Dressage: Making fun of the Romneys’ horse

A horse is a horse, said Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post. Unless it’s owned by the Romney family, in which case it’s a target. Ann Romney’s horse Rafalca qualified for the U.S. Olympic dressage team last weekend, sparking a mean-spirited onslaught of liberal venom. Leading the charge was MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, who criticized Ann Romney for claiming that dressage—sometimes called “horse ballet”—was therapy for her multiple sclerosis, even though her family writes the horse off “as a business rather than a health expense.” Could he be more insensitive? Horse riding is proven to restore “balance, coordination, and posture” for those whose nervous systems are being ravaged by MS. Nonetheless, the class warriors of the Left are determined to use the Romneys’ love of horses as evidence that they’re rich, snooty “enemies of The People.”

No one is criticizing Ann Romney for riding horses, said Elspeth Reeve in TheAtlantic.com. We’re making fun of the “infinite goofiness” of dressage—a sport in which horses perform stylized dance routines to “Muzak versions of Carpenters songs.” When rich people put on top hats and prance around on dancing horsies, “you get to mock them.” You also can’t help but think how much it costs, said Amy Davidson in NewYorker.com. A dressage horse goes for more than $100,000; “it is as though each of the prancing horses were pacing out the shape of a dollar sign.” That poses a real challenge for Romney, who’s previously said he’s fond of auto racing because he knows owners of NASCAR teams, and that he likes GM because Ann has two Cadillac SUVs. “Money complicates everything with the Romneys, and they haven’t yet learned how to talk about it.”

They’ll find it even more difficult to talk about their tax deductions, said Erin Gloria Ryan in Jezebel.com. The Romneys have declared $78,000 in passive losses on Rafalca, which could be deducted from any money the mare generates in the future. That’s a bit galling, considering that “mere human children” get only a $1,000 tax credit each. Romney has pledged to eliminate some tax deductions if elected president, said Matt Yglesias in Slate.com, and “horse-related expenses” would be a good place to start. Yes, it may hurt the “critical dressage sector’’ of the economy. “But I’m skeptical that incentivizing capital formation in this particular area is all that vital to the long-term prosperity of the country.”

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