MJ didn’t win the Land Rover.
It’s for the top placed North American rider.
Em
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8643444]
KOC was talking about Mark Todd’s elbows and how they are always moving, which she says is a very good thing. Well, Jung uses his elbows quite a lot in such a way that the horse’s head can be immediately freed when he does shorten his reins. Maybe that explains some of the “flapping” that we all noticed. Eventer’s elbow has always been a part of the sport, and the “flapping” may just be an exaggeration of that. He uses his elbows to keep the “right” amount of contact with the horse’s mouth.[/QUOTE]
Todd can do that because he has long arms.
[QUOTE=Xctrygirl;8643522]
MJ didn’t win the Land Rover.
It’s for the top placed North American rider.
Em[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I mainly said it in jest and it’s mentioned in the COTH write-up. Best dressage score breaks the tie.
[QUOTE=SlamDunk;8643418]
Are they all up? I can’t seem to find any video of LCC Barnaby and I really wanted to watch him go but I overslept. Eventing Nation said he was clear with just 15.6 time and I wanted to be able to send the link back to my friend in Ireland (who had him as a young horse).[/QUOTE]
Thanks SD. Got your PM but your inbox was full when I replied. Barnaby is an impressive horse!
[QUOTE=Littleluck55;8643457]
Lynn Symansky, Lauren Kieffer, and Holly Payne Caravella all had 2.8 time faults. Lauren Kieffer won the Land Rover for ride of the day so not sure how they determine the winner on a 3 way tie.[/QUOTE]
Sorry, I just had to fix that!
Stupid question alert!
What time does stadium start tomorrow? I can’t seem to find it anywhere …
1 EASTERN.
[QUOTE=Winding Down;8643442]
I thought that MJ was amazing. And he has another mare, full sister, that is supposed to be even better, along with Sam, in his barn. Lucky but well-deserved.
I also thought a lot of the rides were amazing. Lauren K knocked it out of the park today on both horses. She was so fluid with not a foot wrong or an uh moment, and I would put her riding up against MJ’s today, for sure. For sure. She has really matured and developed as a rider since her first ride at on Veronica at Rolex.
Let’s not forget about Lynn Symansky. She also had a superb round and fastest time among American’s I believe, tying with Lauren’s first 4* debut horse. She had the very unfortunate dressage test which put her out of the running. But dang, they were great.
There were others that looked amazing as well. Tim Bourke had a lovely go, Hannah Sue rode beautifully, Boyd and PDutty were amazing, and Buck showed a tenacity that only comes with his great experience and grit. Loved Matt Brown and the Socks horse, and I am a huge fan of Sally Cousins - her eye for distance is a freak of nature. I was not entirely thrilled with the riding of one of my favorites, Maya Black, when i saw her take some risks (going for long spots) that she did not have to take. But heck, she is new to the 4* scene and next time will probably be perfect! 
Someone above made a comment about the Americans doing a lot of “pushing and pulling,” etc. I saw very little of that - a tribute to good riding and good course design. This was some of the very best riding I’ve seen at this level. Kudos to all! Twenty years ago, no one would’ve gotten around that course, with the technical questions and pinpoint accuracy required along with a big gallop. It shows the true progression of the sport. And don’t let me get started with the dressage. Ooo-LaLa, anyone recall what it was like the first year they introduced flying changes? Splat, Bam, Ruh Roh!
With no horse falls, if I am not mistaken. Wow.
It was very unfortunate that some had “off” days. Tiana C., Allison S., and Marilynn L. definitely had less than enthusiastic horses, likely due to the footing or just not feeling the energy… And there were unfortunate 20 point boggles that bumped people off the leaderboard, Tim Price and Colleen R (Loved that horse today! Wow!). But that’s pretty much the way it is at any competition. Ups and Downs.[/QUOTE]
Marilyn and RF Demeter fell. You can see it in the video they posted. Looked like the mare just didn’t clear the width of the fence, hit it with her hind end, stumbled and just never regained her balance. I think they were both OK though
Holly Payne had TWO of the best rides of the day, IMO. She is another one that is so sympathetic with the horse, while still getting the job done.
Save of the day - link to this FB picture! Ellen Doughty-Hume credits her crossfit training. The commentators thought this was it for her - but she not only stayed on but sat up for a great jump over the out! The rest of her ride looked great.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208016760230498&set=p.10208016760230498&type=3&theater
Another link in case that one isn’t accessible to everyone
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207540554965571&set=pcb.10207540578206152&type=3&theater
[QUOTE=Rnichols;8643555]
Marilyn and RF Demeter fell. You can see it in the video they posted. Looked like the mare just didn’t clear the width of the fence, hit it with her hind end, stumbled and just never regained her balance. I think they were both OK though[/QUOTE]
it was recorded as a rider fall.
[QUOTE=Winding Down;8643562]
it was recorded as a rider fall.[/QUOTE]
Interesting. From the video it looks like the mare went down too. But it was slightly blocked by trees so she must have regained her balance at the last second.
Demeter was stumbling a bit before the fall. The commentator even said that fall was coming because the horse was tired and not jumping well (paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it).
[QUOTE=lep;8643572]
Demeter was stumbling a bit before the fall. The commentator even said that fall was coming because the horse was tired and not jumping well (paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it).[/QUOTE]
Demeter and Arthur both were an agonizing watch. Looked so brilliant in dressage. Have talented riders determined to fight for the best place they could reach on the leaderboard. But, today the horses just did not have it out of the start box.
I love watching both of those horses. But when it comes team-selection time, there were other US pairs who had a super-nice dressage and DID have what it took for cross-country today.
One could argue that Rolex KY is longer and more difficult than the expected Olympic course (or maybe not?). That today’s rain and mud were more taxing than the Olympics would normally be.
BUT - As for what is needed for the Olympics, add to the stress of any top-tier event the travel to Brazil which is not one of the usual destinations for these eventing horses, the extra demands of the Olympic requirements after arrival, the rigor and the atmosphere of the Olympics, even the double show-jumping at the end … well, any horse who struggled today could very likely be a higher risk to struggle in Rio as well.
I think that today was a filtering test of who has it, and who doesn’t quite, when it comes to demands over and above the usual top-tier event. Just imo.
What was with Tiana Cowdray and Ringwood Magister? He was nowhere near fit. Neither was Demeter.
My bet for the Olympics are PD, BM, Clark Montgomery (unless he blots his copybook) and Lauren Kieffer. If CM does blot his copybook, I’d go with Donner for a finish.
[QUOTE=kcmel;8643535]
Thanks SD. Got your PM but your inbox was full when I replied. Barnaby is an impressive horse![/QUOTE]
Ya he looked super! My friends said he was incredibly sweet just not meant to be a show jumper. He’s got some great Irish bloodlines with some Cavalier and Lux, and from what I saw he made everything look easy.
In a three way tie for the Land Rover they go to the highest dressage score.
Just watched Jung’s round again. He is a league above everyone else. Words I would use to describe his riding are “fluid” and “forward.” His contact with the mare is amazingly soft. Honestly, I like her but I dont think she is especially flashy at all. She is a bit flat by nature and her stride is economical but not huge. I don’t think she is as athletic as half of the U.S. horses at Rolex. But she is superbly trained, superbly ridden, and has tremendous heart (perhaps in part due to outstanding training.) don’t get me wrong - she is a very cool horse. She just doesn’t have the movement/flash of many at this level. She has amazing self-carriage and confidence, and I think that is largely trained in from very early on. Makes me wonder about all the horses our pros buy at the top levels. Jung clearly makes some of his success by bringing his stars along himself.
It strikes me that Jung rides D/SJ like a German and XC like a kiwi. That is tough to beat. He went out to win today, not stay safe and get just enough time penalties to maintain his lead. It works.
[QUOTE=beowulf;8643507]
Okay… I don’t want to be a sap, but I’m still catching up (I was riding this AM, and doing other things - SO glad that the replays are available)… but I just noticed McLovin’s ride XC and was watching him and he reminded me so much of one of my late off track TB geldings right down to his color and canter… Turns out they are very closely related… and is it coincidence RW and I have the same XC colors or what? Wishing him the best of luck tomorrow, I think I found a new underdog favorite!
I just rewatched LK’s rides and I have to say she is such a wonderful, tactful rider… She is such a thrill to watch.[/QUOTE]
We saw her walking back after her ride, and she was beaming, so proud of her horse and very affectionate to her, they obviously have a wonderful bond.
[QUOTE=mareslave;8643459]
she didn’t look tight in that tack, face planted into mare’s neck a couple times before she finally came off. Legs were definitely not as fixed as other riders’ legs.[/QUOTE]
Mud in the tail??
Interesting.
That horse looked tired from the start and ML wasn’t riding as well as she has in the past. There were a lot of people in the crowd watching the jumbotron out on course that were pretty pissed they kept the cameras on her for pretty much her entire ride, skipping over to another rider once or twice, tops.
It was painful watching Arthur go. He just didn’t want to play today but Allison did a great job of getting him around. She worked her ass off. That runout was so sad, but based on how he was going, not overly shocking.
