Wow, our Clark has his work cut out! Go Clark! 45 minutes out, I’m thinking, he must be in warm-up pretending it’s just another horse trial.
I swear Mark Todd just rode without spurs. I didn’t think that was legal above Intermediate? Are the Olympics governed by different rules or am I mistaken about this rule completely? Perhaps it’s a HT rule?
[QUOTE=Trinity;8782846]
I swear Mark Todd just rode without spurs. I didn’t think that was legal above Intermediate? Are the Olympics governed by different rules or am I mistaken about this rule completely? Perhaps it’s a HT rule?[/QUOTE]
The USEF rules changed in the last couple of years to say “Spurs are optional for all tests.” And I THINK that change was made because the FEI rules changed to make spurs optional.
Clark Montgomery is disappointed. So is Michael Jung. Kudos to William Fox-Pitt, I didn’t think his dressage was back to form, and I was wrong :).
I think with the reports of the XC being tougher than many expected, it will sure be a nail-biter to the finish.
Clark picked a bad moment to choke
[QUOTE=bushhog;8782871]
Clark picked a bad moment to choke[/QUOTE]
Harsh. Aside from.those 4 low scores his marks were nice. And considering Michael jung didn’t lay down a test in the 20s, there’s room for movement on cross country with time penalties
That was a harsh comment.
Agree, harsh wrt to Clark, given that it is his first time representing the US at this level and some were picking him to win the dressage - that’s a lot of pressure.
Win dressage over Burton, Jung, Sandra, WFP and Todd? Well, just having knowledge people think he could was a tribute in and of itself! 
It’s not what he wanted, but Clark is definitely in the hunt. Wouldn’t get too attached to the order after dressage - it is going to change. Probably quite a bit.
I wouldn’t consider a 46 “choking” especially when Jung is sitting on a 40. It makes an individual medal less likely, sure, but it’s a good strong team score.
It’s been jumping penalties and failure to complete on XC day that has IMO been the US’s downfall in recent years.
Who are the US commentators?
Can’t pin 'em after dressage for the final scores. It’s a long way to the podium, still.
Can’t pin 'em before the competition, either. That’s why they ride. :winkgrin:
The US picked Loughan Glen in large part because of his dressage scores. His XC record is spotty, and he hasn’t done a CCI this year. If he didn’t produce for dressage, given the rest of the US dressage score history, we’re doomed before XC even starts.
Kind of surprised at how empty the stands were today…big difference frm London.
I don’t think Clark choked. It looked like his horse was a little disobedient - I figure that is due to fitness. In the past his problem was that he wasn’t fit enough. XC is supposed to be a real test and he will need that fitness.
Michael’s Sam looked a little on the muscle today as well.
[QUOTE=coloradoride;8782904]
Kind of surprised at how empty the stands were today…big difference frm London.[/QUOTE]
Actually they said 8,000-10,000 were in attendance with a sparse-looking crowd. I don’t know if that was true and it is just a large stadium, or if that might be ticket sales, and not everyone attended.
In all honesty, that is a very poor approach to sports of any kind. Buck up. That’s what we expect of the athletes, and they need some enthusiasm behind them to come through and give the effort we expect of them.
This is why some coaches keep certain people away from their cross-country riders. Viney, you are now consigned to a far-away place, up in the bleachers, where the team can’t see your frowns or hear your negativity. :winkgrin:
The cross country course is going to be brand new to all the teams, and being in South America, it is bound to have a bit of a different look and feel compared to most of the horses’ and riders’ prior experiences. The riders are saying they believe both the time and the technicality are going to be influential - I sure hope so. Of course, on the flip side of that, I also hope it’s safe for all.
And even though Clark was probably the best US hope for a dressage score below 40 and therefore an individual medal, I’ll be a happy enough fan if we have a strong cross country performance and finish as a team.
[QUOTE=coloradoride;8782904]
Kind of surprised at how empty the stands were today…big difference frm London.[/QUOTE]
You’d fill stands at a schooling event in the UK !!
I don’t think that I am being negative; I think I’m being realistic.
If all the horses finish safely, I’ll be happy no matter where the US ends up.
If anyone thinks that athletes need public massaging to do their sport as well as possible, IMO that person is in some fantasy land.
Here’s an example of great sportsmanship (from H&H):
Germany’s Michael Jung, the defending individual Olympic champion with Sam FBW, currently holds third on 40.9.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “He was very good to ride and I had a good feeling. We made a mistake in the canter, but his concentration was directly back on me.”
