Well shame on everyone who stood by and watched too.
I donāt know why this is coming up as my quote, but I didnāt say it!
Thatās kind of the problem Iām talking about. In public, the rider can put on the charmā¦ kiss the horse on the noseā¦ 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 arenāt in the know are going to look up to and admire that rider.
Doesnāt change what happened at the barn behind closed doors.
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Iām 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 āneedā to win or the stress of having people excited for you causes people to make poor choices regarding horse welfare. Thereās 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 OTās 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. Iām not claiming anyone is being abusive at LRK or at home, but itās dumb to sit around and pretend it doesnāt happen because grooms wouldnāt allow it to, or a horse wouldnāt 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 Iāve 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 wouldnāt 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 everyoneās tack choices.
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Me too. I think the big drawback would be concern about criticism for riderās choiceā¦ 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 wasnāt 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 isnāt always easy with this mare. I just wish there had been more XC footage of them!
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Also itās likeā¦ we can all see the tack so itās 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 Iād 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 heās 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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Horses losing shoes has very little to do with horsemanship in my experience. If the horse has poor quality feet or a bad shoeing job, sure, they are more likely to lose a shoe. But even perfectly shod horses with fantastic feet lose shoes at times.
But maybe I am extra sensitive to this because Iāve had a horse lose a shoe in XC warmup and I didnāt notice. Granted, this was at BN in perfect conditions, but she didnāt take an off step the entire round. It wasnāt until we were walking back to the barns I even noticed the shoe was missing. Was there something I did to make her lose the shoe? Probably. But I feel like thatās a riding error more than a lack of horsemanship. I still feel incredibly guilty about it but she survived with no ill effects and jumped clean the next day.
Presenting a clearly lame horse after a difficult day, which included losing a shoe, is another story entirely.
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Itās a discussion. Iām not sure why you think Iām personally affected lol I come here to discuss Eventing because I love the sport and the people and horses in it and a lot can be learned on this forum. Itās a chat forumā¦
I just donāt see where the prevalence of abuse is everyone is talking about. Maybe in the old days but not today. Not saying it doesnāt happen but I would gather itās the rare exception not the norm.
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I forget if it was dressage or xc day, but KOC commenting how competitive Jonelle must be with Tim and that she knows nothing about competing against your spouse 
Gave me a chuckle
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We were talking about this at my barn today. There is something to be said for that established partnership. Hinrich Romeike developed Marius from a 5 year old to the Games at both Athens and Beijing and won the individual gold. Anna Siemer took on Buttās Avondale as a 4 year old. Michael Jung developed Sam himself. On the flip side, Mark Todd won Badminton on a catch ride. A partnership can help a rider with less experience gain those miles and can be super helpful. But good riding is good riding.
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I am split on the issue of bringing the horse along being the ideal. I mean, honestly the opportunity for developing riders to get to experience a schoolmaster in their early careers is, IMO, by far the best way to gain experience. And I say this as someone who has made all my own horses. My own horses that left me with a LOT of baggage.
The issue of whether it is best for the international stage ā itās maybe ideal but certainly there are exceptions. Remember Mike Plumb winning individual gold on Bold Minstrel having ridden the horse for only 2 weeks (his horse had to be put down on the plane over and the owner loaned him BM)? There arenāt that many Bold Minstrels out there, but Iāll be interested to see if MJ is able to have success on Chipmunk who is another brilliant horse. I think theyāll be very competitive if Europe ever starts eventing again.
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You are right. When I stop to think, there are many horses moving around at the top levels.
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For those asking what MJ was up to, looks like he didnāt only get married lol. Good weekend for Ze terminator!
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My experience as well. I could have written this post.
I donāt have a dog in this fight; Iām not going to publicly admonish an international rider whom I know little about personally. But Iām also not going to defend him for the same reasons.
In general, you donāt make it to the highest levels in sport without serious talent. Yet that serious talent is often paired with a single-mindness for success, whatever it takes. That can manifest in a lot of ugly ways, regardless of the sport.
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