Does any one know anything about the outrider’s horse that layed down on the xc course? They brought a trailer in for him and he was able to walk on.
He was 27 years old and decided he was tired and thirsty and thought he was done working for the day! Lol. Pretty sure he was fine once he was back in his stall.
lol a 27 year old outrider pony…that’s pretty cool…not many horses are still actively working at that age…
Aw! Bless his heart. Glad he is ok, we were worried about him.
Awww hope he is doing okay! It was pretty toasty when the sun came out…my book bag soon became full from all the layers I was removing :lol:
Reminds me of the pony that laid down during one of the Model Classes at Pony Finals this summer when it was in the high 90’s. Pony was just done and hot!
Whew! I saw the whole thing with the tarps going up. I figured he was either dehydrated or colicking.
He just laid down and wouldn’t get up. He wasn’t rolling and didn’t look to be in pain.
Then he finally got up and reluctantly went into the trailer.
Ummm, to spark a fire here …
I wouldn’t have taken an old horse and ridden him all day, even if standing.
And I saw an app that was quite underweight.
And a Friesan that wasn’t none too happy and standing in the middle of a crowd.
I wasn’t too pleased to see these things.
Jingles for this horse ~ guess he has their number now ~ creative way to get back to his stall and hay ~ 
:lol:
When I was a kid I had a realy great large pony mare (“Quaarter Pony”) that we were able to buy pretty cheap cuz she had this habit of suddenly laying down with people. Being a kid, when she did that with me I got off and sat on her head to keep from getting up again. She and I got along wondefully after that. I used to say that mare would climb a tree for me if I pointed her to it and said go. She was my first eqine soul mate. When I sold her some years later (not my idea to sell her. Parents involved there) I got a call from the buyers several weeks later saying she had layed down in the ring with the daughter. TWICE!! So don’t know what prompted her to suddenly start doing it again.
I really miss that old mare. 
I saw the Friesian on the xc course too that was clearly not quiet enough for his job. That horse/rider served no useful purpose out there. Very cute horse though.
He’s fine!
I was an outrider, and the horse was fine when we got back to the tents. He was a bit dehydrated, and the rider will not bring him back next year. He got fluids and was fine by the time we were released at 7 PM.
The outriders were all chosen from the pool of Rolex outriders, and all of us have done it before many times.
This year we had to work straight through, with no break like we get for Rolex. We were in saddle for 8 hours straight, and would all do it again in a heartbeat! The crowd at WEG was very different from the crowd at Rolex. I’ve never had so many people cut through the galloping lane - idiots!
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I was honored to be selected.
My son’s pony laid down with him at a pony club clinic once, when my son was about eight years old. We never could find anything wrong with him–we think he was just tired of being in the clinic.
I too was an outrider at the WEG. As Barbara stated above, all the outriders that were chosen to work at the WEG had been outriders for years with Rolex Kentucky. It does take very seasoned horses to do these events.
I’m also the one with the Friesian, who has been doing Rolex for 3 years now, and is pretty much a “been there, done that” horse. Her resume is very long. I’m not sure what everyone saw, but there was a good half hour where we trotted in circles as she had been standing for 3 hours letting people pet her and being very quiet and calm. She finally decided that she wanted to move around, and we did trot circles for awhile until she used up some energy and relieved any aches she had from standing still for so long. Shoot, my legs don’t work so well after standing for 3 hours either, and I had to get off for about 15 minutes to ease my poor old joints!
It’s also possible that the “Full Friesian Alert” is misinterpreted as being scared, or not comfortable with the surroundings. It’s simply watching and listening… not being upset, but in tune with what’s going on around. There is no movement with this, just watching. She was doing a lot of that as there was much to look at.
After that, she did her QH impression and let people pet her again. She really was super all day and I was very proud of her.
Hope you all enjoyed the WEG! It was/is an amazing event! We were honored to be there as volunteers!
Stupid question, but…
what does an outrider do during eventing?
One of these days I’m going to make it to Rolex, but until then, I really have no idea what the outrider’s role is.
Enlighten me please!
We are there for public relations, crowd control and to assist in catching loose horses. As a horse/rider approaches a jump, we blow our whistles to alert the jump crew and crowd.
We also serve as Equine Trash Disposals, and Equine Treat Samplers. The first year Thomas came with me, he was thrilled since a company was giving away small bags of a new treat flavor. Everyone wants to feed the outrider horses, so he got many treats that were most likely intended for the horses back home! He also got 7 apple cores, 5 carrots, several peppermints and, best of all, a Little Debbie Creme-filled Oatmeal Snack Cake! His eyes rolled back in his head and he almost swooned.
At WEG I had tons of people tell me that they weren’t allowed to even get close to a horse all week, so they really wanted to pet ours. My friend’s horse, Sarge, was a star. He’s a stunning Belgian/QH cross, and was a magnet for kids. At one point he was swarmed with hugs and kisses, and he stood like a statue while still allowing her to blow her whistle and do her job.
In case of a hold on course, with a fallen horse or rider, we are to keep the ropes clear to allow the emergency personnel access to the area. We also are told to keep the crowds back, and ghouls from getting too close. We also prevent people from crossing the galloping lane unless it’s at a proper crossing. I had more trouble with people at WEG doing this than I ever have at Rolex!
For Rolex there are approximately 50 outriders; there is morning shift and an afternoon shift. For WEG there were only 27 of us chosen, so that’s why we think it’s such an honor. The vast majority of riders/horses are from foxhunting clubs, since they are accustomed to a lot of chaos, noise, bedlum and dogs. Just riding down Nina Bonnie Boulevard to get on course on Saturday morning is a study in desensitizing! We pay all our own expenses, and we had to meet the same vetting standards as the competitive horses.
We work hard, and we work cheap! So next time you see us on course, come up and say hi. And maybe have a peppermint or apple core for our hard-working horses.
Outriders are stationed where they can see the horses coming to the next obsticle and can watch the crowd. We blow the whistle to alert the crowd, crossing guards and jump judge that a horse is on course and approaching the obsticle. The crossing guards then close the galloping lane to spectators so there is a clear lane for the horse and rider.
The outriders also assist with crowd control when and if needed. When a horse and/or rider go down the outriders go over and keep the crowd from becoming too intense around the fall, and make sure medical personnel can get to the fallen horse/rider. We also assist in getting them back out of the crowd, as people tend to gather around closely to see if everyone is ok.
We answer thousands of questions all day long, like who is on course, who is next, how long the course is, how much time the competitors are allowed to complete the course, what kind of horses they ride, and many others. We’re also out there for people to pet the horses. Everyone away from their own horses needs that equine “fix” while they are away.
We’re also embassadors for the horse industry, the sport, and the event. We try to anticipate spectators and eventers needs, and do our best to accommodate everyone.
lol, this makes me chuckle!! I actually have a great photo of RT66Kix doing just that in Versailles… with a mounted police horse!!! It looks as if she is kissing the horse. She was actually sniffing him to get that wonderful feeling (and smell). 
I’ve been doing this outrider thing for a couple 7 or so years now, and it’s a great privilege to be there on course and watch this level of riders. Spectacular!
Also really enjoy the meet-n-greet aspect of it. As the 2 Barbs have noted above, soooo many people come up just to be able to touch a real live horse. My favorite moment on course last spring was when I was chatting with some folks on the left side of my horse, and I suddenly looked down at my horse’s right shoulder and saw a mass of blonde curls on the little girl who was hugging my horse’s front leg and telling her mama that she was NEVER going to let go. Thank heavens Big Pig just stood there because as her mama dragged her off, I realized she was also barefoot…
Oh… what a nightmare! and what a GOOD BOY!
At the fair last year three kids came running up to Lena (the friesian) and each took a different leg to hug… like velcro. Mom stood with the baby stroller and just smiled at her kids… not a single word from her to be careful, or ask first… (sigh) I was afraid to breath for fear of cueing Lena that she should move… and she stood perfectly still and put her head down to each kid at her front legs to say “Hi!”. The mom finally called the kids away to do something much more exciting… and I was finally able to breath. Lena was totally non-plaused…
So glad the horse is ok. We were watching and suddenly noticed he had gone down. We were worried!
[QUOTE=LisaB;5136320]
.And a Friesan that wasn’t none too happy and standing in the middle of a crowd.
I wasn’t too pleased to see these things.[/QUOTE]
Wow, I don’t know where you were, or at what time, but Lena the Friesian, is a great outrider horse. She’s been at Equine Affair, Breyerfest, and Rolex. Her owner/rider is a member of the Mounted Patrol for the Sheriff of her county. I personally know her owner, Barb, and she has done a superb job of bringing her along.
This is a difficult job for any horse to do, and Lena garnered the compliments of the Mounted Stewart Coordinator for how well she performs. 'Nuff said!
