Wasn’t that what eventually sunk Marylin Little (aka Bloody Mary) ?
At the time, I had the impression that her sponsors had had enough.
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Excellent suggestion ! Thank you for the attached information.
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Did she suffer any ramifications from that?
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I don’t think she’s “sunk” so much as she’s now primarily a show jumper (which I think she was already sort of trending that way prior to the incident in 2018). IIRC, Scandalous was the only horse she was eventing.
I know she lost a few sponsors, but she’s definitely not completely out of the picture.
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His sponsors are defending him in Facebook comments lol
Ground jury’s have been sued over things like lost qualifications, potential prize money, and missing out on potential teams over things like this. Some GJ members talked about it on the Eventing Podcast I believe? I listen to a lot of podcasts so I can’t remember which one exactly it was, but it’s an actual thing they deal with and worry about. Whether or not they would be successful who knows. There are Canadian riders in the past who sued selectors and were successful in that.
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No.
I think she actually left because the Eventing community roasted her into another dimension.
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Eww… hopefully she’ll get the same reception in show jumping.
… for good reason.
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Didn’t she compete in showjumpimg before she moved to eventing?
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Yes, same as her mother, Lynne, who was a very successful showjumper.
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Cross posted on the Badminton 2023 thread because I wasn’t sure which one was more active.
After watching OT’s treatment of Swallow Springs, I just couldn’t stay quiet any longer. I put together a letter to each of his sponsors and messaged them through Facebook. I have received responses to five so far. Of those, only one company made my eyeballs bulge out with their response and support of Oliver. The responses are as follows:
MacWet Gloves: “Thank you for your concern. We have had a discussion with Oliver’s team and are considering our options.”
Suregrow UK: “As you rightly said, yet again one of our ambassadors and long-term user of our Suregrow products has made some bad decisions on a very big public state. We as yet, have not decided who we will be sponsoring this year, but with your views, and undoubtedly others, we will certainly be taking that into account. Many thanks for your message, Nikki”
GAIN Equine Nutrition: “Thank you for your message. Animal welfare has always been and continues to be a top priority for GAIN. We are highly focused on this topic and would like to assure you that horse welfare is of the highest priority to us. We value our relationship with our partners and will be monitoring the feedback that we are receiving on the matter. Many Thanks, GAIN”
Equestrian Arenas LTD: “Hi, thanks for the information, we will be dropping Mr Townend as a sponsor due to the poor feedback from the public. It’s such a shame as we intended to include him to get our RDA projects flying higher than before. Our charity work means more to us than any top rider profile! We are a none money sponsor to Oliver, which means we only advertise as we also do so much for charity. We don’t give him money or such like. Due to the amount of email about his ways, we are dropping him and also our contributions to the riding for the disabled. Thank you for your message, Matt”
…and the one that made me raise my eyebrows…
Cyclo-ssage Equine Massage: “I appreciate your right to your point of view. I can however assure you that there are not and never have been any welfare issues with the horses in Oliver Townend’s stables.”
It sounds like the sponsors are listening and at least thinking about doing the right thing. If you are feeling like you want to do something, consider messaging them and adding your opinion.
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This seems like an odd response.
I wrote to Flair nasal strips, as the only sponsor I might have purchased something from. No response yet.
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I’m wondering if they figure it might be best to not sponsor ANYone or ANYthing that isn’t more in their control, as brand image for a niche thing has got to be a huge deal/factor in sales.
I think the Canadian rider in question had an owner who was a partner at top firm. That was very likely a one off.
There is more than one Canadian who has done it!
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So I went to OT’s website to see who sponsors him - to make sure I am not using or buying anything from the respective companies - and … stunner … the list is gone. If anybody has a complete list and could share it, I’d be very appreciative.
I’ve absolutely despised him since he first came on the scene. So pathetic that yet again all he gets is a “warning” and not a yellow card or better yet, a total ban, from this and any other sport involving animals. Watching him totally take advantage of and betray the trust and heart of Swallow Springs truly makes me feel the need to throw up. I’m livid - watching it. 
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Pathetic and cowardly!
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Too bad he can’t take down the Wayback Machine 
https://web.archive.org/web/20221126101751/https://www.olivertownend.com/category/sponsors/
And in case the page takes too long to load, the sponsors are:
- GAIN Equine Nutrition
- Equi-Trek
- TRM Supplements
- Voltaire
- Point Two
- MacWet Gloves
- Mirrors For Training
- Veredus
- Mitchell Fox
- Cyclo-ssage
- Suregrow
- Flair
- Equestrian Arenas
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