Gold medal for Canada in Equestrian, but should I be proud?

Zephayra

Zephayra

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This is more of a little rant, but I believe it deserved to be in the sports section.

Canada is doing not so well in the summer Olympics (though we excel at Winter, har har), so the fact that we scored a gold medal in my favourite sport makes me feel a little pride for my country.

However, I have issues with the recipant of the medal. Eric Lamaze has twice been found to have cocaine traces in his blood and he's a giant asshole. I am okay with people becoming clean and continuing to excel at their sport, but this guy is just a work of art.

He used to board his horse at a stable in Ontario where I used to show my horse. He actually once competed at one of their schooling shows, and threw a big fit when someone he considered 'amateurish' beat him out. In show jumping, fastest horse with the least amount of faults is the winner; there is no bias in this sport. I have heard other rumors of his snobbiness and elitest attitude, but I can't recall them to full detail, and while I don't like the guy, I won't make false allegations against him.

Funny story: I always attend the Royal Agriculture Winter Fair here in Toronto with my horses. As competitors we are entitled to tickets to watch the evening shows, where international equestrians repeat. Eric Lamaze was competing while my mom and I were watching. His horse knocked down a pole, and amongst the silence of the colliseum, you could hear my mom shout out an enthusiastic "Yes!" because he made a mistake.

Anyways, I am glad Canada hasa gold medal, and I am proud that it is in Equestrian. But gawd, why couldn't it have gone to a better athlete that I would actually be proud to say, Hey they're from my country, like Jill Henselwood or Ian Millar?

More on Eric's drug scandal from the past can be found here.
 
Canada is competing in the Olympics? I'd have never known... Thanks for the heads up!



I don't blame you for the conflicting feelings. They're a lot of people out there with exceptional skills and they go to waste because they don't have the mental maturity to realize the situation and make the correct decisions. This guy could be a role model, could try to make a difference but instead he lacks the character to even make a positive difference in his own life. I'd be ashamed of him if I were you. Even if he has been the only highlight from Canada's typical tugboat-esque showing at the summer games XD
 
Kotsu said:
Canada is competing in the Olympics? I'd have never known... Thanks for the heads up!



I don't blame you for the conflicting feelings. They're a lot of people out there with exceptional skills and they go to waste because they don't have the mental maturity to realize the situation and make the correct decisions. This guy could be a role model, could try to make a difference but instead he lacks the character to even make a positive difference in his own life. I'd be ashamed of him if I were you. Even if he has been the only highlight from Canada's typical tugboat-esque showing at the summer games XD
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Actually in one of the canoeing events they had an athlete get to like the semifinal.
 
I hate it when idiots get gold medals they don't deserve on account of them being wankers.

Luckily Great Britain passed their target of 8 golds. We have 18 at the moment which is awesome :D.
 
Sharpe said:
I hate it when idiots get gold medals they don't deserve on account of them being wankers.

Luckily Great Britain passed their target of 8 golds. We have 18 at the moment which is awesome :D.
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And a couple broken world records if I'm not mistaken.
 
Yea, just take notice. The first, and only country, to break the century mark in medals earned: United States.
# Gold 30
# Silver 36
# Bronze 35
# Total 101

Apparently, it's not just the home of the brave. It's the home of the talented too. XD
 
Being great at something the rest of the world deems important and enjoyable to watch has nothing to do with your character. This is where you draw the line on just what it means to be an Olympic class athlete. He's just an asshole who got lucky enough to be born with enough talent to compete at something on a worldwide scale, and be the best at it. Regardless of how much of a prick he is.

As a side note: I tend to watch more team based sports rather than individuals because of guys like that. Fucking deuche bags.
 
I thought Canada getting a Gold medal was an automatic epic win for the country
 
Sapper said:
I thought Canada getting a Gold medal was an automatic epic win for the country
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Well, they finally reminded the world they are an independent country. Most countries teach their kids that Canada is an unofficial province of the greatest country in world, just south of them. That they're survivability is made possible only by how awesome the USA is.
 
Ryuoho said:
He's just an asshole who got lucky enough to be born with enough talent to compete at something on a worldwide scale, and be the best at it. Regardless of how much of a prick he is.
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While it does take some talent to ride a horse, being able to do well in show jumping boils down to having big money to buy the top notch horses and hire the world class trainers. If anything, being a show jumper means you can stay on the horse and guide it to the jump, instead of focusing on precise movements and time like competing in dressage.

However, I know not just anyone can hop on a horse and accomplish this. Riders do need to know what they are doing to be able to successfully finish a jumping course, but mostly its the horse who is real and talented athlete.
 
Kotsu said:
Well, they finally reminded the world they are an independent country. Most countries teach their kids that Canada is an unofficial province of the greatest country in world, just south of them. That they're survivability is made possible only by how awesome the USA is.
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Keep talkin that way during the Winters boy =P
 
Kotsu said:
Most countries teach their kids that Canada is an unofficial province of the greatest country in world, just south of them. That they're survivability is made possible only by how awesome the USA is.
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lol Most countries or the USA??

Equestrian as a "sport" definitely boils down to the horses talent itself, the rider needs the experience, not necessarily talent. In fact I don't know that I'd refer to the riders abilities in this sport as talent.

However, does the prestige go to the horses ?? Ha I could just hear it.

"Canada gets their 7th Gold Metal in this years Olympics thanks to the skills of none other than Lady-Butter Cup!! What an achievement for this country!"
 
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Zephayra said:
While it does take some talent to ride a horse, being able to do well in show jumping boils down to having big money to buy the top notch horses and hire the world class trainers. If anything, being a show jumper means you can stay on the horse and guide it to the jump, instead of focusing on precise movements and time like competing in dressage.

However, I know not just anyone can hop on a horse and accomplish this. Riders do need to know what they are doing to be able to successfully finish a jumping course, but mostly its the horse who is real and talented athlete.
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Then make a thread congratulating the horse on represtenting your country in the Olympics and just ignore the rider.
 
Big Ben is awesome, I had the joy of meeting him at Spruce Meadows in Calgary years ago when he was retiring. What a HUGE horse! They gave him 11 bran muffins, one for each year he jumped :)

Ian Miller is also awesome and won another really nice car that day.....

Too bad some people have to be such jack asses, at least he didn't drop a window on some other country's athlete though....
 
Mexico doesn't teach their kids anything other than how to duck, dodge, sprint, jump and swim past imaginary lines.
 
Kotsu said:
Mexico doesn't teach their kids anything other than how to duck, dodge, sprint, jump and swim past imaginary lines.
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And fences.


O Canada....greatest country in the world...
All other countries are just little girls....


or is that Kazakhstan?
 
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