I thought it was classy of him to thank Land Rover on behalf of the whole sport. I do find it tough to root for him after his whip warnings at Badminton a few years ago but I’m sure he’ll be a force to reckon with at the Olympics.
9 Likes
No.
1 Like
Imagine if Fraulein Butt married Herr Fuchs…
No, I never grew up. 
Speaking of the Germans, where has Michael Jung been?
7 Likes
The Prices gave a master laws on how to get it done. We need to get some lessons from them.
Oliver I’m so thrilled for.
Maybe I’m getting old (ha not really) but I love watching the development & maturation of riders & horses. It’s a treat year after year. No one expects perfection, mistakes are made, some return wiser, some return bitter, some suffer long time setbacks - really the gamut. I’d love to see Americans win someday but at least we have great horse women & men at the top.
As far as the course, I’m thankful for the progression away from courses that cause catastrophic falls. This was a fantastic course.
10 Likes
it does seem rather partial to be critical of bit choices, yet openly root for someone who clearly and demonstrably doesn’t put horsemanship to the forefront. The way one presents themselves to fans vs how they act towards their horses… I know which one is more important to me.
Still, a winner is a winner. Congrats.
6 Likes
I follow his insta, he absolutely loves and cares for his horses. He is in the barn all the time just cuddling and loving on the horses.
He apologized for the whip incident and said he would do better. I think his aggressive XC riding can be seen as over competitiveness but his horses perform at the top over and over. That doesn’t happen if you don’t have good horsemanship.
I used to be his biggest hater but then I actually met him and learned a few things and my opinion completely changed.
13 Likes
That’s great to hear!
Oh stop already.
You CAN NOT win in Eventing at 5* consistently and be a bad horseman. Not these days. His results speak for themselves.
Bit choices are what lead to rails and falls. Bit choices matter.
Ollie made mistakes, owned up to them and made effort to change. That should be applauded or would you only be happy if he quit Eventing and died like some of the past eventers who made mistakes that no one could let go of.
5 Likes
I audited a clinic Oli did in our area and was impressed there by how humble and approachable he seemed. But I don’t think it’s good horsemanship to present a horse at an inspection when you know there is a high likelihood it will be spun - it’s like saying to the ground jury “make me”. Guess he is a mixed bag - like most of us!
19 Likes
Was that Kevin McNab standing next to Jonelle Price watching Tim ride? That man is HUGE!
1 Like
Yeah I can’t comment because I didn’t see it. Hopefully someone can ask him about that.
What did Harry Meade win?
I don’t envy the US selectors having to make final decisions about who gets on the plane to Tokyo - horses or riders. None of our top horse-rider combinations made an iron clad case this weekend. I see Philip, Boyd, Tamie, Liz, and Doug in the mix, but with which horses, I dunno. Once again, I will just hope we can finish a team rather than aim for any medals - and it would seem this year might be an excellent year to focus on that as an attainable goal.
4 Likes
He said he rode Cooley Masterclass that morning and he felt better then than he looked in the jog, and that he had a cut or heel grab or something. Of course, we can only take his word for it, and the horse was clearly off in the jog video, so with hindsight being 20/20 presenting him was a poor choice.
2 Likes
Sure you can. You just have to ride well enough.
Being a good rider and being a good horseman are two totally different things.
He presented a horse that was lame, and tried to hide the lameness which indicates he knew. If it were something that the horse could have “worked out of” I’m sure they would have addressed that earlier this morning with lots of handwalks or whatever. Instead, he made excuses for himself and his horse.
I’m sure riding lame horses doesn’t cause falls or rails?
12 Likes
If anyone is interested in watching the jogs here is the link. CMC’s first inspection is at 51:50 and second at 59:53 https://fb.watch/55z45AhFS4/
2 Likes
Do you event?
No, you can’t win at 5* JUST being a good rider. And you certainly can’t train your own horses and win every time out.
This is what bothers me with the hate crowd these days. If you hate someone but can’t admit the things they can actually do well then you’re just there to hate.
8 Likes
Also I’ve been to FEI prep clinics and they literally TEACH YOU how to cover up stiffness or irregularities.
Stiffness or soreness does not equal lame.
This is upper level sport. Athletes will know what I’m talking about.
4 Likes
Jesse Campbell
1 Like
I hope to hell Tami Smith is there.
I think Tami is next years Landrover winner. Calling it now. Lol
4 Likes
