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Fun fact, Rafalca is,owned by Ann Romney - wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. We don't normally think of non-humans as Athletes (except for frisbee-catching dogs - for which there is no Olympic event), but Rafalca is one. Jan Ebeling has ridden many horses, but they don't all get to the Olympics.
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About the whole tax debacle....
Now, you will hear a lot of noise that in addition to being an Olympic Contender, Rafalca is a tax deduction for the Romneys -and I admit, it is odd to find that Dressage horse ridden by an German Born Nob somehow is a tax deduction. In actuality, Ann pursued Dressage as therapy for her multiple sclerosis - so it does make sense. And, Rafalca helped her. Anyone who has used an animal in therapy knows they can help.
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Should it still be a tax deduction? Probably not - the tax code probably wasn't written so that horses worth twice the national average income could be written off. However, clearly the therapy did help Mrs. Romney - so good on. And it certainly isn't Ann Romney's fault the horse is a tax deduction. Not taking it would be silly. So, I see no problems.