@Djones, come sit in the naughty corner with me.
I have box wine (goon) and guac.
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Remembering someone’s post history apparently counts as cyber stalking. (I have been accused of the same, for the audacity of remembering what someone posted earlier.)
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In my experience I schooled my own horse the week before the competition. Some people have riders for their horses.
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Sooooo many people lie about their ability. Its happening this weekend with local event entries…a few people upgrading that are oblivious to their actual skill level. Probably won’t make it past the 3rd fence on XC.
I was at a clinic and the rider said her horse was a Prelim experienced horse, schooling 2nd level dressage. She proceeds to say how her coach just has her move one way and the horse pops into shoulder in. Clinician says, ok lets see him go for a bit then. Horse trots off head straight in the air, stiff as a 2 x 4 as if the rider has never heard the word suppleness in their life. Horse wouldn’t even go on the bit. Clinician has a look on the face of…is this person for real.
Even riders who have been riding a long time are delusional about their skill level. Honesty with themselves would go a long way.
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How dare we have memories!!! I don’t even OWN mares to give hormones to (or not). Who am I to think?
Mmm…GUAC and Cardbordeaux in a Solo cup. Thanks!
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I believe I read that the horses at Tokyo almost entirely were owned by the Riding Club… except for two. Saint Boy was one of the two privately owned. But it appears he is boarded at the riding club… so clearly there is an association.
Reports also indicated that Saint Boy’s owner was there in warm up immediately before Schleu’s ride, and offered advice on how to approach the course (enter the arena cantering apparently… which sounds to me like they meant that establishing a forward mindset was key…).
Maybe it was the owner or other professionals who rode him in the lead up to competition… who knows… but clearly the owner was present and involved.
Lastly… @JER mentioned in o e of her posts that horse selection CAN be an area of grift when it comes to Pentathlon. I’d be super curious to know how much the Riding Club was paid for use of the horses in 2020. From the rounds I saw bits and pieces of… there were some REALLY nice mounts. Most gave the impression that they were in their teens, and on the backside of jumping careers. I wonder how frequently any of these horses are jumping 1.2m in competition these days… it’s a big ask for any horse that has stepped down from that level for a considerable period of time. Furthermore… if these horses had stepped down from a higher level prior to Tokyo… there is a reason for it. That just leads to some more questions, most especially about soundness and how closely these horses were evaluated prior to competition.
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Don’t even try to imagine how Manni thinks! I’ll beat her to it, and just inform you that you are incapable. 
Even if you WERE capable of imagining how she thinks… it doesn’t matter. She prefers to only listen to experts.
ETA… I should recognize, for the record, that I am also not capable of imagining how Manni thinks. I will close it out by saying that it must be so trying for her to Grace us all with her presence in these discussions, given how superior she is.
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Is there any possible way we could stick to the subject at hand a bit more, and ignore the trolls? Or seals, or whatever the term is these days?
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Not really her fault…. But the poor sportsmanship, the inappropriate reaction the WEEPING over her lost dream rather than being concerned for the horse. UNACCEPTABLE.
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Ok okay okay… 
Another big ask is to have them partnered with riders of varying and questionable experience and ability.
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Yup. I think that goes to this whole issue of world pentathlon granting riding licenses to the national federations for riders of unproven ability, and the need for scrutiny and reform on that part of their rules, regs, and practices.
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Certainly I’d trust JER on the matter of grift with respect to pentathalon horse leases, but the numbers I’ve seen tossed around this thread are pretty small for 1.2 m horses. The expense to take your horse to the venue, for it to be in someone else’s control for a week, and the risk in putting two unknown riders on it is worth some money.
An event like the Olympics has quite the halo, and being able to be part of them and be behind the scenes is pretty exciting. I imagine a lot of owners are happy to participate for that reason alone.
Back in 1984, I received a letter soliciting my horse for the Olympic pentathalon. I would have considered it if he had been suitable, just for the chance to see my horse in the Olympics, how cool is that? 
I don’t remember the proposed payment but I recall thinking of it as maybe covering the expense to get him there.
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Another big ask is to have them partnered with riders of varying and questionable experience and ability.
Yes. I don’t think even Snowman would have tolerated some of those riders, and he was probably the most saintly packer ever seen in the show jumping world. We’re not talking about just an occasional bad distance here, or a rider getting left behind once. Most horses capable of jumping real height aren’t going to tolerate abusive use of whip and spurs, or having their face ripped off by unyielding, iron-fisted hands. That’s just reality, however much some of those riders may not appreciate it.
The minimum standard for the riding phase of MP has GOT to be raised, even if the fence height comes down (which it needs to)!
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I’d let her on mine but only if she rode in a neck rope, with no spurs, and no crop. My mare knows where the eject button is, she’d be fine.
Hmmm… Maybe the riding phase of MP should have the riders mounted bareback, with only a halter and lead rope. No whips or spurs allowed. And ALL the loaner horses should be chestnut mares! 
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Actually, isn’t it four unknown people - two women and two men?
If I horse can jump those courses they deserve a pretty good lease fee.
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Having been involved in IHSA for a very long time, I can say that getting appropriate horses even for that level is quite a challenge. We are very lucky to have school programs that bring their horses to the national show, but we are still always holding our breath during the very long week of showing. The horse that’s perfect schooling in the morning may come out differently when it’s time to be alone in the ring in front of a crowd. The horse that’s perfect on day one may quit on day two. We want everyone who walks in the ring to have a chance to win, not just get around - that’s hard.
I’m watching pony finals right now - kids fall off, get up, and pat their ponies as they smile and walk out of the ring. Huge pats and hugs for those who get around. Smiles everywhere. Love it!!!
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Even riders who have been riding a long time are delusional about their skill level. Honesty with themselves would go a long way.
Absolutely, but I suspect that being honest about your (lack of) riding skills is rather hampered by the knowledge that you HAVE to at least attempt to jump that 4’ course or forfeit your chances of an Olympic Medal.
The pursuit of glory rather than excellence has ruined many a sporting career. It’s just that in equestrian activities, that pursuit can also ruin or even kill an innocent animal.
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Love reading this.
And imagine that, kids acting more like adults than the adult at the pentathlon did.
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CBC still has it up, not sure if the content is blocked for non-Canadian IP addresses, you have to skip through all the other events, riding starts at about 3hrs: https://www.cbc.ca/player/sports/olympics/modern%20pentathlon
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