Always curious what the “wise old owl” has to say … just quoting the BBC announcer. Called George the “wise old owl.” I wonder what George thinks of that …
Based on today’s results, I’m not sure GM is looking all that wise. I hopw team USA does better tomorrow.
Almost any time when we beat the French, Germans and Belgians, people would think the US team had had a Pretty Good Day…
Yeah I’m not sure why everybody is making our day out to be “disastrous”. McLain had a foot in the water (surprise), the kid seemed a bit nervous on a strong horse, Beezie had an unlucky rail but a 1000x improvement from yesterday, and Rich put in YET AGAIN another brilliant clear.
It is what it is. Our Team USA lost. GM bears a great deal of the responsibility.
Any time we finish as low in the standings as we did in this Olympics, you can be sure GM is unhappy, especially as it was his swan song.
Looking forward to Rob Ridland taking over. We still have two great rider/horse combinations in the individual to cheer for though.
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Looking forward to Rob Ridland taking over. .[/QUOTE]
I have a lot of respect for GM and his accomplishments, but I too am looking forward to this. Everyone passes their prime I suppose.
Yes, looking forward to Robert Ridland taking over and to better days.
It really amazes me how you all think George has all this control ovr the results! NONE of these riders ride with him, they all have their own programs, they are simply brought together at these competitions under the umbrella of the USET. this isn’t Bert’s USET! He is one of the selectors, but there were others. He basically is the chief organizer at the events. What exactly would you have him do differently? For that matter, what exactly do you think Robert will be able to do differently? Really, think about what you say before you spout off. No one wants to win more than he does, yet you all make it sound like he didn’t do his job. Show me how that is true!
Don’t get your panties in a twist Lauriep, I am an admirer of GM and think he has done a good job all these years. Still, I think it is time for a new regime. Don’t take everything said about GM so personally.
I don’t, but I do think people have a very wrong idea about just how much he is able to have control over. Again I ask, what would you have him do differently, and what do you think Robert will be able to bring to the table that George does not?
As an aside, I begged him to quit after the last Olympics and devote himself to what he does best and what actually could make a difference, and that is teach.
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Don’t get your panties in a twist Lauriep, I am an admirer of GM and think he has done a good job all these years. Still, I think it is time for a new regime. Don’t take everything said about GM so personally.[/QUOTE]
This ^^^
OK, I will preface this by saying back in the (my) day I rode with George a bit.
I don’t think Lauriep is taking this personally. I’m really not sure what you’d like to see George do differently, if he could.
I’m sure Rob will do a great job as well.
Big Pink.
Still waiting…
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It is what it is. Our Team USA lost. GM bears a great deal of the responsibility.[/QUOTE]
Ok, you specifically. How? You are so quick to condemn. How is he so responsible?
Naive of you lauriep if you think GM did not wield influence on others that were involved with the selection of our team.
I also say that had she been on the team as she should have, it is unlikely Margie would have had as many jumping faults as Reed.
GM is not to blame. He’s been saying since WEG that the team is in a rebuilding stage right now. We have great riders, some of the best in the world for sure, but not the horses right now. Last time we had 2 horses of a lifetime, Authentic and Sapphire. Before that we had Royal Kaliber until his tragic accident. This year’s team has Flexible but he’s been jumping a lot this year. The team results are no surprise, though disappointing. Only other thing GM could do would be to find Chris Kappler something amazing to ride, he hasn’t had a really top horse since RK. But since I don’t believe GM is a Rockefeller I don’t believe that is his responsibility.
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I also say that had she been on the team as she should have, it is unlikely Margie would have had as many jumping faults as Reed.[/QUOTE]
I hate speculation like that, because the bottom line is you cannot know. If Margie had made the team she could have fallen off at the first water jump. And then I’m sure there would be someone out there saying, “well it is unlikely that it would have happened to Reed/Mario/Charlie/Laura.”
I mean if Beezie had not of made the team, its not like anyone would have sat there and said “oh good thing, she clearly would have gotten disqualified on the first course.” You just can’t know.
Besides while Reed definitely could have had a stronger showing, she was the drop score in both rounds. Meaning our sixth place finish was on the score of two Olympic veterans and a horse and rider pairing who have been considered somewhat unbeatable in the past few months. So in order for Margie to have made a contribution, she would have had to not just have fewer penalties than Reed, but fewer than Beezie and McLain and Rich. And I’m not sure if that would have happened. Just my .02, for however little its worth 
[QUOTE=pds;6481939]
Naive of you lauriep if you think GM did not wield influence on others that were involved with the selection of our team.
I also say that had she been on the team as she should have, it is unlikely Margie would have had as many jumping faults as Reed.[/QUOTE]
Moot point considering Margie broke her leg and would have been unable to compete anyway.
Honestly, who else would some people have selected? Fellers and Flexible were a given, considering their results. Reed and her mare were arguably more consistent than any pair besides Rich and his horse. There’s Richard Spooner, sure, but that just was not going to be, considering the disagreement between him and George.
