There's a Romney Dressage Horse News Blackout

Elspeth Reeve

Reporters are not allowed to even see Ann Romney's fancy dancing horse Rafalca—much less whisper an interview to her—before she competes in dressage at the Olympic Games on August 2. Romney's horse is under a total news blackout, hidden away outside London while she trains before the games, The New York Times' Mary Pilon reports. Trainers working with the 15-year-old chocolatey-coated German mare aren't allowed to talk to reporters, and Ann Romney wouldn't comment. What's the cause of this egregious act of equine censorship? Perhaps they're afraid of being mocked. That's a healthy fear, as the The Atlantic Wire has conclusively proven. Even Mitt Romney won't be caught watching the dressage competition. "I have to tell you, this is Ann's sport," Romney told NBC News. "She will get the chance to see it, I will not be watching  the event. I hope her horse does well."

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Here's what we do know about the secretive Rafalca:

  • Good breeding. Rafalca's maternal grandfather was Rubinstein, "who has been called the stallion of the century by German breeders," The Times reports. Argentinus, her father, was a Hanoverian jumping stallion, which also sounds really fancy. Horse experts explained that Rafalca's beauty comes from her dad's side, while her talent comes from her mom's side.

  • Good schooling. Rafalca's early years were spent at Zuchthof Risch, a breeding facility in Menslage, Germany. She was born there in 1997, making her a year younger than Kyla Ross, our youngest Olympic gymnasts.

  • Psychologically complex. Rafalca's rider learned sports psychology after Rafalca wouldn't enter the arena at the 2009 World Cup in Las Vegas. "She saw ghosts everywhere," her rider Jan Ebeling said.

  • Fruit lover. Rafalca ate watermelon on the plane ride over. But she will eat mostly grass ahead of the games.