Mclain Ward: True horsemanship

[ridgeback]

[QUOTE=Heineken;3458222]
Let’s talk about the fact that tall of us arm chair quarterbacks sure as hell can’t do what Will or McClain just did…reputations or not. And, before you point fingers, read the back of the USEF magazine with all the set downs…I don’t see Will or McClain![/QUOTE]

Who said anything about riding the thread said horseman… Won’t even go into what his father has done and you combine that with the things he’s done they aren’t an impressive pair… No doubt he’s a great rider. Sitting at the Summmer Lex KY show last night it was interesting to listen to everyone say it was Will who clinched the gold for us.

[pdiddy]

[QUOTE=Bluehorsesjp;3458130]
Stop it right now.

Will was fabulous on a super talented horse. And I have cliniced with him and have friends who have ridden with him. What he supposably did back in your youth holds no bearing on the man he is today.
![/QUOTE]

Really? If jerking the horse’s mouth around and riding off of it, relying on the desire of the horse to please you (or the fear of what will happen if he does not) and his desire to jump, instead of good hands, and riding in partership (like Ludger, for example), is “fabulous,” then I guess I have had it all wrong for a long time.

The man is a thug.

[pdiddy]

As far as McLain - yeah, he can ride and he knows how to do an interview. OOOOH, AHHHH, WHAT A HORSEMAN!!! PU-LEASE …

[Sannois]

Its amazing what people

Are willing to forget! :no:

[Riding_Fool]

Really? If jerking the horse’s mouth around and riding off of it, relying on the desire of the horse to please you (or the fear of what will happen if he does not) and his desire to jump, instead of good hands, and riding in partership (like Ludger, for example), is “fabulous,” then I guess I have had it all wrong for a long time.

The man is a thug.

There’s another website out there perfect for “throwing people under the bus”. I suggest you check it out and leave this one for the topic at hand.

[ridgeback]

@YankeeLawyer;3458169

Big congratulations to McLain and the other team members – well done! I was thinking yesterday about all that McLain has gone through, all the obstacles he had to face as a very young man, and how well-deserved his win is for him and his wonder mare.

[edit]

Anyway, I agree with the poster who implored people to leave their nastiness and cynicism at the door. Who are these people that write such things, anyway? They sound like a bunch of disgruntled ex-employees or jealous and bitter do-nothings. Is it possible, for just once, to be generous of heart and truly happy for other people when success finds them?

Then don’t start a thread with the name McLain Ward and horseman in the same sentence maybe it should have read McLain Ward a great rider…:yes::eek:

[Sundown]

I’m not going into the past and what he might have done. I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I was way to young to hear about in anyway. I’m just talking about right now. For the past 4 years from what I have seen and heard he has been quite a horseman…I should have thought about it more but I didn’t. Right now this is what I have observed.

[Moderator_1]

We’ve removed/edited several comments re: unproven accusations about past events related to specific individuals. If you want to discuss how substantiated past events affect opinions of Olympians as horsemen, etc., you’re welcome to do so, though the topic has been addressed at length in previous threads.

Any discussion must be based upon proven facts and be related to the main topic of the thread.

Thanks,
Mod 1

[HORSEBACKRIDER]

Thank you for that!

I, for one, would like to see you respond even quicker and more pointedly.

These threads are quickly disintegrating and are a poor reflection on the posters and Chronicle Forums.

How about a rule that personal vendettas, slurs, and even legitimate discussions of someone’s actual or alleged misdeeds be posted under a topic specifically identified for that purpose. Otherwise it is out of bounds in the subject matter forum.

I am on the brink of not wanting to come to this site any more because of the negativity, judgment, and venom pouring forth.

While the bad, and even criminal, behavior in the horse world is deplorable, the power anonymous posters feel to relentlessly grind someone into dirt is unacceptable, too.

[Fairview_Horse_Cente]

@egontoast;3458227

Not everyone would agree that a rider who ever thought it was a good idea to put shards in his horse’s boots so the horse would experience pain if it hit a pole qualifies as a paragon of true horsemanship.

Flame away. If you start a gushy thread about someone like this, you can’t expect everyone to drink your koolaid.

Thank-you! Intentional cruelty is not a mistake, it is a lack of respect & caring for an animal that he earns his living from. How is that anything to do with horsemanship? That is NEVER something you “pay your dues for”. It is “who he IS”, and how he was raised - ya know, that ole “apple falling from the tree thing”.

I guess some people have stars in their eyes, and are on the same thought process - anything for success or a gold medal. Sad.

[travisday]

Sapphire is my Superhero

Wow I love this horse! She is so fantastic! And McLain…he can ride anything and make it a champion! We at EquiFit are so honored to work with him and to put T-Boots on all his rides. Can’t wait for Thursday!!!

Travis Day
EquiFit, inc.

[talloaks]

HORSEBACKRIDER, the past is always with us so don’t try to hind it under the carpet as if it were a little dirt!

[citymouse]

[QUOTE=YankeeLawyer;3458169]
Big congratulations to McLain and the other team members – well done! I was thinking yesterday about all that McLain has gone through, all the obstacles he had to face as a very young man, and how well-deserved his win is for him and his wonder mare.

[edit]

Anyway, I agree with the poster who implored people to leave their nastiness and cynicism at the door. Who are these people that write such things, anyway? They sound like a bunch of disgruntled ex-employees or jealous and bitter do-nothings. Is it possible, for just once, to be generous of heart and truly happy for other people when success finds them?[/QUOTE]

Well said Yankee, Well Said!

I don’t think people on here are every happy, it really seem as if so many come on thsi board to see who they can “attack” today. Which one us ever thought the USA would walk away with the gold medal and in such amazing fashion.

YES, McLain has made some very bad decisions in his past (the chips in the boots for example), and YES his father did something which is beyond reprehensible (sp??), BUT McLain is not his father, and for the other, he has paid his dues for his mistake - LET IT GO! Why was no one on here going crazy over the fact that they put Amy on the eventing team after what happened to her at Rolex, of wait that’s okay because she paid her dues with the FEI, but for McLain it is not enough!

I am sorry you all have to feel such spite towards someone instead of being as proud as the rest of us are for our team and for what they accomplished TOGETHER!

[ridgeback]

[QUOTE=travisday;3458612]
Wow I love this horse! She is so fantastic! And McLain…he can ride anything and make it a champion! We at EquiFit are so honored to work with him and to put T-Boots on all his rides. Can’t wait for Thursday!!!

Travis Day
EquiFit, inc.[/QUOTE]

Of course you do it’s only about the all mighty $$$…

[ridgeback]

[QUOTE=citymouse;3458627]
Well said Yankee, Well Said!

I don’t think people on here are every happy, it really seem as if so many come on thsi board to see who they can “attack” today. Which one us ever thought the USA would walk away with the gold medal and in such amazing fashion.

YES, McLain has made some very bad decisions in his past (the chips in the boots for example), and YES his father did something which is beyond reprehensible (sp??), BUT McLain is not his father, and for the other, he has paid his dues for his mistake - LET IT GO! Why was no one on here going crazy over the fact that they put Amy on the eventing team after what happened to her at Rolex, of wait that’s okay because she paid her dues with the FEI, but for McLain it is not enough!

I am sorry you all have to feel such spite towards someone instead of being as proud as the rest of us are for our team and for what they accomplished TOGETHER![/QUOTE]

Very happy for team USA and was cheering Mclain on but maybe it was a poor choice of words, for some us the word horseman really means something. Mclain is a great rider but he’s no horseman. JMHO

[Madeline]

@ridgeback;3458218

great rider but hardly a horseman…check out how many times he’s gotten in trouble with the FEI…

Just out of curiosity, how many times is that?

[ridgeback]

[QUOTE=Madeline;3458651]
Just out of curiosity, how many times is that?[/QUOTE]

two or three times could be more but that is all I remember…

[CoolMeadows]

Only a great horseman can keep a horse fit, game and soft eyed for the length of time McLain’s kept Sapphire going. There is no faking the attitude a horse has at that level, other stuff maybe but that is one happy mare.

I’m wary of the accusations against him and wouldn’t be surprised if he was set up or was just the closest person to some plastic chips on the ground. I don’t believe much of what I hear in the horse world and since there’s no video of him clearly abusing a horse on Youtube (like another Olympian), or a written account by him preserved on the internet confessing his “lack of horsemanship” (like one sanctimonious poster here who decided because her new horse cribbed it basically didn’t deserve to live), then I will draw my own conclusions based on his and his horses behaviour. Everyone’s free of course to believe whatever the FEI spews without hard evidence.

I thought he sounded like a great horseman on AP, clearly very respectful of his horse and in tune with her personality.

[FancyFree]

What are the details concerning the spiked boots? How do you even do that to a pair of boots? Was he charged for doing that to his horse?

Sorry but I have to agree with those that feel he isn’t a very good horseman if those allegations are true. He is a wonderful rider, but how could anyone do that to a horse? :no:

[ridgeback]

[QUOTE=CoolMeadows;3458661]
Only a great horseman can keep a horse fit, game and soft eyed for the length of time McLain’s kept Sapphire going. There is no faking the attitude a horse has at that level, other stuff maybe but that is one happy mare.

I’m wary of the accusations against him and wouldn’t be surprised if he was set up or was just the closest person to some plastic chips on the ground. I don’t believe much of what I hear in the horse world and since there’s no video of him clearly abusing a horse on Youtube (like another Olympian), or a written account by him preserved on the internet confessing his “lack of horsemanship” (like one sanctimonious poster here who decided because her new horse cribbed it basically didn’t deserve to live), then I will draw my own conclusions based on his and his horses behaviour. Everyone’s free of course to believe whatever the FEI spews without hard evidence.

I thought he sounded like a great horseman on AP, clearly very respectful of his horse and in tune with her personality.[/QUOTE]

:lol::lol::lol: Some horses are just happier then others and it doesn’t always have anything to do with the rider…