The horse Rafalca is ridden by Jan Ebeling from United States during the equestrian dressage competition, at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, in London. Rafalca is co-owned by Ann Romney, the wife of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.Markus Schreiber/The Associated Press
Like any fine Republican horse, Rafalca Romney has her own Twitter account.
It's a good thing, too, if you're in need of timely updates from the Olympic equestrian venue, where the horse belonging to the wife of Massachusetts governor (Rep.) and potential U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been garnering more attention than a Bulgarian weightlifter.
The 15-year-old Oldenberg mare made her Olympic debut Thursday and performed better than Mitt Romney did when he landed in London last week and promptly criticized the Brits for not having he Games perfectly ready.
Romney left town to jeers. His wife Ann heard cheers after co-owner/rider Jan Ebeling guided Rafalca through a nifty display by discreetly scratching the horse to keep her calm. It wasn't enough to put Rafalca among the leaders, although the California polls were still open.
Romney's adventures in dressage have become political fodder. It's been reported widely (also wildly) that the Romneys received a $77,000 (U.S.) tax credit two years ago for horse maintenance. This has damaged Romney's connection with the common man. Think of a $500,000 dressage horse unloading its oats in mid-prance.
Naturally, comedian Stephen Colbert chimed in saying, "The image of Romney as a privileged prince-ling ends today, because now Romney is just your average blue-collar fan of dressage."
Colbert also did a skit where he sat on a fine-looking horse – presumably a Rafalca wannabe – a beer in one hand and a foamy 'We're No.1' finger in the other. He argued, "Rafalca should be Romney's vice-president."
As for the mare herself, she was on Twitter the other day saying she would refuse "Mitt's VP offer." There was no comment on horse maintenance. No unloaded oats, either.