General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'Regular Mom' Ann Romney practices one of the 'sports' of millionaires in the company of a 'trainer.
As Ann Romney immersed herself in the elite world of riding over the last dozen years, she relied on Jan Ebeling as a trusted tutor and horse scout. In her, he found a deep-pocketed patron. A German-born trainer and top-ranked equestrian, Mr. Ebeling was at ease with the wealthy women drawn to the sport of dressage, in which horses costing up to seven figures execute pirouettes and other dancelike moves for riders wearing tails and top hats.
A taskmaster, Mr. Ebeling pushed Mrs. Romney to excel in high-level amateur shows. He escorted her on horse-buying expeditions to Europe. She shares ownership of the Oldenburg mare he dreams of riding in the Olympic Games this summer. Mrs. Romney and her husband, Mitt, even floated a loan $250,000 to $500,000, according to financial records to Mr. Ebeling and his wife for the horse farm they run in California, where the Romneys use a Mediterranean-style guesthouse as a getaway.
He came over here with two empty hands, Anne Gribbons, technical adviser of the United States dressage team, said of Mr. Ebeling. He had a lucky break to get to know the Romneys. The relationship has given the Romneys the ability to enjoy the horses in a very safe and private haven, along with enjoying the people who provide them the service, said Robert Dover, who knows the Romneys and Mr. Ebeling and his wife, Amy. That friendship has stood the test of time. It also offers a glimpse into the Romneys way of life, which they have generally shielded from view.
Protective of their privacy, they may also have been wary of the kind of fallout that came after Mr. Romneys mention of the couple of Cadillacs his wife owned and the disclosure of plans for a car elevator in the familys $9 million beach house in California, which prompted criticism that Mr. Romney was out of touch with average Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/us/politics/ann-romneys-hobby-spotlights-world-of-dressage.html
Jus' reg'lar folk.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)Loaning someone 500,000 is something banks do, maybe the Romney's have more money than the bank.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)... but I sure resent how they got there.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)to jump over a mountain to convince me that they could relate to or understand in any way the life of the average American. It could be done. But I haven't seen ANY indication that they have an inkling of what it is to be a working American.
FDR was rich, but he was able to convince the average American that he had their interests at heart, which indeed he did. Romney is no FDR.
This horse thing is just so hoity toity...even most rich people don't engage in this pretent-be-royalty so-called sport.
Kali
(55,019 posts)but I know some folks that are strickly middle-class (Democrats no less) who are into dressage. People that get the horse bug tend to find a way to support the habit or at least stay involved somehow.
Horse people aren't the majority no matter what the economic class they are in. It isn't all rich people in that world (although it DOES take some money for sure!)
Robb
(39,665 posts)You can also do any sport with such excessive spending as to embarrass oneself.
Shameful the way the Rmoneys do it.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)except maybe for the ultra rich.
It's all jeans & cowboy boots & rodeos and showings, etc. No tophats allowed. That'd be regarded as sissy, not for real horse people.
well, that is pretty much how I regard them too
and I love giving my horsey-people friends shit by challenging them to bring their pampered babies out to the ranch for a day of real work. Only one has ever come, but she didn't bring any of her babies, I had to put her on one of ours and she was pretty tired and sore after a short morning
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)on a sail boat riding it? Had the nerve to call him elite.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)It sounds to me a LOT like the same sort of irrelevant bullshit the repukes were bringing up about Kerry, Dems are now bringing up about Rmoney.
What does it matter whether a presidential candidate owns a sailboat, has a wife who rides show horses, has an elevator in their garage, or a private jet? A person can have all of these and be a good president or a bad one. A person can have none of these and be a good president or a bad one.
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)Also the difference is Kerry knows how it was to be in combat and serve in the military and be with the common people. Mittens Not at all. Mittens honestly doesn't know what a person who works minimum wage does with their lives and he isn't interested either.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)Kerry and Rmoney are both extremely wealthy. Being in combat or not being in combat are a complete separate issue. I think perhaps you overestimate Kerry's interaction with "common people", but surely it is far greater than Rmoney's.
None of this has anything to do with how much money they have, though.
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)common man. I don't think Kerry was born into wealth. By the way there is nothing wrong with being wealthy. It's how you treat people who aren't as fortune as you. I have family members who are wealthy and haven't forgotten where they came from. Only thing is Mittens has never been at the bottom of a working man's life. He doesn't seem to relate to that so how can he fix their problems.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)Born rich, poor, or even still poor, a candidate needs to be able to relate to common people. If Rmoney was flat broke, his inability to relate to people would still be the issue. That's why stories about how many houses or car elevators he has are irrelevant.
Response to southernyankeebelle (Reply #11)
politicasista This message was self-deleted by its author.
politicasista
(14,128 posts)You can always have GOPers like Alexander and Corker, but keep Brown though. You also have are mo-money gov. Haslam (he is so like Mute it's not funny).
Sounds like you don't appreciate your own Senior Senator. Interesting you never have issues with Brown, but you always find fault with Kerry. At least Uncle Ted showed more respect for Kerry than most do.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)It's not interesting because it's not true. I have plenty of issues with Brown, this thread just doesn't happen to be about him, or related to the issues I have with him. As far as not appreciating my own Senior Senator, where did I say something negative about him in this thread, other than then suggestion that he's not buddy-buddy with the "common man" on a daily basis? I like Kerry for many reasons, but I think you're going to have a hard time finding anyone other than the most dedicated kool-aid drinkers who think that one of Kerry's strengths is his "common touch"
politicasista
(14,128 posts)not in this thread, but with the Yacht story. Despite the fact that some Kerry supporters posted that it was from the RW BoHerald, and noted that the Senator did nothing wrong (docking in RI than MA). And that didn't have constituent support like Uncle Ted (ok, no one could touch him there), but that didn't seem good enough. Tay did say a while back that MA has high expectations of their pols, so me doesn't understand cause of being in a bright red southern state.
When that whole Catholic thing came out there were some replies that said, he's rich or in the 1%, but he was supportive of OWS.
Ok, maybe me was wrong, if this was over the top, than apologies.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)but I'll admit I did have an issue with the yacht story. Kerry didn't handle the situation well at all, and the issue wasn't so much that he docked his boat in RI, it was that he registered it in RI, which enabled him to avoid tens of thousands in excise taxes in MA. While legal, he should have known better (from a PR standpoint) and should have handled it better especially since the difference in money is only pocket change to him anyway.
I'm glad to have senator Kerry, and he has many fine qualities, but "joe six-pack" he aint. I'm sure there are a few people in MA who won't like Kerry just because he'll never be Teddy, but I'm not one of them.
Specifically, the point I was trying to make (and admittedly did a poor job of) was that Rmoney and Kerry are both rich, but one is a shitty politician and the other is good. The money is not the deciding factor in whether someone will be good or not.
politicasista
(14,128 posts)Also hoping that Liz Warren hangs in there with the Cherokee drama.
Apologies for the posts. Peace.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)I think Warren will pull it out. It feels like Brown's support is a mile wide and an inch deep. If Warren doesn't get bogged down in personal politics (like this native American genealogy crap) and sticks to democratic issues, and runs a campaign (unlike Coakley, who mailed it in until the last few weeks), I think she can win.
politicasista
(14,128 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,088 posts)His mother was a member of the very wealthy Forbes family, which is where is middle name originates. They are old money. He is also related to the Winthrops, who also filthy rich. Otherwise, what you say is correct about him and Willard.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)"Mary Phelps, the publisher of an online dressage news site, who estimated that the costs of exhibiting a horse on the international circuit could run to $200,000 a year."
Wow. And Ann Romney owns 12 of these horses?
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Canuckistanian
(42,290 posts)But, one can't trust the servants with this sort of thing, can one?