As an aside, I did read that the stables and warm up indoor arena were airconditioned. I wonder what effect that has? I know that I do not like going in and out of AC, particularly to exercise outside…
Has this ever been done before?
What’s contradictory about it not being the best test of his life, and him still feeling a wonderful connection with the horse, who still tried in difficult conditions? Is the perfect test the only be-all, end-all with horses? Of course not!
Maybe not for SLC, but for me 
I’m dying to read and can’t find/afford a copy!
You know–Im old, and I was THERE.
I was a volunteer in Los Angeles, best ‘seat’ in the house, right outside the arena waiting for tests, and watched Dr. Klimke and ‘Ali’ in all their tests, in the victory dance (it was nothing less that a celebration) and I’ve seen a lot of these current Olympic horses in the flesh.
These are silly arguments y’all are having.
If Dr. K was alive and competing today, he would be every bit as fiercely competitive as he ever was, and he would pick through whatever changes in horses, in styles, in risk-taking, in techniques, in figuring out where the money points are–and he would react accordingly.
Same as Isabell uses a version of rollkur and yet posts the trot before and after her rides–to show the classic connection, the foundation to her process.
The great ones do not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
And I include Anky under the term ‘great’.
[QUOTE=fish;3456270]
I find it pretty ironic that this has happened to a sport supposedly built upon a training system developed to produce horses physically and mentally sound enough to be ridden into battle-- in a double bridle so the rider could easily guide his horse with one hand while wielding a sword with another.
While the dressage champion’s victory gallop morphs into a pony ride due to the intractability of her horse, Olympic eventers and show jumping medalists with their supposedly inferior dressage, can still be seen doing victory gallops with one hand (or none-- as in the case of Jus de Pommes, 1996), while proudly carrying flags.
Thank goodness for the hunters, where calm and relaxation remain a never to be abandoned basic, and for the many dressage riders who do continue to strive for excellence in traditional terms in spite of what goes on in that ‘separate class of 2’ receiving the medals.
And no, I do not blame the judges. I blame the way the tests are written and the new directive that replaced “relaxation” with a “happiness” that seems to include something akin to mania (i.e. “explosiveness”) in the horses. Steinbrecht must be doing quadruple flips in his grave.[/QUOTE]
YES! I completely agree, but then isn’t this the difference between Classical and Competitive Dressage (which is a whole other topic).
I didn’t see all the rides, I turned the TV on (yah Bold!) and saw the end of Anky’s Gold medal performance. To me, it didn’t look good, the horse did not look straight in the half pass and so tense (not focused, not collected, yes, I mean stressed)…and a horse that can not halt…ah well…I’m not riding at that level so I don’t know if I can talk lol!
I thought Bonaparte looked fantastic in the honour lap, but then again, he (?) reminds me of my mare
SLC regarding Gifted
SLC - I believe that Gifted’s autopsy revealed that he had a degenerative disorder in his spine that would made it very difficult for him to piaffe. I remember Carol commenting on this and that it helped solve the mystery as to why piaffe was so difficult for him later in his career.
That’s my recollection and I followed him pretty closely.
If he had kissing spine, you should know that MOST if not all older horses show that on autopsy, usually without any symptoms associated with it. I would not automatically assume that if there were some changes in his back that it would mean he physically could not piaffe. He piaffed fine in training, incidentally, he would not in the competition. Carol Lavel discussed it very openly in the magazine interviews, etc. And I am SURE, absolutely, positively, that if he showed any discomfort at all, Carol would never have had him doing any piaffe work. You’re tatamount to saying that Carol was forcing him to piaffe when he was physically unable, and that is absolutely, positively not true.
Marks ae posted now:
Eileen
Klimke was a formidable driven competitor with amazing technical skills. None of this lahdeedah ‘I’m classical in my backyard’ voodoo for him! he combined the classical training of the higheest order with the competitive spirit. Very competitive. Very correct. Lovely stuff.
Who cares what I think but ,Oh well,so what, I think of all today’ s Big Time Riders, Isabel is the closest to Klimke. The foundation is rock solid, her horses are like accordians connected back to front and she is an amazon in the ring. With Satchmo, she has worked through a lot to bring out his ability or ‘genius’ as she calls it. I love that quote about him being a sensitive genius because she does not blame the horse for a disobedience which cost her a gold medal.
I think from all I have seen that she’s a great horseperson.
From the USDF Directory-
"USEF & FEI Rules for FEI-Level Freestyles
At the beginning and end, a halt with a salute is compulsory. Note: There is no recommendation or requirement that the competitor must face C for the halt and salute. A rider who does not halt for the salute is eliminated"
(Italics mine)
Well that’s interesting.
How does the rule define “halt” and “salute?” Is there a durational halt requirement (i.e., number of seconds?)
I clearly saw a halt. If you blinked, you missed it. :lol:
Anyone know what the movement was the SP got 4s on??? 
Thanks Roan!!
[QUOTE=Eclectic Horseman;3456795]
How does the rule define “halt” and “salute?” Is there a durational halt requirement (i.e., number of seconds?)
I clearly saw a halt. If you blinked, you missed it. :lol:
Anyone know what the movement was the SP got 4s on??? [/QUOTE]
His 2’s
Thanks, I’ll have to watch that again more carefully.
(SLC - I wrote about him. A fair bit. 
And I remember what Carol said about the cumulative work in a test and the difficulty to piaffe at that time. And I remember specifically the In the Country story about his back and her comments. I just don’t think it’s accurate to portray him as naughty and I don’t appreciate you putting words in my mouth)
… now back to the action…
[QUOTE=egontoast;3456787]
Klimke was a formidable driven competitor with amazing technical skills. None of this lahdeedah ‘I’m classical in my backyard’ voodoo for him! he combined the classical training of the higheest order with the competitive spirit. Very competitive. Very correct. Lovely stuff.
Who cares what I think but ,Oh well,so what, I think of all today’ s Big Time Riders, Isabel is the closest to Klimke. The foundation is rock solid, her horses are like accordians connected back to front and she is an amazon in the ring. With Satchmo, she has worked through a lot to bring out his ability or ‘genius’ as she calls it. I love that quote about him being a sensitive genius because she does not blame the horse for a disobedience which cost her a gold medal.
I think from all I have seen that she’s a great horseperson.[/QUOTE]
I care what you think, so thfffpt 
And I agree 100%
Eileen
I agree with the above post from egon. I think Isabel is closest to Klimke, in results.
“to portray him as naughty”
it has nothing to do with being ‘naughty’ and I never used that word, you’re putting words in MY mouth more than i am in yours. It just happens, I make no moral judgement on it. It happened to Balkenhol, it happened with that horse, it happens with a LOT of horses. After years and years of going in the ring and doing tests, the horses figure it out. They aren’t being naughty at all, they are just being horses. That’s just how it is. It doesn’t mean anyone is doing anything wrong. It’s just that when that happens, then there isn’t a whole lot of sense in taking them in the ring.
Same thing with Satchmo. If that starts to be a habit with him, he’s done. There is no reason to yet assume it’s going to be a habit, or that Isabel somehow screwed up and caused it. It just happened a couple of times at one competition. But that’s what a rider dreads. THat it can become a habit. Horses develop habits very, very easily. As one trainer I worked with said, ‘JUST DON’T MAKE A MISTAKE’, LOL. Because it gets to be a habit.
My thought in the walk shortly after the piaffe backwards blow, was that Satchmo looked quite short on his right hind. Certainly could have whacked or tweaked himself during his outburst, but you gotta wonder whether something may be cooking, too. The veterinary diagnostics available aren’t equal to humans–and even with humans it is sometimes hard to figure out when something is NQR, such as nerve pain.
Yes, Darden I agree that the initial disobediences are often caused by discomfort.
Yes, slc, I agree that these disobediences can become habitual even after the initial cause is eliminated. The horse learns he CAN say “NO.” Frequently seen in the jumpers.
Wow. Just looked at the tests. Someone explain to me how SP got 4/5 for the tempis (yes, the haunches did swing a bit in the early ones), but Kemmer didn’t get one score below 6 when her horse stopped and refused to piafe???
about Anky’s score…
[QUOTE=Bugs-n-Frodo;3455858]
Absolutley ridiculous![/QUOTE]
I agree. I was disappointed. Seriously, I’m not being sarcastic.
For the #1 rider in the world not be able to accomplish a halt and salute TO THE JUDGES at the end of her test in the Olympic games is embarassing for the sport.
It’s also sloppy riding, IMHO. I don’t care you who are.
