.

I am not an American.

http://ownthepodium.org/Funding/Summ...13/Equine.aspx

"Own the Podium" funding is a big deal to equestrian sport in Canada. Not all of the $ is gov't sourced but a lot of it is.

http://ownthepodium.org/Partners/Government.aspx



Other countries also support sport. Would be surprised if the US did not support amateur sport at all but perhaps you are correct.

[vineyridge]

The IOC is packed with Royals; every royal family on earth probably has at least one representative there. The Executive Committee that made the decision is more than half Western European and there is only one representative from the entire Western Hemisphere.

One wonders if perhaps the poobahs don't like the idea of people touching other people's bodies and rolling around on the floor. It's just not seemly. Wrestling is really very blue collar and costs nothing to play--except for travel and training. Not at all like horse sports or many of the others. Taekwondo was on the list, but it had a member of the IOC Executive Committee in a very high position in the sport's governing body.

[Kolibri]

I really hope that they do not base their dropping/including decisions solely on TV Ratings. During the Olympic Games 2012 I was in Germany. Germany, which has a century old tradition of medal holders in Olympic Equestrian Sports...

I figured, being at home would guarantee me seeing the Equestrian Sports on TV.
Well.. No can do. They did not cover them in TV. On neither station. Only if you had a private TV-Box with the super Sports channels on which you can chose on demand and for big bucks what to watch ...
The public and free private TV stations mentioned in passing that Germany won Gold in Eventing, one Silver Medal in dressage and jumping wasn't even mentioned then (granted, Germany sucked in jumping that year :P ) ...

I had to live stream off the FEI and FN websites when I wanted to watch the Equestrian Sports. I was very disappointed and even then I began to worry about the Equestrian Sports in the Olympic Games.

When I was a child, at least one of the public TV Stations would tune in every weekend into the larger competitions (Jumping, Dressage, etc.). Nowadays, they don't even broadcast the CHIO in Aachen anymore...

[caballero]

Would be surprised if the US did not support amateur sport at all but perhaps you are correct.

There is virtually zero direct support from the federal and state governments to any amateur sport, and very little indirect support.

I'm not sure what you find surprising about that. It is not the role of government to provide leisure activities to people or to "own the podium".

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

coupled with the fact that here in the US, we had a presidential candidate who's horse was in the Games. Which in turn, turned up the interest in the equestrian Olympic games.


While we may be safe for next two Games, we need to keep the pressure on about getting on TV., promoting all the disciplines, and educating the public that we are not an elite sport, to stay in the gnat sized interest of the US public.

While I don't disagree with the heart of your post, I have to disagree with labeling equestrian sports "non-elite." The average income of a household in my state is $48,000 (I think the US is a bit over $50,000). I spend $4,800 (for board, grain & supplements and routine vet care & barefoot trims) on average on one horse a year. That's 10% of a house's total income here. Even at the most basic level it is an elite sport. I didn't even bother to add in the cost of a trailer, truck, showing, much less the cost of purchasing an Olympic horse and managing/training/showing it at the international level.

I think it is a shame they axed wrestling as well.

[LucyShow]

I think that part of it had to do with a few (!!!) very controversial rulings from partial judges...

[equinekingdom]

it's amazing to me some of the junk they have in there....I'm sure all of it takes practice, but riding is just......beautiful to watch. Poetry in motion. Hopefully it will never get removed!!

[snow horse]

wrestling out and wushu possibly in.
wushu? as in whash-you-want? since when is a Brooklyn accent a sport?

[c'est moi]

I think it's kinda funny that so many equestrians think golf isn't a sport...cause I'm sure most golfers think riding shouldn't be considered an athletic event!

Pot, meet kettle.