He was eliminated, it’s clear in the results.
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I saw that as well. His view and the official view always seem to be mutually exclusive. I loved Lucinda’s little jab
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Thank you for posting Lucinda’s comments. Good to know there are true horse people still in the world. The OT clips on SS are horrifying.
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I saw that interview and he rather carefully did not use the word “retire” (he certainly did not use the word “eliminated” either). I went back and checked and the full answer was “He’d been pulled up because there was a horse fall ahead of him, and he recovered very quickly and the vets were happy with how the heart rate had come down. But it was a bit of a tough round before, so we’ve taken him back to the stables, checked that he’s all okay, and quite honestly you’ll probably see him out at a big event in the next few months because he’s very fit, he recovered incredibly quickly, perhaps just had a bit of a tough one today with the ground and the size of the fences. He’s not the biggest horse and he’s not got the scope of Ballaghmor Class, but he’ll live to fight another day and he looks very happy with himself in the stable at the minute.”
So, not “retired”, not “eliminated”, just “we’ve taken him back to the stables”. Which, technically, is true. I do believe he’s had media training.
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Yeah, nice “spin” (not meant to be a double entendre.)
Somehow I am suspect of the FEI’s claim to care about horse welfare.
From the FEI Eventing rules;
CHAPTER 6 A THLETES AND H ORSES W ELFARE
46
Should the same Person Responsible receive three (3) or more Eventing Recorded Warning at the same or any other International Event within two (2) years (24 months) of the delivery of the first Eventing Recorded Warning, for any offence, the Person Responsible shall be
automatically suspended for a period of two (2) months after official notification from, or on
behalf of, the FEI Secretary General. The start date of the suspension shall be decided in
accordance with the FEI General Regulations and confirmed in the notification.
Should the same Person Responsible receive one (1) more Yellow Warning Card at the same or
any other International Event within one (1) year (12 months) of the delivery of the first Yellow
Warning Card for any offence, the Person Responsible shall automatically be suspended for a
period of two (2) months after official notification from or on behalf of, the FEI Secretary General.
The start date of the suspension shall be decided in accordance with the FEI General Regulations and confirmed in the notification.
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Not that wrong. And now that it is supposedly going to become “Defender” nobody even pretends and we all are back to calling it Rolex.
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I’d say Canter’s riding skills far outweighs her size.
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No question on that score.
Just the pointed discussion about weight made me think and ask the question. I will say, it was slightly annoying that the commentator went on to reference the horse carrying a ‘girl’ and I thought, ugh, Ros is in her later 30s and a mum!
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And put up such a ridiculously dominant score that if she’d run the whole event twice and doubled it she’d have still ended up tied for 12th. Per Equiratings, since they began keeping records we have quite literally never seen anything like it. A privilege to have her representing our sport.
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You guys want to hear a funny story?
I checked the scores after my lunch, thinking that the competition surely had to be done by then.
There was a tab that said “Final Results 2023.” I click it.
Lillian Heard was on top!!! I’m going OMG how did that happen?!?
I’m freaking out, wondering why this isn’t all over social media. Then I realized the field looked suspiciously small. Where did all the other horses go? They weren’t anywhere on the final results page. Not in the places, not with the eliminated and withdrawn horses, not listed anywhere.
Then I learned about the huge break and that the second set still needed to jump. 
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What fall?
What vet?
Can we get an affirming quote from said vet?
Can this particular statement be verified?
If it OT’s “E” should be an “R”, he should file a grievance or whatever it’s called to have it changed. And clear his record for this Badminton.
The investigation into that change would be revealing, I’m thinking. Ante up, Ollie, if you want people to believe you care. 
“we’ve taken him back to the stables” – That kind of cleverness with words raises big red flags with me, just based on life experience.
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I caught that page for a moment as well. I was gobsmacked – first, I’d miscalculated the time and missed watching the final 20, dang! – second, if Lillian won then I clearly didn’t understand the scoring math OR ELSE the top 20 must have all fallen off their horses during the round I missed.
Like you, how could COTH be so quiet about such a momentous triumph? That is what really tipped me that I was misunderstanding this situation.
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I found his commentary rather slippery as well.
But then I was friends with a gal who managed a vet clinic and routinely declined to crop ears and tails on dogs, who reported suspected animal fighting…but let her horses be sored by a TWH trainer under the argument of “I didn’t think he’d do it to MY horse…”… the owners of Ollie’s horses are just as guilty as he is, if not more.
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I agree.
When owners are held as accountable as their hired minions is when these abusive situations will come to a screeching halt.
I am appalled at how hard it is to get the system to go after the owners, who are ultimately as responsible for the welfare of their horses as they are for the welfare of their children.
But no doubt OT puts on the charm and makes it so fun to be one of his owners. The wave of charm is a big part of how many small private abusive systems work.
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I also agree wrt the owners. Any owner who continues to have their horse under his training must only care about winning and glory. Not the welfare of the horse. If he is on any GB team again it will be glaringly evident that they too put winning above horses welfare.
Personally, I am drafting an e-mail to be sent to all of his sponsors inquiring why they are supporting a rider like Oliver. Do they want their company associated with a rider who values winning above all else? I will not be giving my business to any company that supports him. Of course, my business is pennies on the dollar, but if enough people speak up perhaps change will occur.
Honestly, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I understand people make mistakes; I’ve made plenty. It’s the repeat behavior where I draw the line. At this point, no apology would change my mind - I will not be tricked again.
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It’s like that Eye Candy woman who owned all of Andy Kocher’s horses. I’m sorry, but you can’t tell me she didn’t know.
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I think it’s pretty impressive that Ros rode that track twice.
I was also impressed, at first, that the ground jury pulled up OT. But then to learn they did it only on a hold… it makes me think that it would have been unlikely they would have flagged him down to stop him. Seems like it was a convenience thing. Still good, obviously, but I think they need to be braver about it.
That Jubilee ditch fence got a lot of complaints from the riders for being too tough a fence too late on course. Shame that’s where the horse who had to be euthed was injured. I understand they they did some visual adjustments with the decorations to make the groundline better, but idk. Don’t like that a horse died at a fence that riders were unhappy about. Some called it unfair.
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Doesn’t the commentary from Lucinda suggest that someone from the GJ - Richard? - pulled him up?
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