Go Eric!!!
[QUOTE=Secret Dove;6485372]
We did have something similar happen to one of our riders in 2010 and no one stood up for him like Eric is for Tiffany![/QUOTE]
Maybe because when it happened to us it was at the 2010 World Cup, which is an individual competition. There aren’t teams at the WC, so who would have stepped forward ?
And with no USET teams chosen yet at that time, it would be a bit awkward for someone to say “I won’t be on the team !” To which someone would reply, "Well no team has been chosen, and if it had, who said you’d be on it anyway ?
The beauty of Eric’s comment (threat, whatever) is that there IS a team.
[QUOTE=retreadeventer;6485629]
Yes. Who is caring about the horse? A fabricated emoti-con here…perhaps a way to draw attention from poor performances…fighting your team is very ungrateful. They are paying for you to be there enjoying the Olympic experience.[/QUOTE]
Poor performance??? Excuse me but we beat your team even without the luxury of a drop score. Puuulleeeeaaassseee. Get real.
So is he scratching tomorrow? Or not as he is riding for 'himself" only tomorrow.
Nope, not scratching tomorrow. It is the individual jumping final. I doubt he would have said that before the Team final. He means future team competitions. He would not walk out on this team.
On the Canadian bb, someone is saying that “everyone is replaceable… you too Eric! so be careful of what you say…”
Sometimes I think Eric wanted to participate in these Olympics and he was lucky to have sponsors supply him with great horses, but I would not be surprised if he once again decided to teach/train …
I do hope that the whole team (with or without the support of EC) can start a campaign to have the rule changed… and it would take riders from other countries to help.
It is really disheartening to realize that your own governing body is not more supportive of its riders. I hope that a good number of EC membership will remember this, but it seems it is also an “old boys club”.
No he is not scratching tomorrow. Yes he is riding for himself as its the “individual” competition.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6485047]
Never thought I’d see the day that was said about Eric. He was banned twice by Canadian sport officials after testing positive for cocaine before the 1996 Games in Atlanta and then testing positive for ephedrine before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, for which he was handed a lifetime ban. That was revoked later.[/QUOTE]
This thread took off while I was at work so I apologize if I’m piling on…but I really respect Eric, I don’t feel I’m in a position to judge him for events in his past, and I love watching him ride. He believes strongly in his teammate (and student). Go Eric!
Not sure why you include this in an otherwise good post - I guessed you were talking about the canadian bb on emg (there are more than one) - the person spouting that changed her tune throughout the thread - it is clear she doesn’t really know what she is talking about, and does not reflect the opinion of the majority of posters.
I’m sending an invitation to Eric to join the French team, it will not be difficult for Eric to adjust to our culture or language, Quebec and France are cousins anyway…
But I’m afraid he has a very strong bond to Canada, you lucky Canucks!
[QUOTE=Mara;6485530]
That, and as with Sapphire last year, they pokedandpokedandpokedandpoked until finally the horse said, “JEEBUS! ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THE POKING!” and flinched or pulled his leg away.[/QUOTE]
Vets can be b*******s - had this happen after a 120k endurance ride. I was strapping, and checked the horse out and finally his back & it was fine. In the vet ring the vet ran his fingers purposefully down the side of the spine & the horse moved, so the vet panel was called in. By the time 3 vets had run their fingers down his spine, first one side, then the other, the horse was indeed saying enough already! and was eliminated.
Support The
Lamaze may be a huge riding talent, but his credibility otherwise is seriously open to doubt. Seriously doubt that the horse was poked 50 times in five minutes as there is a strict protocol of testing and vet exams. Kent Allen DVM has worked tirelessly in the protection of horses and we should be supporting his efforts. If humans competing at top levels were not inclined to injure their horses in pursuit of winning. then the whole hypersensitivity testing would be unnecessary. Sadly, humans will put their own self-interest first. The FEI is to be commended for creating a clear and simple rule that can be implemented for the protection of the horses.
I dont follow showjumping closely, so maybe that is why I am confused here.
Just what support did Lamaze expect for the rider? Both FEI and Canadian Olympic group were very careful to say that no wrongdoing was found or believed to have occurred. CO basically said that they support the measure to protect horses. Even though it sucked to have the horse DQd.
So what did Lamaze want? She cant be un-DQd. The issue of whether the testing is achieving its intended purpose is a whole other question and reasonable people may disagree. It appears to have been done as it was supposed to. Did he want a legal appeal? A lawsuit against the FEI?
The threats to never be on another Team seem overblown and somewhat childish to me.
The above post is very lucid and reasonable. HOWEVER while they continue to overlook the abuse of crank boots and fail to weed out the dodgy chemists posing as vets, selecting out Victor seems like an empty gesture for show.
Referring to 1255’s, sorry
I think Eric is wanting the rule changed so that yes it still checks horses for people who are treating the legs to make them hypersensitive and pick up their legs. But also for the rule to take into consideration that horses jumping big jumps will get little nicks and bumps but are still perfectly sound to compete.
I think Eric was hoping that EC would step up to the plate and help push for a rule change. That is my take at least.
Talking with our vet today ( also an FEI vet). He didn’t have any additional info on the case but was somewhat in agreement with the rule needing changing or clarification. Perhaps handled better in the sense that it sounds like no one who was in charge of the horse was there when it was checked and the fact that it wasn’t even jogged for soundness. Also said that someone may have said something and people heard because it doesn’t sound like a huge issue and could have gone on and competed and not been checked unless it was a random testing?
We ( vet and I ) were thinking that if the horses needs to be checked that the team vet, rider/groom ( one in charge) plus the FEI vets should all be in attendance so that everyone is on the same page and horse should be jogged and not poked a million times ( overstatement but every issue we have heard about says that the horse gets poked numerous times until they do have an issue).
Does anyone know what the protocals for checking a horse for hypersensitive is?? How do they actually check the horse - poking/thermal/jogging/ more poking??
Thats my take at least. Will miss seeing Eric on the team but hopefully he and EC can come to a resolution quickly!
P.
[QUOTE=lonewolf;6485228]
I love Eric but do not support his move here.[/QUOTE]
I love Eric and support his support of Tiffany, but not the way he did it. That was a childish threat, and I bet he will backtrack when he cools down.
[QUOTE=FalseImpression;6485741]
It is really disheartening to realize that your own governing body is not more supportive of its riders. I hope that a good number of EC membership will remember this, but it seems it is also an “old boys club”.[/QUOTE]
Really.
I was disappointed to read the EC press release,and had hoped they would stand behind our own athletes.
Old boys club seems to describe it.
[QUOTE=Mardi;6485704]
Maybe because when it happened to us it was at the 2010 World Cup, which is an individual competition. There aren’t teams at the WC, so who would have stepped forward ?
And with no USET teams chosen yet at that time, it would be a bit awkward for someone to say “I won’t be on the team !” To which someone would reply, "Well no team has been chosen, and if it had, who said you’d be on it anyway ?
The beauty of Eric’s comment (threat, whatever) is that there IS a team.[/QUOTE]
Not so fast–
USEF did in fact issue official statements in support of McLain, and while acknowledging the jurisdiction of the FEI in the matter, managed to stand behind their rider:
http://www.usefnetwork.com/news/5622/2010/4/17/usef_statement_on_the_disqualificat.aspx and http://www.usefnetwork.com/news/5626/2010/4/18/second_usef_statement_regarding_sap.aspx
USEF Statement on the Disqualification of Sapphire from the 2010 Rolex/FEI World Cup Final - USEF Ne
www.usefnetwork.com
Non show jumper here, so I’m new to this issue, just have read about it these games.
But it seems to me, if they said, “Okay, hypersensitivity because of a cut is okay, and you can compete,” that there could be somebody at some point who made a small “owie” in the same area after “sensitizing” a horse, say hit a pole hard and then if they think he hit it TOO hard and might fail a test and it’s the biggest show of the year today, just make a minor cut at that same spot, just so that in case of inspection, he could say, “It’s not because of something I did; it’s this cut, and refer back to the big 2012 flap, where you decided that cuts were perfectly innocent and shouldn’t be grounds for DQ. Horses cut themselves all the time. He probably banged it in the stall. See, the horse isn’t lame; just a little bitty cut.”
Let me emphasize that I believe the great majority of riders are competing honestly, care for their horses, and would never do something like that. But that small minority that created the need for the rule in the first place would figure out a way to utilize a loophole if there was one. I have never deliberately hurt a horse in my life, but a few people could probably have it down to an art and a science in no time.
Unfortunately for the rider, I agree that if they are DQing for hypersensitivity now, they can’t start adding “but this type of hypersensitivity doesn’t count.” If the point of the rule is to prevent abuse, start adding in loopholes, and the very small minority who do try to get unfair advantage will use those loopholes. They necessitated the rule in the first place. They require it being black and white.
[QUOTE=1255;6485818]
Lamaze may be a huge riding talent, but his credibility otherwise is seriously open to doubt. Seriously doubt that the horse was poked 50 times in five minutes as there is a strict protocol of testing and vet exams. .[/QUOTE]
According to Eric, that IS what happened.
