[QUOTE=Guin;6450398]
We know. It just came out REALLY funny. :lol: I hope you heal quickly![/QUOTE]
Thanks 
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;6450248]
Pain In The Ass - is that what you meant?
Every time a Pentathlon thread comes up, all the haters come out of the woodwork and start up again - not so many, but they are loud.
Pony Club has its version of Pentathlon, called Tetrathlon, except the riding is x-country and there is no fencing, so it is not penta, being five, but four sports.[/QUOTE]
In Pony Club Tetrathlon, the riding part is show jumping.
Granted they are on saint horses but I would hardly say they are jumping 3’6" to 4’ more like 3’ to 3’3". I don’t know if I would claim it is abusive but defiantly hard on those good horses but no worse than any school horse has dealt with.
So how do you feel about bull riding? Is that abusive?
You would hope these pentathlon people would have spend more time in the saddle because this is the phase that can turn the whole event up-side-down.
[QUOTE=Satin Filly;6450172]
OMG…where’s PITA when you need them??
Just at the first horse/rider’s round in the video below. This poor animal is a SAINT! Look at how the neck is bent as the rider uses his poor mouth to get her leg back over the saddle!! :eek::no::mad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3w2wFkmo8No[/QUOTE]
Were the commentators saying that that woman is/was a World Champion???
Jeeziz, that would drive we joining PETA.
Surely they can screen the athletes beforehand for some basic riding ability? That was borderline abusive.
In Pony Club Tetrathlon my kids rode x-country! So it has changed, or is per choice of organizer?
Slightly off topic, but I thought I would answer the question about pony club rally.
Elements which must be included in PC Tetrathlon rally. Every nationals I have seen have completed their riding rounds inside a ring, with stadium jumps mixed with the gates. Thought I would include the quote from the book :)!
“A. Slip Rail and Gate in both rounds
B. Slip Rail in Round one and Gate in Round two or visa versa (only use one obstacle per round)
C. Round two is a regular show jumping round with no Slip Rail and Gate
D. Round two is a regular show jumping round with no Slip Rail and Gate and include a jump off if the round is clean.
E. Either round one or round two may utilize the slip rail and gate in a fashion allowing the rider to exit and reenter the ring and proceed to negotiate a limited number of fixed cross country jumps.
Notice of which format will be followed shall be stated in the Rally briefing.”
[QUOTE=jenbrin;6450590]
Granted they are on saint horses but I would hardly say they are jumping 3’6" to 4’ more like 3’ to 3’3".[/QUOTE]
You are correct. That video is from World Cup #1 in Charlotte, NC in early March ‘12. Because it was the first WC of the competition year, the fences were not going to be maxed out. The organizers said in their requests for horses that the course would be 3’3" max with most jumps more like 3’.
As a general rule, the height of the jumps reflects what the capabilities of the weaker horses in the pool. All are tested over the course in the pre-competition day Jury Ride, and the course is adjusted as necessary.
The fences at the Olympics will be set closer to the 1.20m max, but then all of these athletes have qualified either via world ranking points or through placings at designated qualifying competitions.
[QUOTE=Satin Filly;6450172]
OMG…where’s PITA when you need them??
Just at the first horse/rider’s round in the video below. This poor animal is a SAINT! Look at how the neck is bent as the rider uses his poor mouth to get her leg back over the saddle!! :eek::no::mad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3w2wFkmo8No[/QUOTE]
As terrible as her ride was that horse walked on the course “walked” on tossing its head and being terrible about its mouth. I don’t think he helped the situation to be any less painful for either of them.
After watching most of that video I can say that I’ve seen just as bad on any given day ripping around the lower lvl jumpers at most rated shows.
[QUOTE=Lynnwood;6450785]
As terrible as her ride was that horse walked on the course “walked” on tossing its head and being terrible about its mouth. I don’t think he helped the situation to be any less painful for either of them.
After watching most of that video I can say that I’ve seen just as bad on any given day ripping around the lower lvl jumpers at most rated shows.[/QUOTE]
Except that this is at a WorldCup show…
If my horse had such a rider on its back, I bet you she’d toss her head even more than this one, even at the walk. This horse was terrible about its mouth because the rider was terrible about his hands!
Huh?
Really?
Perhaps you have not heard of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army
As recently as 2005 I was in Beijing and visited several stables outside the city. At one they had just hosted a clinic with Capt. Mark Phillips.
The horses & riding - post-Cultural Revolution, may not be up to UK or US standards, but they exist.
While I agree China’s recent history may not have an extensive equestrian culture, you can’t discount 2000+ years.
I’ll check the info in your link to EN and I will try to watch Pentathalon in London this year if network TV broadcasts any of it.
No cable or satellite for 2Dogs :no:
[QUOTE=2DogsFarm;6450900]
Really?
Perhaps you have not heard of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army[/QUOTE]
Been there. Seen 'em. Worth it, and the food in Xian is great, but none of it has anything to do with modern equestrian sports. 
[QUOTE=2DogsFarm;6450900]Really? As recently as 2005 I was in Beijing and visited several stables outside the city. At one they had just hosted a clinic with Capt. Mark Phillips.
The horses & riding - post-Cultural Revolution, may not be up to UK or US standards, but they exist.[/QUOTE]
I’ve been out to those clubs, too. Some are very nice. But these were, at that time, very recent developments. In the mid-90s, when I was in the Beijing area with a delegation that was working on the earlier China Olympic bid (the one that failed), these places didn’t exist. Neither did all those ring roads around the city or all those cars.
[QUOTE=2DogsFarm;6450900]I’ll check the info in your link to EN and I will try to watch Pentathalon in London this year if network TV broadcasts any of it.
No cable or satellite for 2Dogs :no:[/QUOTE]
Pentathlon is held on the final two days of the Games. The men’s is on the penultimate day; the women’s is on the final day, and IIRC, the women’s pentathlon medals will be the very last medals to be dispensed at London 2012.
But please do watch. It’s a fantastic sport.
Everyone on here who’s done IHSA has done exactly that, except there is about FIVE minutes with the random-draw horse (many of whom are cranky, questionable school types who’ve often had enough with being worked by the time you get on them), and you may adjust your stirrups and walk. NO warm-up fences, no work at other gaits, no touching any other part of their equipment, until you enter the arena and are being judged. By comparison, the pentathaletes have it easy.
I don’t consider it abusive (for me, abuse is beating or starving and that’s about it), but I’ve seen better riding at small-county 4-H fairs on average. One or two of the teams from the richest first-world countries are not too bad, but most of the riders are so bad I’m actually rooting for them to fall off.
[QUOTE=alibi_18;6450882]
Except that this is at a WorldCup show…
If my horse had such a rider on its back, I bet you she’d toss her head even more than this one, even at the walk. This horse was terrible about its mouth because the rider was terrible about his hands![/QUOTE]
I think I’ve read even in just this thread . “that” particular horse apparently had a rearing issue w/out the addition of the not great rider.
There were several very good /decent rides. I also saw a few most likely schooling horses donated for the event that were anything but honest rides and certainly did not belong in World Cup event. So maybe its on both hands the horses provided need to be suitable and the riders need to step up their game.
Either way a cool sport.
[QUOTE=danceronice;6451113]
Everyone on here who’s done IHSA has done exactly that, except there is about FIVE minutes with the random-draw horse (many of whom are cranky, questionable school types who’ve often had enough with being worked by the time you get on them), and you may adjust your stirrups and walk. NO warm-up fences, no work at other gaits, no touching any other part of their equipment, until you enter the arena and are being judged. By comparison, the pentathaletes have it easy.
I don’t consider it abusive (for me, abuse is beating or starving and that’s about it), but I’ve seen better riding at small-county 4-H fairs on average. One or two of the teams from the richest first-world countries are not too bad, but most of the riders are so bad I’m actually rooting for them to fall off.[/QUOTE]
Yes… but the IHSA riding I’ve seen has been much better by comparison… and except for the very, very best in IHSA, they’re NOT jumping 3’ courses. Also in IHSA, the incentive is to look good and go slow (equitation), but there is no such incentive in pentathalon. Its jumpers, they’re trying to go as fast as possible with no regard for correct riding.
The riders all look like ammies in the sport of riding, dunno about the other sports. In Olympic equestrian competitions most of the riders are pros, at least these days. So do the Pentathalon riders have to be ammies, or can a pro rider decide to compete too?
[QUOTE=danceronice;6451113]
I don’t consider it abusive (for me, abuse is beating or starving and that’s about it), .[/QUOTE]
Would you consider it abusive for a horse to be ridden like this by 3-4 different riders, each with a 20 minute warmup (we are not talking walking as they are trying to get to know the horse), within a 2 hour window - so basically non-stop?
IN Atlanta heat of 99 degrees, it was definitely abusive.
and the men were absolutely horrible.
and rougher.
and heavier.
and I imagine the same horses did both days also.
The men Pentathalon riders that were in Atlanta treated the horses like a tool - bicycle/gun. etc Not surprising as that is what the organizers did to allowing them to go like that.
1996 - Atlanta, 2000 - Sydney, 2004 - Athens, 2008 - Beijing, 2012 - London -
Atlanta was many years ago and quie a few Olympics ago.
and Beijing was also a disaster, as everyone said. The posted video in this thread is supposed to be a World Champion, and this year, and not the men.
Oh, yea, I see a great improvement :no:
[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;6451691]
and Beijing was also a disaster, as everyone said. The posted video in this thread is supposed to be a World Champion, and this year, and not the men.
Oh, yea, I see a great improvement :no:[/QUOTE]
That rider is 2009 world champion Qian Chen. She was 2nd in the 2012 world championships.
Her ride at this year’s world’s can be see at 20:40 on this video.
As you can see, that ride in Charlotte was a bad day for Qian Chen. She usually scores well in the riding, and, if you go to her UIPM athlete profile, you’ll see that she got into pentathlon because she ‘loves riding.’
In pentathlon, once you get on your horse, that’s your horse. You can’t switch to a reserve horse unless your horse goes lame. So when Ms. Chen found herself on a rearing nightmare in the warm-up, she could either scratch or give it a go. In a year when WC points mean the difference between going to London or staying home, that’s a difficult choice for an athlete.
Fairview, do you think it’s possible to live up to your name and stop grinding your 16 year-old axe against modern pentathlon?
[QUOTE=Starda01;6451397]
The riders all look like ammies in the sport of riding, dunno about the other sports. In Olympic equestrian competitions most of the riders are pros, at least these days. So do the Pentathalon riders have to be ammies, or can a pro rider decide to compete too?[/QUOTE]
Can anyone answer this question?
