Anna Zasprzak & The Danes To Go One Better? Don’t Bet On It.

Anna Zasprzak is one of 195 equestrians at the 2016 Rio Olympics but in this day and age their continued presence at the games is a mystery, should people really win medals for the efforts of an animal under duress? And should you back the Danish Dressage Team at Bet365 to secure a medal this time round unlike last?

Anna Zasprzak

• Nationality – Danish
• Age – 26
• Sport – Dressage

One day someone with a great deal more patience than a saint will have to explain to me what the equestrian events are doing at the Olympics. At a festival of the very highest performance humans can achieve why are there competitions that wholly revolve around seeing who has been able to bully an animal into doing what they want the best? Take the dressage. Horses do not naturally do that stuff, they have to be forced into it. Hardly the Olympic spirit. Although of course Anna Zasprzak may disagree.

Olympic Team Dressage

• Germany – 1/2
• Great Britain – 11/4
• Holland – 9/2
• USA – 25/1

Anna Zasprzak, the 26 year old Danish equestrian, joins the rest of her nation’s Dressage team in Rio this summer where the usual trio of horse-borne non-sports, Dressage, Jumping & Eventing, will take place in the National Equestrian Center in Deodoro, and will comprise of both individual and team events, and if you’re Danish gambling laws of justice might see your nation’s team bully its animals just slightly better than four years ago, the bookies don’t really agree with your optimism.

Even Team Dressage Odds Are Available At Bet365 For Rio This Summer

The Danish Dressage team came home in fourth place in London 2012, just not quite good enough at forcing a horse to moonwalk I guess, so Anna Zasprzak and her team mates, Anders Dahl, Catherine Dufour, and Agnete Kirk Thinggaard (who may or may not be a spelling error) will be looking to make that all important shift up to a podium position in Rio. Perhaps they’re like everyone Danish gambling news of the royal family being there to support the team might allow fortune to smile upon them.

Not that I wish to imply for a moment that the equestrian sports are the rather tenuous faux events that are there merely to allow rather well off or rich people to win medals at the Olympics without having to get sweaty and mix with all those ghastly poor people that run, jump and throw things. You tend not to see a lot of poor city kids in the Equestrian events, the Olympics is replete with stories of up-from-gutter athletes, but most of those on horses were already ‘up’ to begin with, quite a long way up.

Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary To Cheer On Anna Zasprzak

Obviously I can’t speak to the background of Anna Zasprzak but it should be noted that her horse is called “Donnperignon” which is just a bit too on the nose for its own good if you ask me. There will be competitors from forty three nations bringing their four-legged slaves to do tricks for the benefit of the crowds in Brazil and attempt to win a medal they don’t really deserve. Retaining the equestrian events at the Olympics is wholly unjustifiable, what’s next? Jousting and dancing bears? Seal clubbing maybe?

Unfortunately for Anna Zasprzak whilst her team’s aspirations may be high so are the odds on them actually achieving them. At Bet365 they’re garnering just 50/1 to get the gold in Rio this summer, with the Germans the clear favorites at 1/ 2, Team GB next up at 11/4, the Dutch get 9/2 and the Americans and Swedes get 25/1 and 40/1 respectively. So even if you can ignore the event being a posh persons animal cruelty club, and you’re determined to put a bet on sports in Denmark, the Dressage probably isn’t worth it.