Just signed on - what happened to Boyd!? How did on cue and Thomas do?
Thomas ran through the third fence like he didnāt even see it, so he was unbalanced for the next one and had it down, and then he hit the third rail of the triple. Cue had two down. but they finished 9th and 10 anyway. Tim had 3 down and Ollie ended up winning.
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Thank you! Sorry to hear that re Boyd and Thomas and On cueā¦.
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It will be interesting to hear what Boyd has to say about the ride -
From the side it looked like a refusal at the third fence and then an attempt but too late.
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sadly, it isnāt unusual for Thomas to have rails, but to just blow though one is not usual.
Oh OK thanks
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I have never seen him refuse a show jump. He has been so good for so long. This just hasnāt been his year.
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I mean Thomas just finished 9th and was the highest placed American horse in arguably the most difficult horse trial in the world. Certainly no shame in that. Although Iām sure Boyd would have loved to see him higher up the standings since we all know he is capable.
The entire American contingent was SO good and SO competitive. Iām sure there are a few feelings of coulda woulda shoulda, though.
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What is nice is that Thomas has staye4d sound to compete at the highest level in the sport and has always been in it and usually in the top ten. All the Americans did well, and are doing much better internationally these days. Better horses, better riders, and better training. Also, I think it does a world of good to go overseas and compete in Europe. Terribly expensive to do that though.
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A few years ago it would have been a miracle to have four US rides in the top 20 at any 5* outside of Kentucky. Not to mention any US rider having five 5* horses at the same time.
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We also had a contingent of riders who belonged there this year.
We went through a cycle a few years ago where all these greener riders at the level were going to Badminton and Burghley when they were barely able to complete Kentucky. Iām always of two minds on that: on one hand, if you have the shot take itā¦ but then again why were we wasting so many resources to send non-competitive people overseas for āexperience.ā
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That he has stayed SOUND speaks to Boydās horsemanship!
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Boyd appreciation post: thereās no better ambassador for US eventing. We are lucky to have him in āAmericaā as he calls it. Two in the top ten, well done mate!
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So true Tex! I thought it was wrong for Ariel to go to badminton a year or two ago, and I was so wrong! She finished way up in the standings and went on to make in Pratoni.
Danvers, he rode him in the World championships at Tryon in 2018, Kentucky every year, Olympics, in 2021, World championships last year in Pratoni, and now at Burghley.
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She isnāt even one Iām thinking of. She came out and made her mark from the start.
But there were more than a couple handful of others, who I will not name, who werenāt even particularly competitive at home yet then are going overseas. I donāt bedgrudge anyone for doing that; if I had the chance I would to!
But itās my understanding many of them were doing it with āteamā encouragement or even assistanceā¦ and that didnāt seem to pay off for us at all. Many of those riders who went didnāt have good results and donāt even have a horse at the level anymore.
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Amazing! Wonder why he crashed the fenceā¦. Boyd is Honest when he speaks after his tests so he will let us know his thoughtsā¦.
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I am delighted for Harry Meade and David Doel ā I was a big Galileo fan when they came to Kentucky and thought he had a shot to take the whole thing there.
Moving on, though ā what do you do with Vitali? He has now had three rails down in each of his four five-stars. His record was already a concern even before Tim said yesterday that Vitali just wasnāt taking him around cross-country the way he normally does.
Obviously heās phenomenally talented, but Tim describes him as a horse who internalizes things and worries, so maybe he just is too tense. If anyone in the world can calm a horse down and get the best out of him, I believe it is Tim Priceā¦
The only āgoodā thing about that SJ finish is that it will give Tim extra motivation to bring Falco to Maryland. He wonāt want to end his season that way!
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He reminds me of Abraxas, the former horse ridden by Ingrid Klimke. He was a phenomenal dressage horse, always led the field, and he was very good at cross country. But he dismissed the poles, and always had a lot of rails.
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Great weekend for the U.S. I donāt think you can hold the rails today against these guys, On Cue, Tsetserleg, & Mamaās Magic Way have never been the strongest show jumpers; however, I thought they all jumped better rounds than Iāve seen them do in the past, regardless of the score. It feels like the U.S. riders are riding much more strategically now in SJ when in the past it looked like they were just relying on the horseās scope and crossing their fingers. I think it is and will continue paying off in the long run (shout outs to Peter Wylde and Erik Duvander).
Thomas was disunited around the turn to 3 and just got there on a half stride, then Boyd chased him a bit to 4. Honestly though, I thought outside of that, it was one of the best rounds Iāve seen that horse jump.
Massively impressed with Jennie Saville and FE Lifestyle. Hands down the best dressage test that horse has done and itās not easy feat to have Carl Hester be so complimentary on the commentary.
I think Burghley always proves that the riders who know the terrain and have consistently ridden there year after year have a huge advantage over the first timers and occasional visitors. Itās eye opening from a fitness perspective.
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