Ann Romney's horse qualified for London 2012

(CBS News) In an interview conducted during Mitt Romney's "Every Town Counts" bus tour across six swing states, which he says he looks "forward to winning in the general election," the presumptive Republican nominee said he's "very pleased" for his wife Ann Romney and the trainer who is taking her horse to the Olympics.

Ann Romney's horse qualified for the Olympics in the sport of dressage, which is also known as ballet for horses.

"She's the athlete," Romney said of his wife, Ann. "But in this case, it's not her personally, but she along with two other people purchased a horse, and have trained it up and it's done so well that the trainer and that horse are going on to represent the United States in the Olympics, in London."

Romney said he won't attend the Olympics to watch the horse, Rafalca, because he has "a campaign to attend to," but that "she's quite thrilled and I'm sure she'll be watching."

Romney said dressage has guided Ann through her bouts with Multiple Sclerosis.

"She's convinced [dressage helped] her regenerate her strength and renew that vigor, and so she cares very deeply about this sport and about horses.... I joke that I'm going to send her to Betty Ford for addiction to horses," Romney said.

Romney said Ann did not tell her about an MS flareup around Super Tuesday.

"She didn't mention it. She knew that if I'd heard a thing about it I would have shut her down and said you've got to go home, you've got to take some rest and see the people who give you care and get you tuned up again. But she knew it was important for her to keep working so she kept it from me and kept on working," Romney said.

Romney added: "She has been almost symptom-free ever since 2002, so almost ten years. And she has a great doctor and others who help her stay strong."

Romney also spoke about his father George Romney, the former governor of Michigan who launched a failed bid for the presidency in 1968.

"Every time I think of my dad, it tugs at my heartstrings. I mean, my dad was such an extraordinary person: born poor, raised poor, never graduated from college, never worried about the past, always looked forward, had such confidence in America that he went on to achieve great things in business and in government," Romney said.

"I look at my dad as one of a kind. Spoke the truth; he suffered for it politically time to time, but didn't care about the politics of truth. He said what he believed and moved on," Romney said.

George Romney's presidential bid never recovered after saying Americans had been "brainwashed" about the Vietnam War.

Romney said during debates, he wrote "Dad" on the top of each of his pages of his notes.

"Each time, I wrote 'Dad' at the top of my page, reminding myself of the sacrifice that he made in his life for his family, for us, and of his passion for America. So yeah, 'Dad' was just three letters at the top of the page," Romney said.

[nildarps]

FYI...Romney saved the U S Olympics with billions in aid from "we the people" acting as a government and left a nasty mess behind (who got what and where did all the money go, ect). I would like to know how owning a horse that you rarely even touch can be therapuetic? Wonderful that it does. What kind of tax write offs do you get for this kind of effort? Who really foots the bill and can she claim travel and lodging expenses as write offs to go watch it perform all around the world?

[CBSDebbie]

Good for Ann! Doesn't mean a thing as far as the economy or jobs though. Is dressage what Ann will promote as a first lady? Staying home and looking at Pinterest?

[YesImright]

My goodness CBS News.com attracts some of the biggest losers this country has ever seen.

You'd think people would want a successful person in the White House, someone who was successful at business, Gov of Ma. Taking over a broke Olympics and even work as Gov of Ma for free.

But NO, these losers can't stand to see anyone do better than them unless, let me see, someone who panders to them and tells them what they want to hear so they can feel like they are being helped when in fact they are being used.

[dj_chi]

We've had several successful businessmen who failed as president. And the fact that Romney failed as governor is all the proof you need that it's not lock that he'll do any better in a bigger office.

[suki33]

The jealousy in the comments is pathetic. The Romneys are wealthy, get over it. I didn't hear carping of this type by Democrats over the Kennedy wealth.

How many jobs were created through the Romneys' investment in her horses? More than have bee created by the current occupants of the WH, I suspect, and yet dismissed by people blinded by their envy.

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

So he knows how the average American feels. Right!!!

[YesImright]

John Kerry had more wealth than Bush and Cheney combined and he got it all by marriage, didn't earn a penny.

How much did the left carp about it? ZERO. Double standards as always.

[dj_chi]

Romney's horse investment has created millions of jobs? Wow. That's some horse business. They open up a fast food chain or what?

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

So, how many people will be able to write off their horse as a medical expense? What code should they tell the doctor to use?

[treefrogjohnson]

Does anyone else reading this suffer from pronoun confusion in this article? I feel that an editor or two needs to lay off the bottle in front of that keyboard.

Agreed on the $77,000 tax write-off: definitely in-touch with America, there. The MS is sad, but it's no excuse. It's not impossible to maintain both compassion and logic and be opposed to such frivolity- there are less expensive ways to cope with MS like millions of other people do with far less money to throw around (you know, because they have to pay medical bills).

[YesImright]

Yes, so The Romeny's should forgo a great way to help with MS so you can feel better about life and massage your class envy?

[marychgo]

Like most Americans, especially those of us who know people with MS, I wish Ann Romney well and hope her remission is long-lasting. And I'm glad that she has access to many forms of therapy, including her dressage work with Rafalca.

At the same time, I read today that the Romneys declared a $77,000 loss on their taxes for expenses associated with training Rafalca. $77,000! That's just about twice the median individual income, and 50% more than the median household income! How in the world can Romney (or ANY voter) think he can understand "ordinary Americans" when he spends more on a horse than most of us spend on everything?

[YesImright]

Yes, they should pay more taxes to massage your class envy.

You really think OBama or any other Democrat cares or can "understand" anything either?

YOu are a fool.

[YesImright]

How about those Obama's eh? Arugla and Kobe Beef weekly at at the WH, hob knobbing on vacations to all those great places "ordinary Americans" go all the time.

[boondoggles]

From the likes of comments on this forum thedemocrats are jealous, bitter and from their conversation not pleasant. You go Ann you are one classy lady who will bring dignity to the WH once again.
America is behind you and Mitt! Romney 2012!

[melmiller55]

I'm so glad Ann Romney has had a succesfull ten years with MS, we know she has a personal massage therapist and physical therapist at her beck and call, never worries about co-pays, Ann Romney has said she manages her condition using a combination of conventional and alternative treatments which means her well being has been dependent on her massive wealth. Just the yearly maintinance on her horses is beyond what most people have to spend on health care. Brain washed Repubs will say we are jealous, right, no, we just want companies like WalMart who make billions off the labors of thousands to do what is right, pay living wages, pay health care to every employee and their children, pay overtime. Then, if those companies have left over monies, they can buy a dressage pony.

[purplestates]

He also own media too !