Olympic equestrian under fire for wearing mankini to horse jumping event
Borat.Shane Rose has already won three Olympic medals for his country (in 2008, 2016 and 2020). He’s hoping to again represent Australia at the games in Paris later this year.However, videos of him taking part in the Wallaby Hill Extravaganza in Sydney the weekend before last quickly went viral.
Riders were encouraged to wear fancy dress. Rose duly showed up with three flashy outfits. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.These were a gorilla costume, a Duffman outfit from the Simpsons, and… a bright, orange mankini?!It was the mankini that raised eyebrows.
Rose went to the trouble of putting a towel down on his horse’s saddle for comfort or to prevent slipping. He also wore tape to, well, prevent certain body parts falling out.You can see a photo of Rose in his mankini here.
He also posted pics to his Instagram. A post shared by Shane Rose (@shane.rose.eventing)However, despite the encouragement to wear fancy dress, Equestrian Australia said last week that concerns were raised..The governing body said it, “has an obligation to address these concerns and is currently reviewing the matter.”Rose subsequently posted a message to his Facebook saying, “If my costume offended anyone, I am truly sorry as this was never my intention.”As that began to go viral, he deleted it, realizing it was not de-escaling the matter.
