Romney's Rafalca 'thrills to death'

LONDON (AP):

The horse with the weight of a United States (US) presidential campaign riding on her back didn't disappoint. Ann Romney said yesterday that Rafalca "thrilled me to death" with a solid performance at her Olympic debut in dressage, an ancient equestrian sport now seen as the province of the wealthy one per cent that has been thrust into the political spotlight thanks to Romney's partial ownership in the horse.

The 15-year-old, German-bred mare has been the source of political jokes and Democratic ads questioning how US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney can presume to know the problems of ordinary Americans when he inhabits the rarefied world of dressage.

Romney's wife, Ann, was in the VIP section of the equestrian stadium at Greenwich Park for Rafalca's competition, watching literally from the edge of her seat as the mare completed the seven-minute Grand Prix test.

She and Rafalca's other two owners gave horse and rider Jan Ebeling a rousing standing ovation and a wave as they left the arena. Their score of 70.243 per cent put them in 13th place with half the 50 competitors still to go. "She was consistent and elegant," Romney told The Associated Press. "She did not disappoint. She thrilled me to death."