That many time faults may be planned etc. But when she goes for time, you see the lack of control issues.
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After this thread, I watched her dressage and SJ at Red Hills with special interest (missed her XC b/c my kids were staging a mutiny and wanted food). I think her scores are so good for the following reasons: very accurate tests, including clear, prompt transitions (within gaits also) and correct figures; the horse is super, relaxed with impulsion, has lovely gaits, and is clearly well schooled, but also has quite a bit of ‘presence’ in person. Also, many of the other pairs had one or two fairly major blips–e.g. off course, not-clean flying changes, breaking gait during the walk portions, or just not relaxed (weather was chilly and windy!).
Am glad she did not go for time XC, especially because it’s Red Hills (where it’s always hard to make time, probably due to lots of hills).
Tangentially, I thought David O’Connor’s XC courses rode very well, were challenging but fair to the horses. Black flag options were used strategically and made sense to me. Frangible tech came into play a few times and seemed to work well. And overall, the riders and horses seemed better prepared for the really ‘big’ atmosphere and the fitness demands of the hilly terrain.
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