I think 20 clears was a lot in the qualifying round.
However, I’d rather see a course with too many clears where nobody gets hurt, since some of the Olympic competitors will be less experienced at that level than others.
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That was super crazy. He must do no stirrup November all year round.
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Makes sense as to why they start on the clear round!
And yes, would rather see too many clears than anybody hurt. I do think there was still maybe a better balance to be struck.
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I seem to recall it went too much the other way at Tokyo. So maybe they’re still trying to find the right balance.
My old trainer had us do a lot of no stirrups, but something less practiced is jumping with one stirrup (and switching which one that is!). I screen recorder Martin’s round and sent to everyone in the barn to let them know this is why we practice![quote=“MHM, post:835, topic:797755”]
That was super crazy. He must do no stirrup November all year round.
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I wonder though…many of these top level riders (esp men) their leg swings WAY back over the fence, which I think is exactly why Martin’s stirrup came off in the first place…their heels are not down over the fence. Obviously they are way more successful than I could ever dream of, and everyone has their own style. Just an observation.
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Some of them definitely have a much more classic style than others. But if they’ve gotten to the Olympics, it must have worked pretty well for them so far.
I have to say there was a guy that I saw doing the show jumping phase of the three day event in Paris. I believe he was from Australia, and he looked like he could win an equitation final tomorrow. That was kind of incredible.
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my guess is that was chris burton, who was rewarded with a bronze medal. He can go over the toughest courses with no time penalties and he is just a terrific rider.
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Yes, I think that was his name. I guess he almost made the Australian straight show jumping team for Paris as well.
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Well that was the craziest show jumping I think I’ve ever seen! I will say highly entertaining since all the horses and riders walked out fine, in spite of that course. That was a killer course for sure and proved even the superstars are human after all.
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So sad for Karl.
I thought for sure he was going to have another clear round day. He looked devastated, but I know we will see him back. I hope he feels good that he was able to help bring home a Silver medal and is still walking away an Olympic Silver Medalist! I also hope people begin to respect him more.
I mean, McLain has been to 5 or 6 Olympics and still has only managed team medals, so he’s in good company. It just goes to show how hard they are to get. I loved how Steve Guerdat said that he’s going to appreciate this medal more than he did his first one, because he didn’t appreciate it enough.
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This is why I dislike those light stirrups. I want to be able to regain easily - I’m not as tight in the tack as these athletes!!
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I believe that was due to the fact that she actually just became a grandmother.
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Freejumps aren’t lightweight, they’re just as heavy as a fillis stirrup (which is part of why I love them). It just looked like it just was hanging at a funny angle that was making it bounce instead of falling flat.
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This includes a video of the fall, in case anyone missed it. Pretty darn crazy.
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Many of the horses have already jumped two massive courses in the team competition. Personally, I don’t think it is necessary to test the horses to their limits each round.
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If he hadn’t had to second guess the forward distance to the triple bar, I’m sure the mare would have jumped clean. But even the world no. 1 got King Edward to some hairy distances throughout the rounds. I’m sure Karl is beating himself up, but to go mistake free for 3 rounds at that level was a great achievement!
Too bad Ilex didn’t make the cut. I think he would have been an ideal horse for today’s course. Though jumping over the standards has not made him the fastest this week!
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I wondered too if it wasn’t also a tack failure. Like maybe King Edward’s unconventional bridle didn’t help von Eckermann out of this situation.
On the other hand, at World Cup in Las Vegas (mentioned in the article for a different Olympic fail) we all witnessed Shutterfly do the same thing. The jumps were tightly spaced in the arena and at the wall they were meant to make a sharp right turn, but Shutterfly went left and MMB went splat.
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That’s interesting, I’ve used them on someone else’s saddle before and I really could swear they were super lightweight. And with the way it was flying around in all directions made it seem that way as well
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Hard to say.
As sad as it was in both cases, it is a little reassuring to know that wacky stuff like that also happens to the best riders in the world. Just like the rest of us.
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What I loved is watching Karl blaming himself and worrying about what he could have done better, and King Edward’s rider and the vets and grooms running to his horse.
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