The Equestrians: 1984 Summer Olympic Highlights; Showjumping: The Horse In Sport

Filmed in Los Angeles, during the 1984 Summer Olympics, The Equestrians distills three days worth of footage down to an exciting and fast-paced 90-minute overview of highlights in the categories of endurance, dressage and show jumping. Narrated by Jack Whitaker, with commentary from Chris Schenkel and former Olympic gold medallists Bill Steinkraus and Tad Coffin, the program features footage that was not shown on TV in the U.S. This is a notable program, not only for its historic value, but also for the fact that the U.S.--not considered a contender in what has traditionally been a European sports area--comes away with both individual gold and team gold medals during the competition in its most successful equestrian competition to date. Showjumping:: The Horse in Sport focuses on the history and practice of the sport itself. Never confined to just males, showjumping has always had its share of notable females--although, in the early days, it was particularly hard work for the ladies (since they had to jump while riding sidesaddle.) Several top-notch showjumpers, including Michael Matz and Paul Schockemohle, discuss their styles of breeding, training, and jumping horses. The film concludes with an exciting world championship showjumping event, in which four riders trade off and ride each other's horses through a challenging obstacle course. The contestants are three men and a lady. The lady wins. Both films are recommended, but Showjumping is the better of the two. Other titles in The Horse in Sport series include: Driving, Harness Racing, and Rodeo. (Available from: The Discovery Trail, 1629 Pollasky, Suite 105, Clovis CA 93612.)