Along the lines of hindsight being 20-20...Handling the crowds (Upstage and Antigua)?

[pwynnnorman]

I know it’s an exceptional thing over here to have huge crowds close to the dressage arena, but I wonder if, in the future, our horses might do better if they were able to go to some big, electrifying event during the lead up to big, electrifying events like WEG? That’s a real disadvantage we have over here (and the Germans sure as heck DON’T have!). I think (no, I’m sure of this) that GM and other jumper folks have mentioned this a lot as the reason why our jumper riders need to cross the pond more. But it’s so expensive to do just to practice in front of crowds, so I’m wonder how ELSE horses could get crowd mileage. I’m pretty stumped on how–and its a shame because it’s the sharp edged TB that suffers for it.

Maybe for big events here the ropes around the dressage arena should be brought in a bit more (I know: Silly, but I’m just whining and prattling simultaneously).

[system]

Maybe we should utilize Balkenhol’s background in the mounted police and give all the team horses police training. :lol:

[physical.energy]

Um… all the dressage horses have already competed in the european arenas so they have been exposed to crowds and for the jumper riders. Do the same thing the dressage riders do… put your horse on a plane and go ride in EU. That is the only way to get horses exposed to crowds in the tens of thousands.

[vineyridge]

Rolex has been pretty huge every time I’ve been. All of the American horses have done Rolex at least once, and done well.

Most of this team did the German 4 star last year–I know the name, I just can’t spell it.

These are experienced horses.

Maybe the eventers could ride in some parades!

[Eventress]

Off topic

Sorry, but does anyone have a link to start times for XC? I’ve looked on the Aachen website (ugh) but I can’t find anything. Help!

[physical.energy]

http://results.aachen2006.de/Resultpage/Eventing/Start_C1b.asp

here ya go!

[atr]

Mandatory 4th of July parades for all team prospects

[physical.energy]

@atr;1841576

Mandatory 4th of July parades for all team prospects

haha that would be the ticket. Don’t forget Rose bowl parade too for the west coast horses!

[Sabine]

[QUOTE=physical.energy;1841407]
Um… all the dressage horses have already competed in the european arenas so they have been exposed to crowds and for the jumper riders. Do the same thing the dressage riders do… put your horse on a plane and go ride in EU. That is the only way to get horses exposed to crowds in the tens of thousands.[/QUOTE]

there is no training for a crowd of 50,000…this is unheard of- we are privvy to the enormous explosion of the sport of dressage. It used to be that local champs could make it to the top- this will be less and less the case- this sport is EXPLODING and rightly so!
Having a large audience in the US is SADLY not supported by the networks- who only pick the sports for the REALLY dumb crowds who watch by the 10s of thousands…so that poses another big challenge for a dressage rider- unless dressage decides to ride the musical Freestyle to the American Anthem at the Baseball national championship…now that would be a hard test for any dressage horse…

[flyingchange]

They should do their tests in the infield during the Kentucky Derby!

[pwynnnorman]

Hmmmm, reading the “suggestions” it occurs to me that, actually–and almost but not quite seriously–doing demonstrations at state fairs could do it. They used to land baloons in the infield at the Dutchess County Fair during the horse show.

Funny, too, how a couple of the riders interviewed on the WEG site even mentioned the crowd–BUT one or two LIKED how close the crowd was!

[adamsmom]

Maybe if the crowd at Rolex weren’t so ferociously quiet…I’m sure most of you who have been there are aware of the violent “shushing” that happens whenever anyone speaks while a horse is in the arena. :lol:

I’ve long been a proponent of “thunder sticks” during dressage & show jumping - those things you see at NBA games when a player is shooting free throws that the crowd bangs together? - Anyway, imagine if we got horses used to thunder sticks during dressage & show jumping. They’d be able to deal with anything!! :lol:

We might want to start doing “the wave” too…:winkgrin:

[vineyridge]

Remember at Rolex last year when NBC was setting up for Kim’s dressage? The horse going during the set up fell apart during his test. There were mike tests and camera tests going on, and neither he nor his rider could cope.

There’s wisdom in pointing out that problem, PWynn. Wonder if bombproofing clinics would do any good? Specially designed bombproofing clinics? One of the VA hunts is having the guy who wrote the current book do a clinic for them.

[pwynnnorman]

Oh, you can’t leave it there, Viney!

the guy who wrote the current book

WHAT guy? Who wrote a book about Bombproofing? (That Aussie guy on RFD-TV, perhaps? The one who wins those wild “break–er, sometimes literally–the horse in two days” contests?)

[retreadeventer]

Probably Rick Pelicano. He is not Aussie nor a horse sharlatan whisperer, just an ordinary good guy with mounted police training and he does a great job with bombproofing police horses. He’s written a great book too – he’s from Maryland, sorry not exotic with fancy marketing…just a local and good like me and a bazillion other trainers who get no press and no fanfare but can do the job…

[bounce]

Not to cause trouble or anything… but isn’t that what the Parelli Stuff is suppose to do? Haven’t Karen and David been advocating that method for years now? If so, then shouldn’t Upstage be “de-sensitized” already?

[alexandra]

[QUOTE=pwynnnorman;1841287]
I know it’s an exceptional thing over here to have huge crowds close to the dressage arena, but I wonder if, in the future, our horses might do better if they were able to go to some big, electrifying event during the lead up to big, electrifying events like WEG? That’s a real disadvantage we have over here (and the Germans sure as heck DON’T have!). I think (no, I’m sure of this) that GM and other jumper folks have mentioned this a lot as the reason why our jumper riders need to cross the pond more. But it’s so expensive to do just to practice in front of crowds, so I’m wonder how ELSE horses could get crowd mileage. I’m pretty stumped on how–and its a shame because it’s the sharp edged TB that suffers for it.

Maybe for big events here the ropes around the dressage arena should be brought in a bit more (I know: Silly, but I’m just whining and prattling simultaneously).[/QUOTE]

Well, I think I might need to say something. This event having thousands of people watching dressage is really something special. I have no idea where in Germany for a dressage test more than 10.000 have been seen in the past. In winter there are some dressage tests Worldcup in the bigger arenas. but stil never ever such a crowd as in Aachen. So the the germans have an advantage and compete lways in front of that many people thing is a bit far fetched…
Even if your dressage riders would come over, they won’t meet that kind of crowd. maybe if coming over in winter and going to some of the worldcup shows at places where people enjoy dressage or the arenas are so small that they are packed.

[pwynnnorman]

So the the germans have an advantage and compete lways in front of that many people thing is a bit far fetched…

Oh? OK, my apologies for the assumption.

Dear me, then maybe that’s another strike against the good, ol’ fashioned, hot-headed TB? Will today’s occasional mega-event preclude the unpredictable TB attitude? Will selectors start saying, “Well, his dressage is solid, but he’s a pretty sensitive TB type–better go with a little less blood”? I dunno. It’s a tough thing to account for and/or deal with. Maybe just another one of those rolls of the dice?

[canyonoak]

Thinking about this…I really believe the crowd noise is another of those ‘rider’ problems, same as looking at the X-C course and imagining the problems, etc…

I mean–the rider demands to be lead or ‘alpha’ or whatever one wants to call it…and then it is up to the rider to have steel nerves/balls/whatever and communicate cool and calm to the horse.

or not.

I think this is a matter for sports psychology, riders really figuring out how to handle the nerves–and not suddenly decide, well, it’s all up to Flicka–come on boy, take me home.

All the riders seem to say that this was a true championship course. And on a given day, not everyone can emerge champion over all.

I think the real ‘champions’ will go home and figure out how to do it better, prepare better–much as Karen O’Connor said she plans to do with Upstage.

Either there is a physical problem–as Arko (show jumper) proved to have and Satchmo (dressage) proved to have…or it will turn out to be a better communication/psycholgical perspective.

[DLee1]

We need to take some lessons from the reining crowd maybe. :winkgrin: