Sunrise, Imke’s #1 mount, who had to withdraw after the teamcompetition at the HongKong Olympics out of competition for a few months.
Sunrise who injured herself during the victorielap at HongKong has recoverd from the initial injury, but at her last check the vets adviced her to withdraw Sunrise from competition for a few months. Imke and the owners don’t want to take any risc and will follow the advice of the Vet-clinic.
Theo
I hope she gets better soon. She is a lovely horse.
Maybe it’s not so dumb not to do victory gallops after all. 
I didn’t realiaze she was injured during the victory lap. How unfortunate. I love watching victory gallops, or laps, but honestly, they are probably not a great idea. Do you think someday the riders will say no more and ask that the horses simply be led in hand or something?
Some are doing that already–or collecting their prizes on foot.
[QUOTE=Eclectic Horseman;3494771]
Some are doing that already–or collecting their prizes on foot.[/QUOTE]
I don’t know, if I won any medal in the Olympics, I would be all about the victory lap. Mine would look more like Reiner Klimke’s, though - with all kinds of pretty movements, not just a gallop. And that is whether I win in Eventing or Dressage…you know…assuming I get that far before I die and all…
On a completely unrelated note, I have always found it amusing that a window blind company sponsors a horse called “Sunrise”…
So it was wise of the riders to accompany Anky on a victory trot after all … despite the flack.
what kind of injury was it? thats a bummer. i too, love watching, and riding in the victory gallops…but i have just taken my ribbon before and walked out…i base that on how my horse feels on a given day. if he still feels fresh and willing, then we go have fun ( he LOVES them…thinks they are races…and he likes to squeal through them too!!)…if he is feeling tired, then we skip it and go for a walk around the show grounds instead.
I agree that victory gallops–while fun and great to experience–may not be the best idea, especially after a huge competition. First, the horses are tired, and thus more likely to injure themselves. Second, many horses get excitable and can get a bit out of hand. Pair this with riders who are happy about winning and also probably tired, and things can go wrong very quickly. I’ve personally never seen anything really bad happen during a victory gallop, but I’ve seen many riders let their horses careen around (sometimes small, indoor) areas, and I can see a disaster looming. I know a victory walk wouldn’t be as exciting, but we really do need to consider the horse’s physical and mental state after a testing competition like the Olympics, World Cup, or even a Grand Prix.
The Olympic winner Rembrandt was kicked during one of those things and that ended his career - he was kicked in the hock, that was pretty much the end of that. He was laid up for 1 1/2 - 2 yr, then competed briefly, maybe one show and had to be retired. He’s not the only one. Those things are very dangerous. The stadiums can be very very loud and the horses get very excited.
If anyone has ever watched a Pony Club PPG victory gallop you will know what hairy is. But the ponies are at least used to kids who have a need for speed. There have probably been a share of injuries too, just I have not seen them. And theponies are not worth a million or two bucks (except to the kid).
I am always on edge watching those darn things at Regionals when the Jr/Yg Riders go out to collect their ribbons! I’ve seen a few too many horses end up out of control WITH child in the saddle. Although they are a fun experience on a trusted more laid back mount. My TB mare would have a meltdown between the other horses and loud music and wouldn’t surprise me in the least if she attempted to bolt during a victory lap.
[QUOTE=slc2;3501701]
The Olympic winner Rembrandt was kicked during one of those things and that ended his career - he was kicked in the hock, that was pretty much the end of that. He was laid up for 1 1/2 - 2 yr, then competed briefly, maybe one show and had to be retired. He’s not the only one. Those things are very dangerous. The stadiums can be very very loud and the horses get very excited.[/QUOTE]
And when you have a stallion (like our own Darwin) they want to lead the gang. He never accepted to stay in-line with his ranking during the victory galop. And did I already tell you that he was the most easy going horse in the world, you could launch firecrackers next to him he wouldn’t blink an eye, but when it came down to a victory galop he needed space in front of him.
Theo
A great many people, not just Anky, have bowed out of the gallop laps in the past. I don’t blame them a bit. It would not be nice to have a horse you have spent a dozen years training every day, get kicked in the leg and have to be put down or retired in pain the rest of his days, just for a few moments of showing off. I’d actually prefer something safer, such as each rider making a short gallop alone in a separate part of the arena, while the others stand still with handlers. These horses are too expensive and too much time has gone into developing them, too much heartache, too much dreams, to toss one out to show off a bit for spectators. Competitions are bad enough these days, with the venues not designed for horses (Athens, Hong Kong, for example).
I thought Anky handled the “victory lap” well. She looked like she might join in for a moment but read Salinero’s attitude (explosive) and quietly left the stadium while the others went for a fang.
The Germans galloped along in a perfect drill-team formation, while the Danish were a bit feral.
Interestingly, the eventers all seem to be able to handle victory gallops…I’ve even seen people doing it quite sanely and safely while leading another horse and holding a bouquet of flowers.
Maybe the dressage victory laps should be in passage or tempis.
Not for that long, I wouldn’t, that’s not fair to the horse.
But it should be something the horse is doing every single day and does often in the stadium, and is used to. THe dressage horses only get galloped in specific places on certain days, where as the eventers gallop in the stadium routinely to do show jumping.
Frankly, I would be just as impressed to see the dressage horses do a collected walk or a few steps of piaffe. But if they could gallop separately and avoid risk of a kick, that would be better.
This whole thing of 80 tempe changes or passaging for laps and laps, why do that to the horses just to please some spectators. They get enough work and enough wear and tear as it is.
Back in the “good old days” when the individual show jumping was the final event prior to the closing ceremonies, they would present those medals just before the closing ceremonies. I was told that at the 1984 LA Olympics, the show jumping medallists - Fargis, Holmfeld and (Swiss?), borrowed other horses (police horses? eventers? pentathalon horses?) to ride for that ceremony, rather than the more supposedly “high strung” Touch of Class, Abdullah and the Swiss (?) mare that got the bronze.
That’s right! The dressage horse shouldn’t have to gallop (well…maybe they should - heard that’s what eventer Headley Britannia did for quite a while to “warm up” before her very super test…then again she’s a mere eventer…).
And here are all these experts saying Reiner Kimke is the be all and end all, but that today’s dressage horses shouldn’t have to passage or tempi change around a little stadium? Come on! how bloody precious are they! Ooh only 15 steps of piaff and 30 of passage!! or they might break. Or shrink. Or something. AND they have to have big white bandages and bell boots on.
If you had any substantial investment in a horse like Sunrise or any of the olympic equine athletes, I think that your attitude would be adjusted accordingly.
That’s true. After spending several million to campaign a horse, several million to buy it and have it trained, getting kicked during a victory gallop doesn’t sound so clever. Too, I wouldn’t like to be sitting on the horse that kicked the other horse and ended its career- you can’t always stop a horse you’re sitting on from kicking. That could create a little bit of bad feeling.
In any case, no matter how much people criticize, what to do in the victory gallop remains the choice of the horse’s owner and rider, not someone on a bulletin board.
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