American flags decorate the leg wraps of Rafalca, a horse ridden by Jan Ebeling of the United States, during a training session for the equestrian dressage competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. Rafalca is co-owned by
American flags decorate the leg wraps of Rafalca, a horse ridden by Jan Ebeling of the United States, during a training session for the equestrian dressage competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in London. Rafalca is co-owned by Ann Romney, the wife of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. David Goldman, Associated Press

By Associated Press

The Romneys are back on the Olympics scene — but this time in search of a medal.

Rafalca, a 15-year-old, German-bred mare on the U.S. dressage team, is part-owned by Mitt Romney's wife.

Ann Romney is expected to attend Rafalca's Olympic debut, which gets under way Thursday with the Grand Prix dressage test at Greenwich Park.

Dressage, which is better known in Europe than the U.S., is the equine equivalent of ballet. Horse and rider (wearing top hat and tails) go through a series of steps that look like the horse is dancing: twirling pirouettes, prancing trots and the crowd-pleasing "flying change," which looks like the horse is skipping.

Nicole Winfield — Twitter: www.twitter.com/nwinfield

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EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

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