Nobody is an actor, this is the real deal. I’m addicted to it. I’ve watched sports I’ve never heard of (synchronized diving?) and still been enthralled.
So far NBC has outdone itself on the equestrian coverage. Two days of eventing dressage — am I dreaming?
The eventing cross country coverage was spectacular: cameras on wires, in the jumps, and on helicopters, knowledgeable commentators and quick scoring. We even have a pair of “hometown horses” to cheer for: Southern Pines winter resident John Williams and Carrick, a 12-year-old gelding co-owned by Veronese Atkins of Southern Pines, are on the U.S. eventing team. And Lord Killinghurst, an event horse ridden by New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson, is owned by the niece of Joan Hopewell of Southern Pines.
Show jumping and dressage should be just as spellbinding. Television should appreciate the dressage time format: an eight-minute test followed by a 90-second commercial. Withhold the score until after the commercial to trap the audience — perfect for TV.
The problem is, I can’t get any work done. Laundry is piled up, the fridge is empty, the house is a wreck and my desk is buried under a mountain of paper. I’m afraid I’ve caught a bad case of Olympic fever. It’s just too exciting. Hoofbeats will have to suffer along with everything else this week. I’ll catch up on the local equestrian news when the Olympics are over.
Yawn … I’ll have to catch up on some sleep, too.
Sue Smithson may be reached by e-mail at smithson@pinehurst.net
