Romney in Olympic spotlight with horse competition

Mitt Romney's wife is expected to attend Rafalca's Grand Prix dressage test

I / London August 02, 2012, 11:41 IST

The US presidential campaign is coming to Greenwich Park with the start of equestrian dressage competition and the Olympic debut of a horse named Rafalca.

The 15-year-old, German-bred mare is part-owned by Mitt Romney's wife and has been the source of political jokes questioning how the Republican presidential candidate can claim to know the problems of ordinary Americans when he inhabits the rarified world of dressage.

Ann Romney is expected to attend Rafalca's Grand Prix dressage test today.

She returned to London after her husband unleashed a torrent of criticism in the British press when, shortly after arriving for the Olympics' opening ceremony, he said the problems facing Olympic organizers were "disconcerting."

It was the first of several gaffes that followed during campaign-style visits to Israel and Poland that were supposed to show off his foreign policy chops.

Rafalca's turn in the equestrian arena might focus an Olympic spotlight on another issue facing Romney, his vast personal wealth during tough economic times in the United States. He is worth as much as $250 million.

His wife's financial interest in Rafalca, a bay Oldenburg, has fed criticism that Romney is out of touch with the concerns of more modest-income voters. A topflight dressage horse can cost more than six-figures, with upkeep running from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month.

The Romneys own several horses.

The sport, which is better known in Europe than the US, is the equine equivalent of ballet. Horse and rider (wearing top hat and tails) go through a series of steps that look like the horse is dancing: twirling pirouettes, prancing trots and the crowd-pleasing "flying change," which looks like the horse is skipping.