Such a lovely horse! And what a test for a young GP horseā¦ what is he 9?
Thanks for sharing!
What I liked was that he didnāt start looking around at all the āstuffā until after his work was done, and all he did was have a really good look.
So lovely to see their progression. I was at the clinic Charlotte taught in CA, when she first saw Pumpkin. She couldnāt stop raving about him that day, and clearly she knew what she was talking about!
I love her style. I love how her horses go. This is a debut at GP for this horse. imagine him in three years
He also won the GP Freestyle with 83.36%.
Freestyle sauntering out; https://scontent-mia3-2.xx.fbcdn.netā¦bb&oe=5FAB7F1B
(After winning GP+Special)
Holy cow! Definitely the one to watch! <3
Something about his extensions looks weird, like he doesnāt know how to get his hooves out in front of him. Like a sewing machine?
It is 100% possible that Iām totally full of crap, and this certainly isnāt a critique of a horse and rider I can only dream of being like. Just something I saw, and want to learn more.
Is this the one that was super super spooky when she started it? Anyone know? I thought it was a chestnut but canāt remember if it was a gelding or mare.
Super talented horse under one of the worldās best riders. But the scores here were a bit too muchā¦ a little pre Olympics anticipation maybe from the judges. He was amazingly obedient under her top riding, but tension was evident and he still has strength and confidence to gain in some movements due to his youth. I can see these scores and more for this top pair soon enough, just not here.
I am by no means an expert, but maybe what youāre seeing is some of the tension that other posters have commented on? He looks very āsnappyā with his knees. It may be that going more āup and downā is his natural tendency when he gets nervous, and some of that is more apparent in the extended trot than the collected work. Like you, certainly not trying to critique this amazing horse and rider! Just an observation.
Horse is pretty. But gaits do get a bit wonky at times. Though that is most likely the breeding more than the riding. I see 4 beat tendencies here at times. I still prefer the work Anja Beran does with āaverageā horses. I do wish the judges would not keep steering things in this direction.
At the risk of being publicly shamedā¦ Do people think this horse is soundā¦? Fourbeat canter, neurological in the half-passesā¦ At times saw some swinging of the stifle and pelvis that made me think bizarre versus just not conditioned/strong enoughā¦
Not asking for a fight but your reason? It is still a young horse.
I have seen other videos with Gio that made me say āwowā the same way I did with Valegro. This particular video quality didnāt seem all that great - it almost seemed like it was speeded up or kind of herky jerky or something- something seemed off. I agree that Gio didnāt seem at his best but he is very young.
This was the very fun āDressage Unwrappedā masterclass from Olympia last year with Pippa Funnell, Carl Hester, Gareth Hughes, and Richard Davison. Gio starts at 1:09. I thought he looked much better than the Kesoe video.
I donāt know if itās soundness or not, but even at the walk he seems so eager to get his feet back on the ground. It could be the tension. He just looks choppy at the trot, to my uneducated eye. I donāt need extravagance up front, but it doesnāt seem like heās even close to full range of motion from his shoulders.
I watched it at 0.25 speed a few times, and heās got several more degrees of engagement from the hinds than he does up front. To me, the extension looked very similar to the medium, just with a faster tempo.
Again, I am a peon. I am trying to learn. I couldnāt ride my way out of a wet paper bag compared to this pair.
It seems with dressage horses that itās VERY rare to get a horse who can do both the P/P and Extensions very well (Valegro) This horseās strength is the P/P. That may change with time, strength and relaxation - but to call him lame/neurologic/unsound from a very foreshortened video view is complete nonsense. This was a 9 year old, making his debut at this level, one would expect some tension, which also would change with time.
Give this a read;
https://yourdressage.org/2019/03/15/ā¦of-a-champion/
:yes:
I think heās got a lot of knee - the forearm comes almost parallel to the ground in the trot and canter and and heās maybe a little over-tempo sometimes, which makes him look choppy. But he is always tracking up a the trot. The canter looks like he could use a bit more sit, but with such active hind legs, it must be really challenging for him. The same in the p/p/p - he looks like he only has so much strength to sit and stay active at the same time and then he starts winging his hind legs out or interrupting the rhythm a bit. Overall Iām impressed and wonder if he just needs some more time to build strength and learn to take a breath and everything will look easier.
Thank you, Equibrit. I have never ridden a horse like this and I doubt anyone posting here has ever ridden a GP horse of this caliber. (However, I have ridden a lower-level horse of this quality.) Itās a long journey to GP and horses go through many phases.
Yes, there is some tension. That could explain what some posters are seeing. I also have a āGioā and there is no way I could even get him in a small, claustrophobic arena like that. Seeing lameness or suggesting neurological problems is a reach. Carl and Charlotte are amazing horse keepers and if one of their horses had a problem, they would take care of it. I canāt remember either of them ever competing an unsound horse.
Iāve had the joy of being front row and center for a two-day clinic with Charlotte. Her method of training is kind, yet demanding. The horses must go forward! She pushed horses and riders to a razor-thin edge. Yes, it leads to some tension. As the horse gets stronger, the tension subsides.
