:D:D:D Lauren is a master with Vermiculus! Not a fast horse and she rides for his welfare on speed. :yes:
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great save by Ludwig! Both at the water and at the corner. Glad both of them are okay and neither hurt
Well that was Ludwigās fault. He didnāt give the horse a chance to see the corner.
Pippa finished with 10 seconds over time but is at 26.8 for 1st place!
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Oliver Townend is on course now.
Gemma Tattersall is riding well with lots of encouraging of her horse, lol.
Oliver is rock solid over the jumps. Izzy Taylor just had 20 penalties but is still going.
Well, looks like weāre going to have at least 4 American ladies in the top 20!
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This is the first 5***** Iāve ever watched where Iām happy to take viewing breaks and get some domestic chores done.
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some of these top riders are making that nasty #13 complex look quite easy
Snooze Alarms full brother. Amazing ride. One of the commentators, maybe Ian, was incredibly patronizing over the length of Laurenās stirrup leathers, suggesting she should try riding with a shorter leg. Really? Does he really think at her level she hasnāt tried everything? I have to wonder if he would be so condescending with a male rider
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Dunno about easy, but rideable, yes.
If a handful at the top get around ok, does that make what becomes of those who donāt a moot point?
The real problem was the falls of riders and horses. The destruction and rebuild of jumps all day long was telling.
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Yeah, I think heād say that about anybody ā¦ because he did! Or someone did. Some of the less-able riders got some criticism from the commentators about long stirrups.
Ian was keeping his comments as tactful as he could manage considering heās frank. But he had plenty of veiled aspersions, shall we say, about a number of the riders who were doing it badly.
Some of the expert commentators including Ian consider themselves to be coaching the spectators, knowing that ambitious riders are watching at home.
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Love Vermiculus! Such a special horse.
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Oh no Tim! That truly sucks. Down on the flat in the last water.
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OOOOooooohhhhhhh Tim & RSB !!! Sick about that water !!!
So that ends with 31 retired or eliminated and 33 completed. Iām also wondering how many withdraws there will be before tomorrow for all the poor horses who got banged up around the course.
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Like many here, Iām not totally thrilled with the number of frangibles activated today and I think the open oxers and open corners were cruelly placed. But what really has me hot under the collar was the negligent mis-application of the MIM clips at the angled gates. Iām positive that CMP placed that combination on the course because he thought having MIM clips would save any pairs from their own mistakes. That was sheer lack of understanding of how a MIM clip works and caused most of the worst horse falls of the day and yet the clips only activated once, when the horse completely chested the fence. The reason is due to basic physics, was completely preventable, and I am baffled and appalled that no one questioned this combination in terms of whether the safety devices would even activate.
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Agreed, but Lauren is hardly one of the less able riders.
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The grooms will all deserve many libations come the closing of the stables.
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