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Equestrian is the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete on equal terms.There are no separate events for men and women in the three different disciplines -- dressage, jumping and eventing.However, women were only allowed to compete in the sport in 1952 when the competition stopped being restricted to active-duty officers on military horses.Riders must avoid accumulating penalty points for errors and to do that they rely on harmony with their horses.---CINDERELLA STORYLaura Graves of the United States will be aiming to write the perfect ending to her fairytale in Rio at her first Olympic Games.The former hairdresser burst onto the scene in 2014, when she and her horse Verdades (Diddy for short) finished fifth in the World Equestrian Games Grand Prix Freestyle and were also second at the Grand Prix National Championship, behind three-time Olympian Steffen Peters and Legolas.Graves love of horses began when her parents traded their washer and dryer for two ponies. She always dreamed of competing but was unable to due to a lack of funds.Her parents bought her a horse on a modest budget from a sales video but Diddy was temperamental and would refuse to be ridden many days.One of many falls resulted in Graves breaking her back, but she did not give up, and they rose from obscurity to one of the worlds best dressage duos.---CAPTAIN CANADAKnown as Captain Canada, Ian Millar etched his name into sporting history at London 2012, setting a new record for the most appearances in Olympic Games.Having surpassed Austrian sailor Hubert Raudaschls nine, the 69-year-old is hoping to make it 11 in Rio, where he could also compete with his children, Jonathon and Amy, who are also hoping to qualify.Millars total would already be 11 had Canada not joined the boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.Millars first Olympic Games were Munich 1972 and he won his only Olympic medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing, becoming the oldest show jumper to stand on the podium, at the age of 61.He dedicated the medal to his wife of 39 years, who had died months earlier from cancer.---PAMPERED HORSESIn equestrian, its not just the athletes who receive top treatement and training, but the horses too.Between events, horses run on treadmills and have massages, as well as physiotherapy and acupuncture sessions.Top horses also fly around the world on specially designed aeroplanes and have passports containing detailed physical descriptions and lists of vaccines taken.Problems can arise, however, especially with riders from Australia, which has strict quarantine laws. Many riders from Australia and New Zealand live in Europe or the United States.Phillip Dutton, who won gold at three successive Olympics from 1996-2004 as part of the Australian eventing team, moved to the United States in 1991 and started to compete for his adoptive country after officially becoming a U.S. citizen in 2006.---GERMAN DOMINANCEGermany has dominated the sport, specifically dressage where it has an impressive haul of 19 gold medals, 11 silver and nine bronze.The top three athletes in the history of equestrian are also German: Reiner Klimke won six gold and two bronze medals in dressage, Isabell Werth five golds and three silvers in the same event, while Hans Gunter Winkler won five gold, one silver and a bronze in show jumping.Germany won seven successive dressage team gold medals at the Olympics, until its run was interrupted in London by a Great Britain team, including Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro and Laura Bechtolsheimer on Mistral Hojris -- the individual gold and bronze medalists.Valegro has been the best horse for the past four years and the individual medal will likely be a battle between Dujardin and Werth, who did not compete four years ago.One of the best riders in the United States is originally German. Born in Wesel, Germany, Steffen Peters emigrated to America in 1985, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1992. He rode in the first of three Olympic Games four years later, helping his new nation to the team bronze medal in Atlanta.The U.S., with one silver and seven bronze, and Canada, one bronze, are the only non-European countries with dressage medals. Shoes UK Online Store . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Wholesale Shoes UK Free Shipping . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. https://www.shoesukonline.com/ . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Wholesale Shoes UK . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Shoes UK From China . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Not much has gone right for the 49ers during their second straight woebegone season.San Francisco (1-12) is mired in the longest losing streak in team history. The defense ranks last in most key statistics.Then theres rookie defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, who has been a rare bright spot.Buckner, the seventh-overall pick in this years draft, has lived up to his billing. Hes coming off his best performance of the season in the overtime loss to the Jets, when he had two sacks, 11 tackles and four quarterback hits. He tied for the team lead for the season with five sacks.The rookies value lies in both his production and availability. His 65 tackles are second among NFL defensive linemen, while he leads the league in snaps played at his position.Its awesome, isnt it? Its so awesome. He wants to be out there, 49ers defensive coordinator Jim ONeil said.Buckners listed at 6-foot-7, 300 pounds, making his stamina and athleticism all the more impressive, and a leading reason why he was a coveted prospect.Its very rare for a guy thats that big and the amount of energy it takes to defeat offensive linemen in the run game and pass game, and (the way) hes able to be out there for 84 plays is rare, said ONeil.Buckners used to playing a lot opposite a no-huddle offense. He was recruited by 49ers head coach Chip Kelly back at Oregon and regularly played 80 to 90 snaps as a senior when he was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the year in 2015.ddddddddddddHe plays with such great effort and such a great motor and just loves playing football, Kelly said. I think hes been trained for this. I know the background that he came from. I think hes trained to play with great effort. I thought he was trained to understand what it takes. So, I think thats a benefit of getting a kid from where we got him from.The play of Buckners supporting cast hasnt been nearly as encouraging. San Franciscos last-ranked defense has been decimated by injuries, losing six starters for the season, including Buckners former college teammate and fellow first-round pick Arik Armstead.The biggest loss has been four-time All-Pro NaVorro Bowman, who was lost for the year Oct. 2 with a torn Achilles. Bowman returned to the teams facility in recent weeks to start his rehab, which has gotten positive reviews.Its good to see (Bowman) around here, Kelly said. I think hes helped just kind of getting another set of eyes here. But, its good to see him up moving around. Those guys say hes attacking rehab and are excited about the direction that hes headed in.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '