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Bicton;

Entries;

https://www.britisheventing.com/compete/fixtures-and-results/BICTON-ARENA-INTERNATIONAL-5*

Info;

Reported

The course;

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BICTON not BITCOIN

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Dressage; https://www.eventingscores.co.uk/Events/event.php?eventid=1218#A

Live XC until 11 AM EST: https://app.horseandcountry.tv/series/new-series-09082021123031/chedington-bicton-park-5-star-horse-trials-2021-1

Scores; http://bictonfivestar.co.uk/Events/event.php?eventid=1218

I think the results are right as far as XC being a deciding factor in the top placings. Piggy French with Vanir Kamira, and Gemma Tattersall with Chilli Knight were the only ones to go inside the time, and the sit in 1st and 2nd respectively.

I think there is going to be a big review of the frangible pins after this season. Both Tim Price and Oliver Townend felt their penalties were unjustified, i.e. they wouldn’t have had a fall regardless.

I do wonder if the course design is getting a bit “frangible happy”. I want the safety measures, of course, but maybe the questions being asked aren’t the right ones? I’d be very interested to hear from other experienced designers what they think.

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Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

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Congrats to the top finishers. A finish on dressage score is properly rewarded with the win!

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Watching Ollie and Tim attack the bounce coffin on a longish, flat ,quick stride it seemed that they had chosen to take the frangible risk in order to make time. I don’t think it was an unsafe decision at that particular combination just not something to be “tried at home” by mere mortals, haha.

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I saw the nasty fall at the table. Luckily everyone was up quickly & didn’t appear seriously injured. I thought they were using collapsing tables these days, at least, at the really big ones. What happened to those? The big tables are so dangerous!

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These days, all tables must have a clear ground line and have a slight tilt so that horses can see the far side. As a result, tables are very much less dangerous than they used to be and pro riders now tend to see them as galloping fences. FEI webpages have a lot of info about course design.

I felt, JMO, that the pin going into the coffin was put there to try and trick horses up. I don’t like that. The horse and rider shouldn’t be punished if the horse drops its hind end on a XC jump jumping into a coffin.

WHY make that a pin fence? Why not a round log or brush or anything else really. Course designers know horses drop down quick in that type of question. It’s making the results more based on luck than skill.

Tables are one of the most dangerous obstacles on the course. I believe it is 2014 or 2015 that 5 were killed on xc courses & 4 were at tables. I think that’s when they started playing with the collapsible tables. Perhaps a fly fence, if you have a perfect distance & your pony doesn’t tap another one in…

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To be fair, even if they wouldn’t have fallen, there’s no saying their horses would have jogged the next day if they rapped their stifles that hard. Mostly Willesdon summarized my feelings about frangibles best though:

I 100% agree this was luck. That was a full rotational fall - the horse’s forward momentum was fully stopped at its chest, and its heels went up over its head as it flipped 180 degrees before crashing down on landing. We had a bad angle on it, but unless there was some factor I didn’t see it was pure fortune that the horse didn’t come down on the rider or on its own neck. That one could have easily been on the WTF thread talking about horse, rider, or both, and is the only moment of the day that I saw that needs a much closer look. We talk a lot about close calls - in my eyes, that was the closest of close calls. I hope they study it very carefully.

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Having watched all of the Bicton footage in it’s entirely, that MIM into the coffin went A LOT. There was only once, maaaaaybe twice where it really should have gone, IMO. Experienced XC horses often do drop their hind end a bit coming into a question like that, they know exactly what they’re doing and are being quicker/more efficient with their effort. Very few genuinely hit it hard, definitely not hard enough to make them unsound the next day, and it often only went on one side. I have a feeling there will be a lot of discussion about the use of these lighter clips, and I think there should be. I love the frangible technology, of course, but if we make everything TOO frangible and showjumpy, we could create a whole 'nother mess of safety issues unwittingly.

The fall at the table was genuinely scary, that was my only mega cringe heart-stopping moment of the day. I too hate those big tables.

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Totally agree with the majority of what you said - just a quick correction that the rail into the coffin was pinned, not MIM-clipped (so the whole yellow/red debate doesn’t apply here, although my understanding was due to design if it had been a MIM it would have been red as it wasn’t angled).

I don’t know enough about the difference between the two to know if that’s relevant, but thought I’d note it in case someone else does.

I was going based off of what was said here: https://horsenetwork.com/2021/09/ladies-take-the-lead-at-bicton-park/

Looking at the course walk video though, it does look like a pin and not a clip. I have to wonder - how many whallops can the pins take before they’re weakened? I doubt they’re replaced after every horse. If not, will the rail fall more easily for the unlucky person that taps it after it takes a bigger whack or two? The end discussion is the same - how do we still use the good frangible technology but make it a bit more fair? That rail fell too many times and way too easily, for sure. It was to the point where when every horse jumped it we all held our breath, and the riders kept looking back behind them to see if it had gone.

Hmmm…I’m just going off the conversation in the live commentary, but there was quite a bit of discussion about it as they went around and checked with everyone. Interesting that it was reported differently elsewhere, thanks!

Agreed. Equiratings Sam said the MIMs at Tokyo were changed between every horse/rider regardless of activation, but I have to think that’s an Olympic-specific initiative. Not every event is so well funded/staffed. Agree completely with your main takeaway: how do we still use the good frangible technology but make it a bit more fair?