Returning your Olympic hopeful to the owners

[Manni01]

And you love to invest around 5000 $ for the horse every month for 6 years?? Just to sit in the VIP area at the Olympics and cheer for your horse??

Not sure whether I would consider this even if I could afford it.
I don’t assume they ride the horse during these years they simply pay….

in the moment I gave my upper level Dressage horse to a young trainer to show her to get an reputation in the area…. (The trainer, she is new in the area)
Of course this is on a much lower level but I am extremely careful not to give away control. She rides my mare about 4 times during a week and I manage her the rest of the time… I have bred and owned this horse for 15 years and I prefer to keep her close to me. I watch every ride. She will do a show riding my horse PSG and I1 the beginning of march and I will go from there… for sure I would not commit for 6 years…

[enjoytheride]

Of course nobody is forcing an owner to foot the bill. I have friends who own very nice horses for trainers they believe in. It’s often the only way trainers can get to the top of their sport. That’s the system we have. However, some here are being pretty nasty to the owners for no longer footing the bill when it seems like the trainer was honest that the goal didn’t fit the horse. If someone called me “ruthless” among other things when I made a choice about money I’d be much less likely to do it again.

[SillyHorse]

@Manni01

And you love to invest around 5000 $ for the horse every month for 6 years?? Just to sit in the VIP area at the Olympics and cheer for your horse??

Did I say I wanted to do that? Take a chill pill, dear. Plenty of people do it, you just don’t know them.

[Manni01]

She did not talk about the Olympics in 2028

[Manni01]

Well then your post was kind of away from Reality… you don’t get to sit around and watch your beautiful horse ridden by an worldclass rider for free​:blush:

And I am pretty sure that in Europe most of these arrangements end with the sale of the horse (probably to the US ).
At least the Pros I know closer are without any illusions…

[enjoytheride]

A lot of people get enjoyment out of watching a trainer bring a horse up the levels and show them. You likely have a very small circle if you don’t know anyone who does this.

[SillyHorse]

Please, just leave me alone, ok?

[Manni01]

Probably ….

[Manni01]

If you post on a discussion board you should be able to deal with responses…

[SillyHorse]

Not your kind of belligerence. Back onto ignore with you. Bye!

[catzndogz22]

It sounds like Laura was plotting a course for 2028 but the owners had dreams of 2024. They probably fancied the idea of hobnobbing in Paris with Akiko Yamazaki.

Okay, that last part was a little cynical but I get the sense that they aspire to enjoy the spotlight.

[enjoytheride]

So an owner buys a trainer an Olympic mount and they should not be expected to enjoy a trip to Paris?

[Annie10]

they certainly should but not at the expense of the horse. if he’s not ready he’s not ready.

[enjoytheride]

Which is why the horse is going home…

[Annie10]

i was answering your question above.

[MsM]

The situation kind of explains why so many of our top riders ride horses that someone else trained to FEI. Guess it would be a lot easier to get a sponsor to pay for a horse with a real chance at the next Olympics than one that is a lesser known commodity and, at best, wouldn’t be ready until the following Olympics.

[SusanO]

I don’t know much about the owners but damn that is a beautiful farm. All horses well fed and no trucks used as fencing. And lovely green grass!

[ASB_Stars]

Interesting to me that Bragdell had the horse prior. He is completely capable of bringing a horse up through the levels, and competing at GP. Wonder why the horse left Maryland?

I think that it would be wonderful to have unlimited funds to send a horse to a trainer, and watch the horse compete at the Olympics. That would be way cool.

Clearly, LG is cutting her losses, and I can’t blame her a bit. If they are not going to be able to carry the horse and commit to her until 2028, when the horse might have the miles why spend the itme?

[SillyHorse]

@MsM

The situation kind of explains why so many of our top riders ride horses that someone else trained to FEI.

It’s a lovely goal to train your own horse up to Olympic level, but when you attempt it, it’s a crap shoot. A horse can seem as though the sky’s the limit, and then it tops out at PSG or even fourth level. It lacks the ability or the ambition, or both, to go any farther. And then there are oodles of horses that people do train through GP but they don’t have the brilliance or fire for success in international competition. If you are aiming for the Olympics, you have a better chance of getting there with a known quantity, a horse that has been proven in international competition, rather than trying to bring one through the levels yourself.

[ninakl]

I live right down the road from the farm and it is beautiful. The community is very happy that they bought the farmland so it wouldn’t get snapped up for McMansions. I