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POPSOlympic Equestrian Events Kick Off In Hong Kong On the weather here, he said "It's been very, very hot and I'm absolutely drenched. I suppose seven minutes in the sauna wasn't that bad." The British team is still one of the hopefuls even after the withdrawal of Princess Zara Philips due to horse injury. William Fox-Pitt, 39, and Mary King, 47, are both world-class riders. Fox-Pitt is currently world No. 1, while King is No. 3 Philip Dutton, winner of the 2008 Kentucky title, was on two gold medal-winning teams for Australia and now joins the U.S. team following a nationality change. More than 200 athletes from 42 countries and regions will compete for six team and individual gold medals in the 11-day events.
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POPSThe Kentucky Derby Tragedy Third, we should ban the racing of 2- and 3-year-olds so popular on the U.S. track. In Europe, horses are typically raced later, when their "growth plates" (leg bones) are fully formed and they are less prone to injury. Greedy Americans don't want to spend the money to keep the horse "hanging around" (to wit, not earning money) until they are 4 or 5 years old, and so we race them before their legs are strong enough to handle injury. Many horses are forced to live 23-7 in their stalls, except for the hour or so per day when they are exercised. The human equivalent would be tying someone to his or her bed for 23 hours per day, only letting them out to run for an hour. Wouldn't you go crazy under those circumstances? I hope Eight Belles's death serves as something more than a one-day news story. I hope her sacrifice causes every fan of horse racing to stop patronizing the sport or betting on the mounts until major reforms take place.
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