2022 Maryland 5* at Fair Hill

[KathinPA]

Continuing the discussion from 2022 Maryland 5* at Fair Hill:

Drove to Fair Hill early on Saturday morning from Central Pennsylvania. Beautiful drive with lots of Amish buggies on the road and working teams in the fields harvesting. Our entire time at the event was fun! Special shout out to all of the helpers on the grounds. People helped with parking and traffic, the vendors were great and had good senses of humor (the Dubarry boot salesman demonstrating the waterproof nature of boots and inviting us to join him). Our lunch (spicy shrimp!) was surprisingly delicious and we had a bit of champagne during the lunch break which was fun. Helpful Jumbotrons. Lots of clean potable toilets, strategically located throughout entire CC course.

My boyfriend had never been to a live event before and he was amazed at the horses and the jumps. Great galloping and horsemanship on display! So impressive to see it live!

All in all a terrific day (and even worth missing the Harrisburg Horse Show’s young rider day — good live horse events to choose from!)! We stopped in lovely tavern at nearby PA town of Oxford on way home for a light super and caught last 3 exciting innings of Phillys winning their MLB division and we joined the tavern crowd in cheering and toasting!

A great day of sport and plenty of fresh air and miles of sunshine as we walked the beautiful landscape of Fair Hill. Back to work with a smile today.

[endlessclimb]

I wasn’t able to watch live - where are the replays available (hopefully without having to actually join USEF)?

[DogWithBigEars]

I believe you have to pay $15 using the promo code Maryland22 to watch the replays. The livestream was free as it was happening.

[riderboy]

I’m also very hard of hearing and make sure the dressage judge is aware as I circle past. At the KHP the sj buzzer is so loud I can hear it walking XC. Incredible that officials at a 5 Star did not know they could ring the bell twice, a rule I’m sure is in place because of this very situation. Incredible that they don’t have a start tone that could be heard by a normal person above a cheering crowd and that they claimed (falsely) she started her round “prematurely”. I’m not sure why Lauren didn’t look at the Jumbotron if the countdown was visible there. Perhaps not hearing a start she thought that was a mistake, I don’t know . But for all the hard work to be penalized by officials who don’t know the rules, who seem oblivious to the confusion caused by an inadequate signaling system during a noisy competition is just stupid.

[DogWithBigEars]

I think the biggest problem with this is that, according to Lauren’s account, the head of the ground jury admitted to not knowing they were allowed to ring the bell twice, then failed to remove the time penalties.

[gardenie]

TD: CCI: Alec Lochore (GBR) Asst TD: Andrew Temkin (USA) Judges: CCI5-L Pres* : Christian Landolt (SUI) Members: Gretchen Butts (USA), Judy Hancock (GBR) CCI3-L Pres:* Peter Gray (CAN) Member: Valerie Pride (USA)

Didn’t know they could ring twice? I can’t hear worth a darn either. She was very kind in her response to what happened. Within it there was quite a bit of angst about the competition management that hopefully will be rectified.

[SadieRidingHorses]

Just have to say, I am so happy for Elisa Wallace. A true horsewoman who puts it all out there, and who has her detractors, but to me, she is the ultimate “man in the arena”, getting up again and again. She has had some hard knocks the past few years - nice to see it come together at the right moment for her.

I’m also a huge fan of Harry Meade, and a bit devastated for him, since Superstition had great jumping rounds. Funnily enough, it sounds from Elisa’s press conference like her dressage warm-up is something like Harry’s (10 minutes in boards, off for 10 minutes, waits on mounting blocks until stewards say she has 90 seconds). We obviously don’t have all the information we need to make an accurate judgement about what happened with Harry’s warm-up, and who, if anyone, was in the wrong, but I sure wish the outcome had been different.

[Jealoushe]

Yes it seems like the horse she bought is a good one!

Any idea what she has on the horses face? The flash thing not the mask.

[Jealoushe]

Here’s Woods set up too….which ain’t working lol

[endlessclimb]

I have sympathy for this situation as well, having owned a horse that needed a very particular warm up. It got messed up once, and our normal score of low 30s turned into a near 50.

[beowulf]

I do the same, being a cochlear recipient. Before my test, I always inform the steward – as well as the judge if appropriate – that I am deaf and will not hear the bell. The judges all stand up and wave their hand when it is my time to go. The visual cue is very helpful.

I feel for Lauren. She wouldn’t know this is protocol for HOH people, not being HOH herself – and really, if the jumbotron was incorrect(which some sources are saying it was), it stands to reason she wasn’t referencing it. If she was visibly confused and gesturing, I don’t understand why no one clarified for her or rung the bell again, visually, so she could see it.

Re: Harry and his special accommodations… I have a bit of a controversial opinion. “Fair” isn’t black and white. So in that sense I can understand the want for special dispensation. However, having owned many sensitive horses who needed an exacting warm up routine to be their best, perhaps Meade (and others) need to look into why it is that their horse is intractable if their routine is interrupted. In my personal cases, these horses were hypersensitive because they were masking a pain I wasn’t aware of. And honestly, sometimes by walking on eggshells and treating these horses as fragile we tend to reinforce the behavior.

These are 5* horses. They’re not greenbeans who have never been exposed to a ring before. Horses are not stupid; if they’ve competed enough, they will know what a dressage ring means when they see it. When a horse knows its job and can do so comfortably, you don’t need to handhold it with a special routine before the ring.

[Willesdon]

@beowulf

… These are 5* horses. They’re not greenbeans who have never been exposed to a ring before. Horses are not stupid; if they’ve competed enough, they will know what a dressage ring means when they see it. When a horse knows its job and can do so comfortably, you don’t need to handhold it with a special routine before the ring.

True: they see a dressage ring and know precisely what is happening: “Wheeee! Let’s go! Fun, fun fun!!!”

An extremely fit horse whose ‘normal’ routine has been substantially altered by being flown across the Atlantic, which is not a straightforward journey, is not an ‘everyday’ animal. The horse is known to have quirks which is why permission was sought, and apparently given, for ‘special treatment’. Not black and white, obviously, but treating a horse as an individual is surely the aim of every good horseman?

There were apparently several instances of tangled communication over the course of the event.

[hopashore1]

permission was sought, and apparently given, for ‘special treatment’.

I think that’s the most important bit. I can see both sides of the argument for giving permission in the first place, but the fact is the TD/ground jury gave permission. That meant that the entire first part of the warm up routine was done with the assumption that this plan would go off.

For someone to complain in the moment and the organization not know how to handle that just isn’t ok. I can absolutely imagine Harry just having to stand around near where the warm up steward was while they sorted this out and it sounds like it took at least 8-10 minutes (since 10 minutes was the amount of time he was supposed to be in that particular warm up spot). That’s pretty disruptive.

Of course, who knows what the score would have been otherwise–maybe the horse was going to have an off day regardless–and we’re of course not being given a full account here of who complained and to whom and what that person did with that complaint. But a communication failure existed here and I hope the organizers take it and come up with a plan moving forward to prevent this particular failure from happening again.

[beowulf]

@hopashore1

Of course, who knows what the score would have been otherwise–maybe the horse was going to have an off day regardless–and we’re of course not being given a full account here of who complained and to whom and what that person did with that complaint. But a communication failure existed here and I hope the organizers take it and come up with a plan moving forward to prevent this particular failure from happening again.

That and you[g] should never discount how much a rider’s state of mind impacts a horse’s performance, especially a sensitive one.

The miscommunication is a big issue and I completely side with Harry’s frustration there. But I guess a competitor (?) felt strongly enough to report/complain, so, in their mind it isn’t fair.

[Jealoushe]

A lot of top class horses are quirky. He can produce beautiful tests, so I don’t think it’s pain etc. He has figured out what works and was given permission. I don’t really see the big deal.

Just like some horses travel with goats, some need curtains etc. He seems to be doing what’s best imo.

[DogWithBigEars]

OK, I’ll ask. Anyone else wondering who complained?

[Jealoushe]

@beowulf

The miscommunication is a big issue and I completely side with Harry’s frustration there. But I guess a competitor (?) felt strongly enough to report/complain, so, in their mind it isn’t fair.

Or they just stuck their nose where it didn’t belong.

[Jealoushe]

Yes! I’ve looked at the riders before and after him and have made some guesses but nothing concrete lol

[endlessclimb]

It’s really not their fault either - they saw something different for one competitor and brought it up to the TD, who should have said “it’s allowed, move on” since they had (I assume) written confirmation of the deviance and its approval.

[pompeiii]

Here’s my thing with Harry’s horse and the special accommodations. We can argue from here to next week as to if they should have been granted. That’s not the point. Someone said yes. Someone approved it. Should they have? No idea. But his request was approved. Then someone said no. You either approve it or you don’t. You don’t change your mind. That’s where I have an issue. I don’t actually care either way If they grant an accommodation or not. Just grant it or won’t. Don’t I grant it. That’s where I have the biggest issue.make a ruling and stick with it. Had he known he couldn’t, maybe he’d have made other choices?

On an unrelated note, the crowd was great yesterday. Support for all riders and huge cheers for clears. Also very respectful when asked not to clap/cheer for Jennie’s horse. The message got around fast.