Although, if memory serves, they fielded an equally split male / female 4 rider team at the last WEG. Holly Smith was also on that team?
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In addition to be sh*tty all around, kitten heels - very unflattering for many leg types (sarcasm)
Horror.
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yeah, I’m not familiar with her, when I think about it I do not know a single famous female Showjumper from the UK. Which is kind of crazy.
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Sure you do - Ellen Whittaker ?
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Well Pat Smythe and Annelli Drummond-Hay come to mind but I guess you are too young to remember (1950s-1960s) :). Yet the Brits have had so many successful women in eventing, including Annelli Drummond-Hay who was successful in both show jumping and eventing.
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Wasn’t Peter Leone also involved in a similar situation regarding Olympic qualification? I know there was someone other than DD, but not absolutely sure if it was Peter or another male rider.
Olympic rule;
“Horses entered for the Olympic Games must be the property of Owners of the same nationality as the Athlete by 31st December of the year preceding the Games . … “If the Horse is owned by a company, the nationality of the Horse is that of the country where the company is registered."
This probably did not help Amanda Derbyshire.
There is;
Some that came to mind !
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What is the nationality of the owner?
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Wow, crazy to think that the Gochmans have had that property for nine years already. I remember when the previous owner had it, with a whole herd of the Heritage golf carts parked outside at night. And I remember attending a party there before that, when it was still an empty lot.
Where is Amanda Derbyshire on the FEI list?
90th, and I guess the other rider was 120th? or 140th?
Marion Coakes ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Coakes) on Stroller (a pony sized TB x Connemara) won individual Silver in Show Jumping for Great Britain at the Mexico Olympics, 53 years ago.
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And world rankings don’t tell the full story. Part of preparing a horse for a major competition is ensuring they will peak at the right moment; perhaps the selectors felt that the chosen team was ready to peak at the right moment?
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She’s been a part of the team for a little while now. I know I saw her at the WEG with Hearts Destiny. https://www.hollysmithshowjumping.com/major-results/
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it was mentioned in the thread in Horse & Hound that (because of access to wealth) she continued to compete in the US when the European shows were canceled causing a two month period where the other rider did not compete thus the spread in ranking points
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Peter filed a complaint regarding the selection criteria, but not a lawsuit. He played nice, and years later rode on the team at Atlanta.
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Thanks, I couldn’t remember the exact details and I do remember that he got his chance at the Olympics eventually so I’m glad for that.
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You mean if he smiled more, his daughter would get a berth on the Olympic team?
I thought the whole point of asking for objectivity was to make is so that one didn’t have to be likable as opposed to competent. You might have missed the point of his argument. But if you smiled more…
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Well, she was quite far down the world points list. And honestly parents making a big fuss over their children’s success leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like hockey parents shouting at the referee.
If you want to go to the Olympics then you work harder and get further up the international list. I’m sure there were other riders, other women riders too, who haf more points than his daughter but didn’t make the cut. Why should she leapfrog over them?
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If that’s the case, that’s sounds like a completely legit reason why the FEI list could be less of a factor in the selection process.
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