2018 WEG Discussion Thread

[Peggy]

FWIW, the western PCHA (California affiliate of USEF) won’t use a facility that has only the GGT-type footing. I thought it was something about it being too grabby for slides and spins. A local facility had to remove the fancy footing from one ring to accommodate the western shows.

However, the only reference to synthetic footing I can find in their rule book is to a trail class that is a finals sort of thing:
“The PCHA Trail Classic is not to be held on synthetic footing. PCHA Trail Classic must be competed on an ordinary dirt/sand mixture footing. This rule was passed to start in the year 2013 for the Classic (in August 2013). This rule holds true for any subsequent PCHA Trail Classics.”

[Crockpot]

@2tempe

I was wondering if they would get some flooding; there were lots of advisories in the general area. Just curious - where did you hear?
.

There were some photos of flooding on fb this morning. But it seems may be limited to one area.

[eclectic]

@netg

Since I can’t stream - did Steffen and Adrienne have actual problems, or just an off/lower scoring day for them, with mistakes strung together by tired young horses?

I just watched it today, from the beginning. Steffen was in the first section, meaning low expectation, but I looked him out intentionally because have followed him before.

His ride was phenomenal and remained the most impressive of them all to me. His young horse made two gaffes in a row at the walk to piaffe to passage transition, which knocked him to almost the bottom. But Steffen’s position/technique looked the best of them all, and the movement of his 10-year-old daddy-longlegs KWPN gelding Suppenkasper was to die for. I imagined myself riding that extended trot and it felt like flying. So light and high off the ground!

And maybe Steffen has a whole new look on this horse because it dwarfs him. But boy did he make that horse look fun!!

I was not as affected as much by any other ride, though Charlotte was majestic as always.

[Did not take note of Adrienne, but saw someone else responded to that part].

[enjoytheride]

So, why couldn’t they remove some of the footing? It seems massive crews worked overnight every night so I am not sure why that wasn’t an option?

The eventers were out hacking their horses yesterday in the weather saying it wasn’t really that wet and they could have show jumped just fine Sunday.

[DownYonder]

Do reining horses wear support boots in competition? I don’t know much about the sport, but it seems most of the photos I have seen show the horses in boots. Or are those photos only from warm-up runs?

[fordtraktor]

The reiners can wear boots and most do. They are usually some variant of a SMB type boot. and many wear bells or a combination boot for overreaches.

Reining horses need the deeper footing to slide. Jumpers and dressage horses don’t want to slide…thus totally different footing is appropriate. It also tends to be rounder sand where sand for English events is angular. If the footing is too grabby it is really hard on their hocks. Reining is hard on hocks to start with.

[DownYonder]

@fordtraktor

The reiners can wear boots and most do. They are usually some variant of a SMB type boot. and many wear bells or a combination boot for overreaches.

Reining horses need the deeper footing to slide. Jumpers and dressage horses don’t want to slide…thus totally different footing is appropriate. It also tends to be rounder sand where sand for English events is angular. If the footing is too grabby it is really hard on their hocks. Reining is hard on hocks to start with.

And there is the answer to why the dressage freestyle could not be held in the covered arena on reining footing.

The footing is not only a different type, it is a different depth. Add to it the fact that reiners can wear boots, dressage horses can’t.

Isabell just spent 3+ years rehabbing her mare after she was injured at the last WEG because of BAD FOOTING. I don’t blame her one bit for not wanting to risk competing on uncertain footing. Nor do I blame the other riders for making the same decision.

[joiedevie99]

@enjoytheride

So, why couldn’t they remove some of the footing? It seems massive crews worked overnight every night so I am not sure why that wasn’t an option?

The eventers were out hacking their horses yesterday in the weather saying it wasn’t really that wet and they could have show jumped just fine Sunday.

They could have removed all the footing and switched it out. It was on the table. The dressage riders needed to ride on it Saturday pm in order to agree, and hold the competition on it Sunday. The reiners were still using it for their final as of 3pm Saturday I believe. So they didn’t have a night to do it; an hour or two maybe. They would have had to move the reiners much earlier in the day to have the time to change out the footing.

[enjoytheride]

Ok. I’ve never been anywhere that I’ve gotten to approve of the footing before I showed on it.

[McGurk]

The traditional way to show disapproval of the footing is to pull your entries. I have certainly been to shows where people elected not to show because of the footing, this just happened on a grander and more public scale.

[ladyj79]

@enjoytheride

I would presume you have the option of approving of the footing at every single place you’ve ever shown.

I would hope if you found the footing lacking you would elect not to show, because you can make that decision. Our horse are the ones to pay the price for our bad choices.

If you didn’t know that you have that option, ​​​​​​​remember you can absolutely choose not to compete on bad or improper footing.

[enjoytheride]

@ladyj79

@enjoytheride

I would presume you have the option of approving of the footing at every single place you’ve ever shown.

I would hope if you found the footing lacking you would elect not to show, because you can make that decision. Our horse are the ones to pay the price for our bad choices.

If you didn’t know that you have that option, remember you can absolutely choose not to compete on bad or improper footing.

Ok. Sure.

I can’t always ride my horse in the show arena the night before. Sometimes the warm up arena has totally different footing. I might warm up for my test on grass or sand and the rings are set on sand or fiber. Does this mean I should scratch?

I have a memory of warming up in the sides of the farm drive at a show. Trot down, stop, turn around and canter. The warm up arena had flooded and was unsafe but the dressage rings were set up indoors. Nobody scratched.

[Willy_Von_Whompers]

I think it depends on the level you are showing at and what your expectations are. If the footing wasn’t right for any of mine, but not terrible, I’d do an easy, soft test, not ask for much effort (hope that being fiendishly accurate would get the marks), but if I were in the position of having to ride to contest a big championship I’d kick up more of a fuss about crappy footing, and it it wasn’t fixed, I would not show.

[BigMama1]

@enjoytheride

So, why couldn’t they remove some of the footing? It seems massive crews worked overnight every night so I am not sure why that wasn’t an option?

The eventers were out hacking their horses yesterday in the weather saying it wasn’t really that wet and they could have show jumped just fine Sunday.

Logistically perhaps removing the reining footing in its entirety, replacing it with dressage footing for one day, then switching back again for the para reiners was too just too much? I know this was actually one of the options considered and rejected. And it wouldn’t have addressed the issue of the European horses flying out. How many of the top 15 horses were not from Europe?

[BigMama1]

@enjoytheride

Ok. I’ve never been anywhere that I’ve gotten to approve of the footing before I showed on it.

I don’t know about you but there are certain local shows in my area I simply won’t enter because I know the footing will not hold up well if we get bad weather. And I only ride First Level on a not at all expensive horse.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable for FEI riders to expect / demand a certain standard of footing at a world championship and I would be surprised if there aren’t FEI rules around it. It’s the same in other sports at Hugh levels. Remember all the fuss at the women’s World Cup (soccer) when they expected the women to play on artificial turf?

[BigMama1]

@Natalie A

Interrupting the footing discussion to point out how disappointed I am in Dressage Today that they pulled all of their reporters from Tryon over the weekend, never mind that para-dressage starts tomorrow and we have a burgeoning program headed by those responsible for the GBR’s para-dressage success. Guess we’ll get “fluff” reporting only, if any of the PH or COTH people bother…

So frustrating isn’t it? Every Paralympics this happens too.

[BigMama1]

@enjoytheride

Ok. Sure.

I can’t always ride my horse in the show arena the night before. Sometimes the warm up arena has totally different footing. I might warm up for my test on grass or sand and the rings are set on sand or fiber. Does this mean I should scratch?

I have a memory of warming up in the sides of the farm drive at a show. Trot down, stop, turn around and canter. The warm up arena had flooded and was unsafe but the dressage rings were set up indoors. Nobody scratched.

Was anybody riding a multi-million dollar Olympic contender of a horse?

[enjoytheride]

@BigMama1

Was anybody riding a multi-million dollar Olympic contender of a horse?

The safety of those horses is so much more important than that of the horses packing us lowly plebeians around.

[netg]

So I agree that the footing would have been dangerous if they hadn’t switched it out. Are there rules requiring some sort of warm up in the competition ring before the competition? That seems to have been where the problem with switching out footing was.

And has anyone seen an explanation why the eventers could delay, and the dressage riders couldn’t? Maybe the eventers were all on one plane and dressage horses had to share with someone else since there were fewer left for freestyles? It didn’t make sense just from that statement, but I’m sure there was some logic I don’t know.

I do agree that it is far better the horses and riders all be safe than they push on regardless.

[vineyridge]

The eventers sucked it up and had a very effective show jumping day in the main arena this morning. The sun was shining, and the footing was just about perfect. Now someone is going to have to reschedule all the eventers’ flights back to Europe, and all but about 10 are involved. So how come no one seems to give a flying f* about the eventers’ horses not getting home right on schedule? Are the flight logistics for ground staff any different for rescheduling the eventers and finding places for 13 dressage horses on outgoing planes. Or is the serious threat to horse welfare only supposed to apply to dressage horses?

The dressage people are simply divas with all that implies.