I didnt see steffens ride- A. Lyle had some problems- just unfortunate- I thought her GP ride was lovely.
I agree- hind end looked tired in some movements -especially in extended trot- not coming through- but Isabel made the most of the other strengths of her horse, aced the transitions, and no doubt gained points that way.
Swimming.
Actually, I did find it interesting that a member of the French team had done so well. Dressage is not usually their forté.
^^This. I watched all the tests and thought they very much deserved the win. They were accurate and mistake-free, except for a short stride in 2-tempi changes. That piaffe/passage picked up freakish amounts of points in the Special, that highlights piaffe/passage. The pirouettes didn’t have a lot of “sit” but Isabell created small ones. She’s a superlative test rider and made the most of this ride, and the mare was very willing. Did I mention the quality of her piaffe/passage? And her willingness to focus on Isabel?
I very much agreed with top 3 placings.
As i recall, they both had actual problems.
ETA: Lyle had problems with the walk/piaffe transition
Yes- unless I am mixing her up with someone else- to the point where one piaffe movement was not done at all.
Thought maybe there were places where right hind got a bit sticky - or perhaps just tired- because otherwise the horse very willing and talented.
Costly - which was a shame.
Both horses had green horse moments. I don’t remember Suppenkasper’s exact mistakes, but Salvino got confused coming into the first piaffe from the walk. He apparently couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to do - almost looked like he thought he was being asked to canter and ended up sort of jumping his hindquarters sideways. He just went dumb on himself for a moment and never did make that first piaffe. And then was a bit tense afterwards and took a moment or two to get back into the flow.
I thought the horses (almost all of them) looked tired.
Super shaky hand held phone footage but I did my best to film the top three rides in the special
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuVYAYDBxz6s4aPtH5r7Gg?view_as=subscriber
Freestyle Cancelled.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/helgstrand-dressage-freestyle-at-2018-weg-canceled
The horses’ welfare should always come first, but still disappointing.
Just saw on Sonke R’s instagram stories that he’s staying in a car outside the barn overnight with the rain/wind blowing in to be as close to Cosmo as possible (and he gave a shout-out to their? vet & their grooms who are staying in-barn with him). What a great team of people.
I am surprised that they cancelled the Freestyle. Horse and Rider will get wet but I would think they could reschedule the 15 freestyles early in the day to minimize the stormy weather. Or, I don’t understand why they can’t reschedule to the indoor. Yes, the footing is different but is that really that much of an issue? It shouldn’t be.
The storm is a a Tropical Storm and is on it’s way to being a Tropical Depression. Essentially, a big rain storm. Yes, I live in NC and am very aware of the dynamics of this storm. While a hassle, I’m not convinced horse welfare is at stake in Tryon.
Yes, the footing is that different.
As for getting wet - I’m guessing it was more a concern for safety with storm force winds, flooding rain, likely thunderstorms etc. It’s not just the riders but all the officials, volunteers and spectators they have to consider. Plus, I think given the forecast at the time they made the decision, it looked likely the ring might be flooded.
Yes, the footing is that different. It would be literally physically dangerous for the dressage horses to try to compete on reining footing. Of all the bad moves coming out of tryon, cancelling this event isn’t one of them, although it does again highlight the lack of preparation.
Echoing the above: yes the footing is that different.
Although I guess nothing would say “fun media circus” more than the current state of affairs like “wold ranking dressage horse blows suspensory in (reining/wet/new&untested) footing”.
come on now. Is it really a realistic expectation of top horses and riders, that they are obligated to perform even in conditions they aren’t certain of and have had no ability to ascertain the safety of for their horses? Competitions aren’t vending machines. as much as I can understand the desire to see the competition run and the disappointment of it being canceled, riders aren’t obligated to perform-especially when they have concerns about the wellbeing of their horses.
If I had a young horse, early in its GP career, that I was aiming at the Olympics (like most of these qualified horses) I wouldn’t allow it compete in iffy conditions, either.
I believe they are doing what is best for the horses. It has to be beyond disappointing for all involved.
There is some flooding already at the WEG site.
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