Almost lost in the aftermath - this from Michael Jung just came across my FB feed and brought a tear to my eye (FB did the translation):
"Unfortunately, badminton is not the way I wanted it
Sam felt very good and I had a great feeling, but unfortunately, two slight mistakes have happened in the last line. Was I too fast? Sam a little flat? I can’t say it exactly, but I’m very happy.
Today he enjoyed the sun again on his pasture
he is and remains the best "
So.much.class.
Question: when the live stream was on and the hold was on, did the xc commentators announce that a horse had been injured and euthanized? I didn’t watch every minute of the xc live stream, but I remember the hold while not recalling hearing any explanation of why for viewers? Thanks. I’ll be so devastated if there was not transparency about what was going on.
All they knew at the time was that Alex Bragg had not come through. I doubt that they had a vet report. The horse was trailered to the vet facility.
Thanks. I didn’t hear anything at all about an injury from the commentators. Nothing. Nada. Maybe I missed it.
My impression at the time was that the live stream commentators did not know the reason for the hold, and it really didn’t seem very long as holds go.
That post made me so sad when I saw it! MJ is still the King in my world.
Or a good publicist.
I’d like to say why it ISN’T, first. It isn’t that I feel the sport is more unsafe now than before (whenever “before” was) or that I’m yearning for the glory days of the long format. I remember what happened to horses in those days, and what the people held up now as the best horsemen of a past generation did to keep their horses “sound” and competing. Finishing XC with broken bones – yours or the horse’s, doesn’t matter – is no longer a badge of honor, thankfully. While there’s always room for improvement, I do think we do a much better job now, and yet we still can’t make the sport completely safe.
So I DID used to enjoy watching more because ignorance is bliss, I suppose, and the longer you are in or around the sport, the less ignorant you are. I am SURE, given what I know of you from COTH, that you understand this as well. It’s not that I didn’t know bad things could happen, but I guess in the days before live stream, you didn’t see the horrific crashes unfold before your eyes with such frequency, and if and when you did see them on video, you already knew the outcome and it was somehow less shocking.
And I was lucky enough – “lucky” both in the sense that I had the opportunity thanks to a wonderful horse, and in the sense that we both lived through it to enjoy our retirements – to spend a number of years competing (one horse) up through advanced, which made me confront the reality of what happens when things go wrong to people you know and like. When the horse in the stall next to yours leaves to run XC and never comes back. When the person who helped you through your first three-day is paralyzed in a fall, and what life is like for them years and years after most people have forgotten that accident. When you watch a person you trained with as preliminary level riders leave the start box at Kentucky for the first time, clearly over their head on a faltering horse and keep pushing until they inevitably jump into a fence, costing the horse its life. When the ambitious young rider you bantered with on COTH goes too fast and too flat at a big table and flips, killing rider and horse. There, but for the grace of God, go I, in any of those scenarios.
So, while I still love the sport, XC day puts a pit in my stomach until it is over. I’ve been able to watch Badminton live two years in a row, and both times (maybe because I’ve got small children with me), I pick the “boring” fences to spectate. I want to see the Vicarage Vee in person, but I don’t want to be standing there for hours, holding my breath and hoping I don’t see the inevitable falls.
I was watching at Fence 26 and the announcers there didn’t say anything beyond sort of retroactively announcing there was a hold on course as, “If you’re wondering why it’s been a while, we’ve had a hold,” or something like that. Mark Todd was held before Fence 25, and we were waiting to see him come through. We were confused and speculating with the people next to us about which fence between us and the end could have caused a hold-worthy problem. And, like G&T said, it was a relatively short hold. I figured they were fixing a fence or something. Never would have guessed it was the bay horse we’d just seen come through.
this is pretty cool! https://www.instagram.com/p/BhPO-d2jjqs/
Just off a winter’s hunting.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/features/mulrys-error-ben-hobday-652159
This is not correct. He didn’t. There was a lot of crop waving (no contact) and some hits, but definitely did not whip the horse all the way home.
Just watched a replay of Jonelle’s XC ride and wow they got lucky at the lake!
Big jump in, unbalanced to the 2nd element & her horse hung a leg. Great recovery but it really made me Gasp!! Even though I knew they were obviously ok since they won 
the video was on Eventing Nation.
Check out their Youtube channel; https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=badminton+horse+trials
Actually, I don’t expect commentators to give out that kind of information during the event. It’s a bad idea, because the early reports can’t be fully informed and the information could be wildly inaccurate. Hypothetically, it could sound worse than it is, or better than it is.
In the moment the principals who are helping the horse and rider are engaged in doing just that. They are not taking time away from the emergency to update people, nor should they be.
It can be hours before the full, true and complete information is known. IMO it is far, far better to wait and give full, true and complete information.
In an emergency situation, the crowd has no need to know what’s going on minute by minute. In addition to it being inaccurate and incomplete, it could cause unnecessary distress, plus prompt people to do things that aren’t necessary or beneficial - such as go to the spot of the accident. That’s a common human behavior and it creates problems rather than helping anything.
So I agree with the official statements coming later. Possibly the commentators weren’t aware themselves if the cameras weren’t showing it as they tend to see what we see through the camera.
Yes, yes he did. Which horse are you referring to? Because he whipped them both but the grey, especially.
The replay is now available - what was OT’s ride time? The video is 5 hours!
His 2nd horse is towards the end, there were only a couple of riders after him
Anyone notice the black belly bands on a few horses for show jumping? Are those to prevent spur rubs?
Yes those are Equifit bands.
I would just have liked to know that there was a hold because of a horse injury, and I would have liked to have been told which horse was involved.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
