When we see pictures of dressage horses with extremely flexed necks, are we looking at moments in time? Random split seconds where a horse is tossing its head or biting a fly? In the week of the 2012 London Olympics, photos were released of dressage horses being hyperflexed or ridden in so-called “rollkur”. The defense: Moments in time. The riders didn’t mean to ride this way. The horse spooked. This video was taken at the schooling arena in Greenwich Park on Wednesday the 8th of August 2012. Judge for yourself whether still images purporting to document rollkur are misleading or not.
Footage and text from Epona TV. Their words here.
UPDATE: the IOC are suing Epona TV over the footage on copyright grounds.
And a further video from the 2010 Blue Tongue episode, showing the role of FEI stewards:
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