The whole ride probably won’t be up until tomorrow, but there is a (pirated) video up titled as the “best” falls and runouts/refusals of Badminton 2017. It shows the last ~30 seconds of EW’s round leading up to the fall, from about 6:05-6:55 in this video:
3 Likes
Those videos of Hwin break my heart. That horse should have been going Novice maybe. Major gaps in the training and Prelim is not the place to fill those 
10 Likes
That is not a pretty video, in any way, nor was it a course offering any kind of encouragement to horses. Elisa’s ride was particularly disgusting; her horse was completely spent, to the point I think it was good he fell when he did. Had he continued, the ending might not have been so good for him.
2 Likes
Why wasn’t she stopped on course? It was extremely evident that the horse was exhausted.
And I wouldn’t call her a “young” professional. She’s 35. She’s been at this game for decades. She knows what’s what.
6 Likes
I watched the videos. Wish I hadn’t. That pony is DARLING. It is painfully obvious that the pony was absolutely not ready for that level of competition. It is her job as a professional to know this. Frankly those videos made me sick, and mostly because the pony was trying it’s heart out, obviously in over it’s head. Again, it is a professionals job to know the physical limitations and/or training level of the horse they are riding or a clients horse and respect them at all times. Unfortunately, after watching the videos, this rider is one professional I would never want to do business with based on her decisions with this pony. An event is over several days, so it is not a one-time freak thing. Very sad. I truly hope the pony is in a better place now.
10 Likes
I watched this and when all the falls are put together, there is an alarming number of horse falls. The horses are being punished for mistakes, which is not what should happen. ETA I counted seven horse falls in the detailed XC fence analysis.
Second, someone has said Mark Todd said the distances were wrong at the Head of the Lake. It certainly seemed so, with most combinations getting an extra half stride. This caused at least one of the falls on the above video. Why wouldn’t the riders/TD/ground jury have this sorted out before XC? Surely the Mark Todds and Andrew Nicholsons know what the correct striding is for a jump out of water when they walk the course on Wed. or Thursday?
2 Likes
I am not one to pile on, I am a devil’s advocate, but those videos of Hwin are heartbreaking. A horse not understanding/missing/swimming through that much in stadium is a rotational fall waiting to happen XC. Also, it seems to me that little horse is at the top of its scope. I am all for ponies in bigger classes but that one needs to be very prepared to go that height.
i cannot imagine running XC on a horse that produced that kind of stadium round. I hope the stadium actually ran last during that event? It was scary too but it would be worse if she went out XC knowing the horse was that unprepared.
9 Likes
Re: pushing horses up the levels. I have a friend that I grew up riding with, and she’s got a cute young OTTB that she is absolutely convinced is going to take her to Rolex. Problem is, they have literally finished a horse trial above Starter. As in, he has only once finished with a number instead of a letter out of 4 or 5 events. But to hear her talk, they’re this close to winning all the things and being qualified for all the championships. I want to tell her to dial it back on the “preparations for Rolex!” stuff until she finishes a few Starter or BN events with numbers instead of letters. It’s really clouded my view of her since all this started, and she’s very defensive about it.
I’ve described it a she thinks she’s the star of her own Disney movie. If she just works hard enough with a pure enough heart, everything will fall into place. Problem is that having a pure heart doesn’t help you get around a N course when you got eliminated at the first fence at BN a couple months earlier. (And yes, she’s doing this with the blessing of her trainer)
I think the Inspiration-Movie-ification of sports has made some people more foolish. They think that being a scrappy underdog will make their victory that much sweeter, but they don’t stop to consider that they’re more likely to Crash and Burn rather than Win The Day.
Maybe there needs to be an anti-Inspirational Message given to all rider before x-c: “You are not in a Disney movie. You may be a Scrappy Underdog but there is no John Williams score that will propel you to victory. Act accordingly.” :winkgrin:Save
10 Likes
Well I am glad I did not watch much of the cross country, Those falls are bad, and amazing more were not seriously injured. It looked like a few of those falls, the horse and rider were just lucky to not be in worse shape. I love Badminton but I have to say that was wicked. And to see horses so exhausted they can barely stand, well that is a sure sign it is too much.
2 Likes
I want to be respectful of everyone’s opinion – I can only speak for myself that I’ve had some bad moments (in my youth – which includes my thirties – an now that I’m in my fifties). I have done things that I regret an that I don’t want to be representative of who I am and I thank GOD there weren’t many around to tell the tale, much less an international audience. I can kind of imagine the bit of denial that someone might feel wanting so badly to finish a course, and coming so close, in a few minutes (three minutes is not that long). Anyone can place whatever judgements they like at the end of the day, that she is a selfish, horrible person, unfit for the sport. I’d have to assume that you all must hold yourself to very, very high standards, and have been in similar high pressure situations and come out with irreproachable behavior.
Like everyone else I am glad both she and her horse are okay, an she sounds chastened and accepting of her mistake.
11 Likes
I did watch the rest of her XC and I thought she was doing quite well until her horse just completely ran out of gas. Very difficult to watch.
I’m probably being way overly sensitive, but it makes my stomach turn that the video’s creator calls it “best” falls. There’s nothing to be celebrated about falls, especially since some of those falls were quite nasty and likely painful. I think we can certainly learn by watching them, it’s just the title and description (Badminton Horse trials cross country 2017 best falls and refusals Every horses and riders are safe afters this cross country! 
Enjoy) that makes me a little ill, especially considering that Emily Gilruth is in the hospital.
5 Likes
I don’t think saying things to the effect of “when I was young I made stupid mistakes and thankfully no one saw” is really applicable here. We’ve all done stupid things in life. But I don’t think we all have done stupid things that could have killed our horses and/or were ruled to be horse abuse.
And I understand those who say it’s hard to judge her reaction after she fell, but I know that when I’ve fallen (including one where I broke a bone), I immediately thought about the horse (even if it was a just fall where nothing happened to the horse). I can’t fathom falling because my horse nearly fell over a jump and literally not even turning to look at him. And to see that horse standing there with his front feet splayed out front shifting his weight back looking like he could have been pushed over by feather and to see her not even looking at him was shocking. And she did not appear to be looking away from him because she was embarrassed or ashamed or afraid to see what he looked like. She appeared to be flat out pissed off. And if she was pissed off at herself, that’s fine, but it’s not an excuse to ignore a clearly-laboring horse.
8 Likes
A fundamental piece of what I have learned in a lifetime spent trying to get better with my horses is that you do indeed have to hold yourself to the highest standard in order to have the slightest chance of getting it right most of the time. The vast majority of the riders at a very tough Badminton were trying to do just that. Many of them made mistakes trying. EW beat a tired horse to get home. That is not just a mistake. I am also glad neither horse nor rider was hurt.
PS I rather think that Lauren K might have been making a statement with that very slow round.
10 Likes
I noticed that,too, and am trying to find my user name so I can comment on that on youtube.
This was my thought as well while I was wading through it, I was still cringing and I saw most of those falls while watching the live feed. Stringing them all together like that, one after another, really brings it home. It seems a miracle that some of those horses walked away. And @SMK it’s not just you… I didn’t think the title was in good taste, either.
I have no words. The videos of Hwin are beyond terrible. That poor little mare struggling to go round is just awful. Watching Johnny labor home was heartbreaking. I really expected so much more from EW. I’m not sure I can change my opinion of her after seeing these videos. I could not watch all the Hwin videos.
5 Likes
I think this question needs to continue to be asked until there is an answer. Of course the course officials are going to blather an excuse that is no excuse. But it would be worthwhile to keep calling attention that this is something that needs to be addressed. It may take a squeaking wheel to get through to whoever of the officials decided to let Elisa try to drag that horse home.
And further to that point, that she has grown up in this sport and been involved in it, well, forever … The videos of Hwin don’t just show a little mare who was over her head and gamely doing all she could to do what was asked. They show crowds clapping and cheering them on. Not just the usual polite encouragement, but extra cheering, because it was Hwin.
Elisa may have been receiving mixed messages from a young age that are woven in with her ambition. It wouldn’t surprise me if Elisa has been urged since she was a junior rider to break through the limits and overcome all obstacles, even at great cost. There is an old outdated ethic that would have heavily criticized a rider for NOT pushing the horse home. That doesn’t make it right, but sometimes what we learn first takes hold in our primitive brain and emerges under pressure. I don’t know if that’s the case, but it would help explain some unclear thinking when her own reserves were being taxed as well, leading to unintended consequences.
Sadly, this is not terribly unusual for Badminton and Burghley.
2017 Badminton XC fence analysis, horse falls included
https://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/in…analysis-2017/
2016 had 6 horse falls
https://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/in…analysis-2016/
Burghley 2014 had 5 horse falls.
http://www.bdwp.co.uk/bur/14/
In the upper box click “XC Fences” > Show
I’m not sure some of the earlier results specified what E was for.
3 Likes
Flyingchange, you do nothing but weaken your other arguments with this conjecture.
I honestly believe there is a great deal of insight in this comment. I think it is particularly true in the U.S., where I hear amateurs saying that they should sell their good horse to a professional so that the horse can “go as far as it can” and “achieve its destiny”. What destiny is that? The horse never asked to go to Rolex KY or the Olympics. The horse votes to stay in the comfortable life it is in, with horse cookies!
When I finally pointed out to one friend that I thought these ideas come from all the books and movies we grew up with, the Black Stallion movies, National Velvet and International Velvet, and other non-blockbuster movies and books, she looked startled for a moment and agreed. There are also legion other stories about gymnasts and football players and every sport, it seems … somehow, against all odds, the hero/heroine gets themselves to the big show and wins against all odds. Big emotional finish.
And the media likes to pick out and highlight stories that seem to play out this way. They often leave out little factors like the generous grandparents and the single-minded horsey parents … and so forth. :winkgrin:
Of course. :yes: The ones with the big dreams pay the bills, and may even keep the trainer’s own ambitions funded.
I will not include the unnecessary remark that there was a rider here and there at, you know, an Olympics or two, even in the ribbons line-up at some big big events, that are such dreamers … in their case they did come a very long way fulfilling their dreams … and so did their trainer, who is riding at the same big big event / Olympics. So since I refrained you did not just read that. 
