Let’s also talk about just how rarely that happens. The GJ almost never intervenes, even when the riding is terrifying or the horse is dragging badly.
Close to 15 years ago, we got a horse in the barn that had been with Ollie before import. An olympic rider and their assistant found it so dangerous and difficult they sent it to my trainer at the time, a young up-and-comer who was an excellent rider and had a knack for tough horses. You guys, that poor horse was not dangerous and difficult, it was f*cking fried and a ball of terrified anxiety. It was a NICE horse that after a bunch of time with trainer went back to the very top levels and was the best boy, but watching it from a distance after I moved away, got the sense that maybe it just never totally shook that fear that was instilled in it by OT.
If the FEI had any interest at all in horse welfare, they would do something about OT. I think it says everything you need to know about the FEI that they haven’t outright suspended him. As for OT, it is clear he cares for nothing but himself and winning at all costs, no matter what hollow words of contrition he’s said over the years. Some people are capable of change and growth, but he is not one.
. Imagine all of the others that don’t make the cut.
