Well the FEI over ruled the ground jury with regards to Bettina’s error in athens and the CAS had to step in and tell the FEI they had no right to over rule the ground jury and she was stripped of gold and her time faults reinstated… This would not be the first time that the FEI has played God.
Having not seen the jump in question I cannot comment about the boulders presenting any threat to safety. However, ANY obstacle or component of any obstacle that could present a danger-factor should be scrutinzed and/or removed if thought to be too much of a threat. Good for Princess Haya for acknowledging the current climate of Eventing and taking action.
As far as Michael E-S, what a whiny immature way to react. Princess Haya didn’t ask for the jump to be removed, she asked that there be a change made to it’s appearance/ ground-line. He’s acting like she insulted him directly. Grow up or take your toys and go home and let the rest of us move on. What a jerk.
Wow,I thought that fence looked rather “airy”.
I dont blame Mike for being annoyed.
The fence looked a lot better and more inviting the way he built it.
It was totally out of line for her to demand the change and to do it without going through the ground jury or the POGJ. Mike ES does not strike me as someone who takes well to interference in his courses in general, but he damn well should be mad
I certainly hope he does not follow through on his threat to never work with the FEI again, we need him at WEG 2010!!
Wow - Mike is one of the most accomodating people in the world to work with, so for him to get that angry.
But, here’s a question - Would there not have been rider reps there who if there were concerns shoul have been the ones to address that, rather than going over everyone’s heads? Anyone have the inside track on it?
If you look at the pic in the article, it looks to me like the “boulders” create something of a ground line. Fence looks worse without them!
[QUOTE=fargonefarm;3432131]
Good for Princess Haya for acknowledging the current climate of Eventing and taking action.[/QUOTE]
She completely circumvented the RULES. They are there for a reason. She is a complete hypocrite and showed that those who sit on the FEI can change things as they see fit without going through the proper channels.
For the team managers to go to her is even WORSE. They should have gone through rider reps and the GJ. Instead they were the ones who were whining.
The sport is in trouble and this person displays a complete disregard for the FEI’s own rules and processes. It shows that the FEI does NOT take their own rules seriously, so why should the riders?
By the way, there used to be a VERY similar fence on the old Jackson Hole Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced courses. From experience, the type of fence rides much better with the rocks.
Look at the latest…
Her Royal Highness, Princess Haya is really cleaning up her FEI stables.
Experienced and good people have reseigned the last two years. It’s obvious that our Princess is not coming from a background where democratie is very high on the agenda.
Theo
In the article, he didn’t say that he would “never work for the FEI” again. He said he would refuse to go on any of their advisory committees. So the WEG should not be affected.
My understanding is that the rocks in the pictures were the ones that were left and not the ones she had removed. Based on the report I heard, the ones that were removed were stacked infront of the non-jumpable portion of the fence to make clear “do not jump here” and those rocks were replaced by the bushes you can see in the pictures. At least that is what I heard and it is consistent with what I saw last night because those groundline rocks were on the course last night as were those bushes and since the Princess got her way, it follows that the groundline rocks were not what were removed
The rocks that were acting as a groundline were left in- the ones that were removed were the ones that blocked the portion of the jump that you were not supposed to jump. Those rocks were replaced with the bushes you could see online last night
Comment to posts #2 and #5
The FEI cannot seem to keep a president. Why?
Well said, Reed. I saw the modified version last night and also thought it looked much better with the rocks.
Maybe she should name the “several” team managers.
To me it looked fine. Unless you headed for the area that was pretty obvious you weren’t supposed to jump, the rocks were in a good spot. At least via picture
you’re right Princess Haya,
HOW DARE Mike E-S put a substantial groundline in front of an airy vertical fence! because OF COURSE its common knowledge that no groundline is much safer than any groundline at all!
your arrogant ignorance is remarkable, but definitely not surprising.
I don’t get it-- the FEI President reviews x-c?? Has she done this at other FEI events?
I thought it was up to the rider representative to bring up anything to the Ground Jury.
And I thought the Ground Jury reviews the course?
It is my understanding the FEI President has equestrian experience in FEI showjumping and endurance. What qualifies her for eventing x-c?
Mike Etherington-Smith is the consummate pro when it comes to course building.
The only reason Princess Hymen is there is because she has pots of money STRIKE THAT her husband has pots of money, and she likes to dabble in horses.
Wouldn’t you be pi–ed?
Maybe you could all wear rock pins for his retirment bash at the WEGs.
I agree she was arrogant but the rocks she wanted moved were not groundlines. The groundline rocks remained where they were
I’d have thought she’d be more in a knot about the drainage system “rocks” off over the course…
