What happened? I was so sad to see this beautiful rider and horse have such a poor test. Anna has been one of my favorites, but even as she entered the ring with her horse’s tongue hanging out she looked like she was looking for help from her coach. I can’t understand why she went on.
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I didn’t see the test, however she’ll be showing at Aachen and perhaps it will go well.
Someone commented on social media that (in their opinion) the US dressage horses were having to compete too much in Europe before the .Olympics. The qualifying shows do seem close together time wise, even though riders could choose which ones they wanted to go to. But then comes Aachen, and then Paris (!) a few weeks later. Most people/horses don’t show that often in succession at home, so it’s a lot to ask (IMHO). I can understand if horses and riders are getting tired.
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Are they allowed to stop and put the tongue back in, calling it an error (assuming it was over the bit)? Seems way better than getting 5s the whole test for tongue.
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They could have used the CDIs in Wellington to qualify and then done one show in Europe as a warmup. Why ever would you want to fly and trave and wear your horses out before the Olympics? Also the US has a snowball’s chance in hell to even get near the podium this time, so WHY??? Why not let the inexperienced riders go and gain some experience instead of putting all these horses through all this nonsense.
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Youth and inexperience I think. He must have had it over the bit and she didn’t know what to do so followed the plan. She’ll mature and learn how to handle situations and that she can’t always rely on her coach!!
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Where can you watch the Kronberg rides? Looks like there were some great rides
Thats a great question.
Clip my horse. Requires a subscription. But in this Olympic year I treated myself for my birthday 
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Free if you log on to useful network.
Why didn’t she react and let go of that curb for a few?
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This happened to little old me on my small potatoes horse last year. No one can help you, so you’ve got to try and do it yourself from the saddle whilst not completely freaking out the already upset horse and staying within the short amount of time they give you for sorting out an issue.
And even if you or the horse does resolve it, the chances are the horse has made itself thoroughly discombobulated and backed off the bit for the entire test.
I was just grateful he didn’t kill me. But we did go on to complete the test. Not our finest hour, but I think it would have been mentally far worse for both of us if we hadn’t ridden through it.
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Inexperience I think they have only showed in one competition prior to coming to europe.
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Anyone else notice that her left hand is 1 inch higher the entire test - tongue hangs out mostly on right and then really twisty tilty poll on the finally centerline because she’s not letting go/releasing of the left rein.
She only adjusted her reins 2x in that test - once after the extended walk which the horse got immediately crooked in as soon as she let go, and she oddly crawled down like a spider to shorten them after the extended canter. It was like a robot test. In contrast you could see every aid go through and work for Anna Marek, Kasey Perry glass, Jan ebling, and Marcus orlob. They are amazing to watch! Meanwhile, she is still using the reins instead of her seat to steer, maintain her size of stride, transitions, etc.
I know dressage is really hard and bless her for being there but I really hope we can send someone with more experience, feel, and reactions on the team. She is missing a lot of basics.
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First of all, I really like this rider she seems to be a nice person and tries hard. As far as I know she bought this horse 4 years ago from Helgstrand ( this horse was at that time one of his most successful horses) and worked since then to make the horse work for her…
BUT….IMO fhis is a perfect example for the “pricing” thread…. This is a rider who bought finished horses from accomplished riders.
Her first horse I believe she bought from the Balkenhol family and did extremly well with that mare.
Then she bought this one from Helgstrand….
My opinion ( can be wrong of course) horses have an amazing memory. She brought the horse over to the US to a very different environment and changed his lifestyle.
but this summer, she brought it back to Europe. this horse competed at all the famous locations in Europe with Helgstrand. we don’t know whether she was happy with him but now maybe the horse has the feeling that it is going back to his old life…… it looks very tense and unhappy and I don’t assume it looked like that when it qualified for this tour in the US. So something happened in between…
maybe it would have been easier for Anna Buffini to not buy the successful show horse from Helgstrand but rather a more inexperienced horse which she could develope herself. Because that horse would trust in her. This horse however looks like it panics because it remembers old times….
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Agreed, it is really unfortunate. I am not sure in her situation with the Olympics coming up if I would have just withdrawn though. She’s young and American and in Europe and maybe better to just say “something wrong with the bridle” and withdraw than to have a bad test that she now has to live down and the horse will remember.
Interesting insights. Anna does have several young horses that she is self developing and doing wonderful work with. She likes to ride soft and light and she took two years to transform Fiontini to her way of riding. What happened could have just been the perfect storm of circumstances: tremendous pressure, old stomping grounds, week after week of intense training and showing. But I don’t think, in this case, the mouth problems are at all indicative of any kind of mishandling. I also think it is hard to know what you would do if that happened to you. I also had my FEI horse once get her tongue over the bits at a show. I had absolutely no contact after that. It’s horrible.
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Didn’t that happen to Robert Dover too in the Olympics on the McPhail’s stallion (I can’t remember the horse’s name). He was certainly experienced as this was not his first Olympics. I think sometimes with horses $hit happens and it is usually at a very inopportune time. Ahe is young and she has time to figure it out before the games.
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I saw her staring at at the side of the mare’s head/mouth even before the test began, so I think it was a problem that never resolved itself before she started the test and continued throughout. The mare’s mouth was wide open though the whole test and tongue was out on the left several times. I know of her, but never have seen her ride before the GP on Friday. With the scores she got in Hagen, I can’t believe this is an ongoing problem, but more of a one-off and she likely did not know what to do faced with the bell for what is the competition that will finalize the Olympic selection. It’s impossible to know what any of us would have done in a similar situation. It’s a ton of pressure and she’s young.
I have no inside information, but I’d frankly be surprised to see her get one of the slots in Paris.
My current prediction is Steffen, Adrienne, and Marcus for the team and either Endel or Anna M as the traveling reserve, and most likely it will be Endel. But I have no inside information in the least, and with a selection committee who knows what criteria they’ll use. Clearly the top two riders at this point are Steffen and Adrienne.
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Yes, have been there, its a hopeless feeling. I went on hoping that his tongue would magically go back where it belonged. Nope… and I couldn’t touch his mouth.
Really I’m not sure any of us know what we would do in that situation, with that opportunity and that stress/pressure.
I read her description of how she basically retrained the mare and was impressed with her approach and her patience. Do I think she will be on the team - probably not but she is getting a lot of experience and at roughly 30 she has lots of time. I wish her the best.
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It must be a horrible feeling to be in such a high pressure environment, know that the tongue is over the bit, and feel the weight of so many people counting on you. I don’t know much about her but have always found her rides very tactful and sympathetic.
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She restarted her U25 horse from scratch. He was a total nutter and she and Guenter Seidel did a fantastic job starting him over. She also rides her own young horses. So I’m not sure that comment applies to her.
And also…every part of this sport is hard. Starting babies is hard. Bringing a horse up the levels is hard. Filling training holes is hard. Taking over the ride on a horse someone else has trained is hard. Riding a good test is hard. And you learn from every horse you ride.
I personally am done with ranking riders based on whether they have trained a horse from scratch or bought a finished one. If they are cantering down the centerline, bravo to them and long may their horse be sound and healthy. End of story.
ETA spelling of Guenter’s last name. 
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