Sunday, March 04, 2012
70 year old Olympian
An equestrian rider from Japan has qualified for the Olympics at the age of 70. He will be 71 by the time the Games begin, but it is not certain if he will compete.
Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu qualified for the London Olympics at age 70, although it's not yet clear if he will actually compete.I hope he makes it to the Games, us geezers need all the role models we can get.
The oldest Olympian in history is Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn. He won a silver medal at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics at 72, his sixth medal in three games.
Hoketsu qualified by winning an international dressage meet in France on Thursday. Japanese equestrian officials said Sunday an announcement will be made soon on whether he will ride in London. Hoketsu will turn 71 on March 28.
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Equestrian riders are in much the same position as a junior officer in the Army, they issue orders regarding the immediate objective, it's the NCO's err horses that actually figure out the exact details of how to implement the orders and obtain the objective. So the fact that his reflexes are slower than when he was 20 doesn't matter, as long as the horse still has his reflexes and is smart enough to know what to do based on general orders.
Dunno if you've ever ridden a horse before. But it's not like you're ordering a horse around. You're giving him suggestions and hoping he listens to them, by and large, and if he doesn't... well, what can you do when something outweighs you by a good 800 pounds? Not a helluva lot, yo! It's the relationship between rider and horse, and the horse's willingness and ability to listen to the rider, that counts most in this sort of thing.
- Badtux the Non-equestrian(*) Penguin
(*)Have ridden a horse, but these flippers ain't made fer ridin'.
Dunno if you've ever ridden a horse before. But it's not like you're ordering a horse around. You're giving him suggestions and hoping he listens to them, by and large, and if he doesn't... well, what can you do when something outweighs you by a good 800 pounds? Not a helluva lot, yo! It's the relationship between rider and horse, and the horse's willingness and ability to listen to the rider, that counts most in this sort of thing.
- Badtux the Non-equestrian(*) Penguin
(*)Have ridden a horse, but these flippers ain't made fer ridin'.
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