Snoop Dogg steals show at Olympic dressage – despite fear of horses

Snoop Dogg made more headlines at the Paris Olympic Games on Saturday, attending the dressage competition in costume and in the company of Martha Stewart, despite confessing to being afraid of horses.

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The rapper, 52 and born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, is working for NBC at the Games, as he did during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Then, Snoop famously celebrated footage of “a horse crip walking”, a reference to a dance associated with the Crips, a notorious Los Angeles gang.

“This horse is off the chain,” Snoop said. “I gotta get this motherfucker in a video!”

In Paris this week, he said: “I am interested in the horses that dance and I want to give them some carrots and apples … make sure they’re fed before they do their thang.”

Stewart explained the pair’s dressage plan.

“Snoop called me and said he knows I know horses, and he’s a little fearful of horses,” the businesswoman, philanthropist and octogenarian Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model told NBC on Friday.

“I’m still scared of horses,” Snoop said.

“Have you ever ridden a horse?” Stewart asked.

“No,” said Snoop. “I’m scared.”

“So we’re gonna do dressage,” Stewart said.

Snoop said he planned to “bring carrots and apples … after he wins I’ll have carrots and apples.”

“I have to keep him away from the horses,” Stewart said. “No feeding, no sugar, nothing. But we’re gonna have so much fun.”

In the event, Snoop did manage to feed some horses. He then went on to the Parc des Princes, to see the USA women beat Japan 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the Olympic soccer competition.

Snoop’s presence in Paris has been widely celebrated. This week, Molly Solomon, executive Olympics producer for NBC, told the Associated Press: “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by his popularity, but you never underestimate Snoop Dogg. He’s this wonderful mix of swagger and positivity.”

In the actual dressage competition, Snoop and Stewart saw Isabell Werth become the most decorated German Olympian, leading her team to victory over Denmark and Britain to reach a career tally of eight gold and five silver medals.

Werth, 55, scored 79.89% with Wendy, a black mare she has trained for just six months. The defending champion, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, sealed the win for Germany, who scored 235.79 points, ahead of Denmark with 235.67 and Britain on 232.49.

“No one can say that dressage is boring,” Werth said. “It was really exciting to the very last point.”