The Road to Rio

Rio De Janeiro, that is. The Olympics of 2016.

I went to the World Cup #1 of the Modern Pentathlon today. Points earned today start the journey to being on Olympic teams. It consists of 5 events. Swimming (46F this morning when they swam), fencing, equestrian, running, and shooting. Today's competition was the woman's final.

The ladies were mostly young, and very fit. Did I say very fit?

I watched 4 out of the 5 events. The fencing was interesting. I was proud of myself for knowing what an epee (the sword) was, and I think I could have showed them a few Zorro moves.

The horse part was interesting, too. There were 36 competitors, and 18 horses. BUT...the horses were all local. The ladies got 20 minutes to warm up on them, and could tackle five jumps. After 20 minutes with the animal, it was go time. All 36 girls drew numbers to see which horse they would ride.

Out of 36 rides, only 3 were "clean"...meaning that no bars were knocked down. One poor little girl drew a horse that stopped at every jump, and there were 12 jumps. I think it must have been the rider, because the girl who drew the horse in round #2 did just fine with the equine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/124969130@N06/sets/72157650931565382/ Click above to see some more horse riders, a couple of the fencing, and the winner...Samantha Murray of Great Britain.