Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Ann Romney with Raflaca (photo: Mitt Romney campaign)
Comedian Stephen Colbert recently made light of multi-millionaire Mitt Romney’s efforts to portray himself as being just like average Americans, zeroing in on the Republican candidate’s investment in the elitist sport of equestrian dressage.
“Folks,” Colbert told viewers of his show, “the image of Romney as a privileged princeling ends today, because now Mitt is just your average blue-collar fan of dressage.”
As David Wallechinsky noted in his The Complete Book of the Olympics, “Until knitting is added to the Olympic program, dressage will remain the least action-packed of Olympic events.”
Dressage cost Romney $77,000 in 2010, money that was spent on the feeding and care of Ann Romney’s co-owned horse, Rafalca, which will compete in the summer Olympics. The Romneys were able to declare the expenses as a tax-deductible loss.
This amount is considerably more than what the average American household earned in 2010—$49,445, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky
To Learn More:
Romney Horse Wins Spot on Olympic Dressage Team (by Trip Gabriel, New York Times)
Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau) (pdf) (page 5)
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