This is getting to be like a three-way tennis match – or maybe more like a boxing match, but with fighters in three corners:

“In the blue corner we have the supporters of Tiffany and Eric, who have come out swinging. In the red corner we have the Canadian federation, who seem to be arguing about whose job it is to lace up the gloves. And in the purple corner we have the FEI, which is currently hoisting a piano over the ring to drop on the other fighters and end this silly spat for once and for all.”

Hot on the heels of EC’s ‘we’re sorry, we didn’t mean to thank the FEI’ statement, the FEI has now issued its own statement, quoting Sec Gen Ingmar de Vos saying what the FEI already said in a previous statement and then at great length in the press conference of the other day. Talk about needing to get the last word in, sheesh. Let’s hope it’s NOT the last word.

With the freestyles now behind us, the feeling you get at the end of a horse show is setting in. You all know it. The trophies and ribbons have been won or lost, and now it’s time for the horses to load up and for the long drive home. Only I’m not going home. I’m going to France! HA! Don’t worry, I’m not going away yet, and when I do it won’t be for long. I plan to subject you all to my stories of wine tasting, charming villages and winding little roads that lead nowhere but to the next delicious meal.

Given that there was no Canadian content in today’s dressage, I have chosen to post my impressions of the freestyles on my other blog, Low-Down. Please head over there if you want to compare what you thought of the freestyles and what I thought. Or, if you didn’t see them, to read about what you missed today.