And neither of them should have been passed either… Multiple horses weren’t looking great at the job, and after a tough xc, that’s unfortunately to be expected. they should have been pulled up, but we’re talking about OT right now.
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I am going to start a new thread on Olympic team selectipn. So new folks don’t have to go thru all this, as fascinating as it is.
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Talk about sore losers ?
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I finally caught up with the livestream, and that was awful to see! I must confess, I don’t recall ever seeing any other rider legit fall off and not be able to complete a 5* (or any major livestreamed horse trial) because of stadium. A few who have lost it in the showjumping phase, but this!
Especially after she was able to survive the Hunger Games of the 4* here!
Re: all of this talk about OT’s horsemanship (or lackthereof). There are many, many documented cases of top competitors in all 3 Olympic sports that are abusive towards their animals. It clearly exists, and somehow, in a way I don’t understand, some horses do seem handle the abuse “well” and still come out on top. I would not use whether a horse performs well or not as a gauge of rider abuse.
We all make mistakes with our horses that we regret, and I would be quick to forgive if I saw a teenager or young adult in a high pressure situation lose their temper and take out it on their horse. If you say it never happened to you, I’d call you a liar. We feel bad, horrible, and we move on and vow to do better. But when a middle aged man who’s been running the biggest tracks in the world for many years does it? Well, a leopard never changes its spots.
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I searched out a Tokyo 2020 thread I remembered starting a looong time ago with thoughts of possibly bumping it, but most of the posts don’t seem especially relevant any more and I haven’t checked the links Eventing at Tokyo 2020
The whole substitution aspect is a great big question mark as well.
Please share these many many examples of abusive eventers who have had long term success with factual proof they were abusive throughout their career. Modern Eventing, so after 2000 please.
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Well shame on everyone who stood by and watched too.
I don’t know why this is coming up as my quote, but I didn’t say it!
That’s kind of the problem I’m talking about. In public, the rider can put on the charm… kiss the horse on the nose… be put on a much-lauded documentary show (people are still sharing it on FB 25 years later). If they were put on the Olympic team, you can understand how the nobodies will have no influence and many who aren’t in the know are going to look up to and admire that rider.
Doesn’t change what happened at the barn behind closed doors.
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I’m not sure why you feel so personally affected by this. I think what has been rehashed is that people this invested in the sport at this level are ultra-competitive and sometimes the “need” to win or the stress of having people excited for you causes people to make poor choices regarding horse welfare. There’s also an ego component, and we know ego and horses rarely go well together. I just saw a lot of ego this weekend I would rather not have seen, and OT’s trot up was one of them. There were other horses, IMO, that should have been pulled in the jog yesterday morning.
Horses are tolerant creatures, and the threat of a lost pay check or bad mouthing can make people pretty tolerant, too. I’m not claiming anyone is being abusive at LRK or at home, but it’s dumb to sit around and pretend it doesn’t happen because grooms wouldn’t allow it to, or a horse wouldn’t put up with it.
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Can we at least all have an unproblematic celebration of the riding and horsemanship of Tim and Jonelle Price, with Tim in 2nd, and Jonelle with two horses in the top 10 of the 5*? I think during the showjumping is the first time I’ve seen Tim look maybe slightly anxious.
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This is a fascinating take. Could you elaborate? I always thought of it as being a good thing in terms of getting the sport exposure that it otherwise would not have.
Was thinking this morning of the argument that would have ensued if that was me and my SO. Why wouldn’t he have let me win?? 
Super, both of them. Grappa Nero is especially gorgeous.
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I would LOVE to read this, not to hate on anyone for their bit choices but just so curious!!! I love hearing about everyone’s tack choices.
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Me too. I think the big drawback would be concern about criticism for rider’s choice… I just want to know because some of the tack is PRETTY.
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I was rooting for the Prices all weekend. I knew they would bring their game XC but wasn’t as sure about the other 2 phases.
It was especially interesting to see the SJ round on Classic Moet. She jumps with her head very high and back hollow, but Jonelle managed to produce a clear round which isn’t always easy with this mare. I just wish there had been more XC footage of them!
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Also it’s like… we can all see the tack so it’s pretty much open for criticism anyway. It might even provide a lot more transparency / reasoning of why someone chooses a specific setup!!! If i had time in my life I’d pitch this to EN or COTH right now
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They were amazing all weekend. Besides the privilege of getting to watch a horse like Ballaghmor Class do anything (somehow I think he’s still underrated for what he actually is), the best part of the weekend for me was Classic Moet. She is the ultimate event horse, and I aspire to be half as fierce as she and Jonelle are. Such a treat to watch them go out and cruise around with their eyes closed!
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