Take Away English-Horse Sports 骑马运动

Zara Phillips prepares to take a jump (photograph by Craig Wilkinson)

Here in the UK the sport of horse racing¹ is often referred to as the “sport of kings”. However, after Zara Phillips stunning² victory in the World Equestrian³ Games in Aachen, Germany, perhaps equestrian events should be called the “sport of princesses.”

That’s because the new three-day event world champion, Zara Phillips, is Queen Elizabeth’s niece and 11th in line to the throne.

With her horse, Toytown, she won the three-day event competition in Germany, adding the world title to the European crown she won last year.

The three-day event tests competitors’ horsemanship in three different disciplines: dressage, in which the rider must manoeuvre⁴ the horse through a sequence of movements in an enclosed arena⁵; cross-country which is a timed race over obstacles such as fences, ponds and ditches; and finally show-jumping which tests the technical jumping skills of horse and rider.

Zara is following in the footsteps of her mother, Princess Anne, and father, Captain Mark Phillips, both of whom represented Great Britain in equestrian events. However, neither of her parents managed to achieve world champion status.

Naturally, she was delighted to win the title, telling the BBC, “It’s incredible; it’s beyond my wildest dreams.” However, the joy of victory was tempered with sadness as she dedicated⁶ her triumph to her friend Sherelle Duke, another equestrian rider who was killed when her horse fell, crushing her while competing a week before the World Championships.

Zara has now set her sights firmly on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, especially since an injury to her horse prevented her from qualifying for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

She told us, “Obviously winning the Olympics has been a massive dream but you have to get everything right leading up to it, and have the horse power, so it's still a long way away."

GLOSSARY7 词汇表
horse racing 赛马 three-day event 三日赛程 European crown 欧洲桂冠 dressage 驯马技术, 马在表演时的一种优美而复杂的步法 cross country 越野 ponds 池塘 show-jumping 骑马越障表演 beyond my wildest dreams 连做梦都没有想到的 dedicated her triumph (将她的胜利)献给 . . . set her sights 她的目标, 打算	Equestrian 骑手 in line to the throne 皇位继承人 horsemanship 马术 enclosed arena 封闭的竞赛场地 obstacles 障碍物 ditches 壕沟 following in the footsteps 追随 tempered 调节, 使缓和 crushing 挤压, 压伤 injury 伤病

 

1 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

2 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

3 equestrian   

adj.骑马的；n.马术

参考例句：

• They all showed extraordinary equestrian skills.他们的骑术都很高超。
• I want to book two equestrian tickets.我想订两张马术比赛的票。

4 manoeuvre   

n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动

参考例句：

• Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。
• The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

5 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。