[QUOTE=RAyers;4395116]
As my trainer mentioned once, a lot of his training for Rolex was done riding his horse to his girlfriend’s house.[/QUOTE]
Sorry Reed, I cannot help myself. If your trainer rode bareback to his girlfriend’s house, I wonder how much fun they could have had together once he got there.
What is missing?
Denny, What is missing here?
Jack legoff used to speak of 4 or 5 factors to consider when riding a fence, direction, pace and and what else, ?I know you told me nearly 30 years ago; can it really have been that long ago?:lol:" “leave the rest to the horse”.
white birch!
The" Head of the Lake “was built with very white :yes:
birch rails; in contrast to what had been experienced on the rest of the course; A course designer/ organizer who saw it at he WC commented;” that jump alone would have used up her entire budget!:eek:
don’t you realize?
of course he did that so she could see his horse!:lol:
nd’s house.,Sorry Reed, I cannot help myself. If your trainer rode bareback to his girlfriend’s house, I wonder how much fun they could have had together once he got there.,Reply With Quote
Laurenson?
Mike is riding? Is that Laurenson
Grey goose
Notice how fast:yes: he is through sinkhole; he was fast not only across the ground but, through the combination and away:yes:
Blue stones’ other friend?
Was Bluestone ever called “clipper” or “skipper?” Whatever happened to the other Irish horse purchased for the team, at the same time?; I recall seeing him go around Radnor withe "other ;)rider"for the team; I believe she is now in Switzerland:confused:
[QUOTE=RAyers;4395116]
My point, playing is as much learning/training as arena work. This exercise does more to develop confidence and trust between horse and rider than any formal training program. As my trainer mentioned once, a lot of his training for Rolex was done riding his horse to his girlfriend’s house.[/QUOTE]
Ah gotcha, and I agree with you.
Did anyone else well up watching that? I knew I missed the long format, but I didn’t think i’d be sitting here at my work computer wiping away the tears!!!
[QUOTE=clivers;4395547]
Did anyone else well up watching that? I knew I missed the long format, but I didn’t think i’d be sitting here at my work computer wiping away the tears!!![/QUOTE]
There are many videos out there of the long format. But this one…in its entirety… seems to be somewhat different. I think for some of us it really does showcase an “era”, A time of youth or young adulthood, a time when some of us were introduced to the sport, a time when those riders had a mystical quality, and the horses were true “stars”.
Perhaps for some of a newer generation, who know nothing different, will feel the same way down the line, looking back at the sport, riders, and horses of today.
The Gray Goose
Hi Folks, Kim Walnes here, and I’d like to address some of the points you’ve made. I think that some of the horses from back then could do very well today. I know that Gray would have. He was handy, could hold a line no matter what, & jump from anywhere. He could steady up before a tricky jump, gallop off after it, and had a turbo boost that I’ve never experienced on any other horse. Karen Stives’ Ben Arthur was the same way. And both horses had scope to burn!
Gray was one of the few in those days who crossed over into pure dressage competitions. We placed first or high at Fourth Level at recognized competitions, and once when Jack LeGoff made us show Third Level at Devon before leaving for Europe in 1980, Gray and I came in 6th in Third Level, Test One. Of course, the tests were much less demanding in those days then thay are now, but still, it was the standard of the time.
Mike Plumb rode Quality Scope (Snoopy was his barn name) that year, who was owned by Ron Marra. Torrance rode Laser (bay) and Finvarra (Chestnut). Poltroon was the famous mare she rode in 1980 at the Alternate Olympics, and who was owned by the Marras.
To me, those days of the sport were dedicated to galloping at speed across the country, and jumping whatever was put in your way. The emphasis was on rhythm. Over and over Jack would pound it into us to keep the rhythm–even if we were steadying for a bounce or a tricky drop. What I see happening since the new format is that there are less open galloping jumps and more technical groupings of fences where the riders are forced to do a series of efforts that require precision and steadiness, and then they gallop off to the next group. This might work well for spectators, but not so well for the horses. I hunted in Ireland before I began eventing, and I gotta say that it’s amazing what a horse will jump when his blood is up (as it was after R&T & Steeplechase) and he’s galloping in a rhythm! Some of those drag hunts made eventing look mild!
As far as I know, in the 6 years that I competed internationally, I don’t remember (& my mind is defnitely not as sharp these days!) more than one rider death, and that was at the '82 WC in Luhmuhlen. And a whole lot less horses died–but then we weren’t giving them so many injections, nor using the drugs that are available now…our feeds were less sophisticated too. I always used straight grains with Gray. No mixes except for Calf Manna, which he thrived on.
Jimmy Wofford is right. It is about the partnership, trust, and respect between horse and rider–built day by day, schooling after schooling. Those that had it could go through anything.
Even though it was filmed in 1982, Riding For America still offers a lot. It follows the primary candidates in Show Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing through their last selection trials, & was one of the first to do the in depth interviews. David Hoffman, who made the film, was brilliant in his editing, and captured the personalities of each rider very well. It is still inspiring, and has lots to offer–worth viewing!
Great post MotherGoose!
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the youtube snippet–might have to find a copy somewhere!
Mothergoose,
Thanks so much for your insight. Really miss the sport as it was. Not that some aspects of fence design have not improved, but the spirit of the sport seems to have been lost along the way.
An anology in Mt. Climbing—
I read an article within the last several years comparing the attempts on Mt. Everest “back in the day” compared to now.
The “old” climbers, like Mallory, were pure adventurers. The routes up the mountain were unknown, there were no pins in the bad spots, the equipment was less sophisticated, there were no cell phones, two way radios, portable propane heaters, etc, etc.
There was far less commercialism. No tv coverage, no lucrative fees to guide people up the mountain, it was “amateur hour”, but not in a negative sense.
Those early climbers, according to the article, could be likened to the proverbial “band of brothers”, bound by the mystique of that mountain.
“Old” 3-day eventing was, similarly, very uncommercial. There were no pros in the early 60s when I started, no “event barns”.
Getting on an American team back then was a grand and glorious adventure, rather than a pipeline to financial gain. When some of the shrewder eventers in the late 80s, early 90s, realized that they could follow the hunter/jumper commercial model, and event for dollars, the seeds were sown for the demise of what you see on this video.
[QUOTE=billiebob;4396541]
Great post MotherGoose!
I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the youtube snippet–might have to find a copy somewhere![/QUOTE]
This film is now on DVD and can be purchased from David by following the link in the INFO section on youtube. For those who are collectors of equestrian videos I think this would be a “must have”, if anything, for its historical value, not to mention that it is just down right interesting.
David Hoffman is a very well respected/known documentary film maker and as Kim says, did a great job.
Denny, your analogy is excellent and oh so true.
Why this lowly rider aspires to ride a T3DE…
This event is a crucible, and if its done properly it burns away everything that is false and unreal about your training, and reveals what was correct and pure and proper…
What an amazing film. Thank you for posting.
needs change
oldiers did not concern themselves with leads, shoulder ins, half-passes, flying changes.no, but they did need them in battle:eek:, as fought 400 or more years ago:yes:
Reopening and OLD, old thread,… but as I was trying to stream the Olympics this evening I happened to come across this video on Amazon Instant Video! I purchased it for $9.99 with my FireStick. For anyone who never purchased the physical DVD or just enjoys watching these,… I highly recommend it!
What I found fascinating were the comments. TO see names like Denny, Kim, Carol and their comments, then consider today and that we still have teh same issues. It is like a snapshot showing in truch how little good change has occurred from then till now. Looking at Rio, Looking at the current Burghley, maybe even worse.
I might just buy that one to watch.
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