Rolex Live Stream/Results/Comments thread

[Maren]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8644711]
Oh for any of them to be MJ who has a dozen talents in his barn.[/QUOTE]

Interesting wish. I can guarantee you that 99% of the 3-5yr olds Michael and his dad pick would get passed by many American upper level riders as “not fancy enough”. I’ve seen it happen more than you would believe. Rocana is about as nondescript a horse as you can find, you will pass by her 5 times in the barn before realizing whose stall that is.
And this is not only true for Michael.
It is the biggest difference between German and US riders at this time - a good part of the German team riders that all can win and have won at the 4star level produce their horses from baby steps on. There is not even close as much money in German team horses (syndicates, owners, you name it) as you are familiar with from the US. Different culture altogether.

The “talent” in Michael’s barn is bought for very normal money when these horses are very young. Contrary to common believe, the Jung’s are not rich people. But they sure know how to develop horses, and a variety of types at that.

Somebody was asking about the full sister to Rocana, that would be Ricona, who has been sidelined for a bit after a spectacular debut all the way to 3*. And there is a 3rd full sister, she is a brood mare with a colt by Now or Never at her side this year. Saw him about 3 weeks ago - very cool little guy.

Vineyridge - FST stands for Foerderverein Sachsen-Thueringen, the sport horse promotion of that breed. The Trakehner one you first thought this was is TSF. Same gig though.

[amastrike]

How old is Michel Jung?

[CaitlinandTheBay]

[QUOTE=amastrike;8644795]
How old is Michel Jung?[/QUOTE]

34. He won the 2012 gold medal on his 30th birthday.

[Rnichols]

[QUOTE=Divine Comedy;8644468]
Colleen and Escot 6 both fell at the table before the Fox Den open corner, same as RF Demeter. It was a very big table and Escot 6 jumped too up and not enough across and clipped the back edge of the table with his front feet before skidding into the turf. I was right there and it was scary to watch, and looked more to me that rather than being tired like Demeter, he just misjudged the width.

It’s quite concerning as he had an MR last outing at The Fork, as well as having an MR at Plantation Field CIC3* last fall. Unfortunately the MR at Plantation was incorrectly recorded as an RF, which means it didn’t trigger the loss of qualification process after the fall at The Fork, which would have prevented him from competing at Rolex. There was another fall at Plantation Field, April Simmonds and Impressively Done, who also wre recorded as an RF and had a full rotational. You can view both horses falling on the Amy Dragoo photography website, now that she has unlocked all the galleries.

Escot 6’s fall this weekend also appears to have been recorded as an RF, not an MR. There’s no video of any of Escot 6’s round for some reason, and they appear to miss the fall although you can hear a jump judge say “horse and ride down.” It’s extremely disconcerting that we are lacking accuracy in the fence reporting system. What good is the loss of qualification system, meant to prevent possibly dangerous situations, if we lack the ability to properly report the types of falls?

For the record, I am not at all criticizing Colleen here, the loss of qualifications system is quite complicated and she very may well not realize that the horse should have fallen to it, had the fall at PF been properly recorded. I am extremely disappointed though that jump judges or events or whomever appear to not be accurately recording horse versus rider falls.[/QUOTE]

You bring up very interesting and concerning points! Earlier I mentioned that ML and demeter had a fall. Somebody corrected me and said it was recorded as RF. Honestly didn’t think much of it at the time, but now after reading what you said it makes me a little more concerned.

On the video, it very much looked like Demeter fell. But what’s more is that somebody (presumably the jump judge) was on the walkie talkie and you hear them say “horse and rider down” TWO times.

[cleozowner]

[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;8644706]
These comments have also rubbed me the wrong way. Buck (as pointed out by John Kyle numerous times this weekend) is an excellent horseman. He does not ride in the same style as, say, Mark Todd, because he is not built the same as Mark Todd. You can tell him to lose weight all day long, but it won’t give him the wingspan of Mark ( and therefore the ability to be as active with his elbows).

Considering he finished 9th at what turned out to be a very trying 4*, I think he’s doing just fine.[/QUOTE]

Isn’t that part of the beauty of eventing? That men and women and all these different body types can compete together? That’s one of the things that I love about it* because it gives me knowledge that I can work WITH my body type and find a way to “make things work” on course.

*Full disclosure: I am built like the female version of Buck–shorter and thicker than most, but strong and fit. My hips and ribcage will never be thin/narrow, but I figure if I have visible abs at this point, there’s probably not much more I can do to give me this idealized tiny waist.

[Janet]

[QUOTE=Rnichols;8644800]
You bring up very interesting and concerning points! Earlier I mentioned that ML and demeter had a fall. Somebody corrected me and said it was recorded as RF.[/QUOTE]

The online scoring says MR, not RF for ML
http://startbox-real-time-scoring.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/leaderBoard.html
Don’t know how official that is.

[Winding_Down]

[QUOTE=Janet;8644933]
The online scoring says MR, not RF for ML
http://startbox-real-time-scoring.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/leaderBoard.html
Don’t know how official that is.[/QUOTE]

probably totally official, Janet. It was originally down as an RF. CR’s is now recorded as an MR as well.

Thanks for the update.

[Xctrygirl]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8644726]
Me too.

If he were a woman, I doubt we would be talking about his weight. Seriously.[/QUOTE]

That didn’t stop people from talking about Amy Tryon and Becky Holder’s weight.

They were successful at the 4* level and still people complained about their weight.

Em

[Winding_Down]

This was not the year for the thoroughbreds at Rolex. Disappointing and surprising, given the importance of time on XC. <sigh>

[Xctrygirl]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8644951]
This was not the year for the thoroughbreds at Rolex. Disappointing and surprising, given the importance of time on XC. <sigh> [/QUOTE]

Uhhhh how are you coming to that conclusion? 14 went forward to stadium and there were 6 in the top 20. That’s over 25% of the top 20. I would think that’d be a decent statistic.

Emily

[snoopy]

[QUOTE=Winding Down;8644726]
Me too.

If he were a woman, I doubt we would be talking about his weight. Seriously.[/QUOTE]

Really, Becky Holder’s weight has been discussed many times on this board.

[riderboy]

[QUOTE=Maren;8644756]
Interesting wish. I can guarantee you that 99% of the 3-5yr olds Michael and his dad pick would get passed by many American upper level riders as “not fancy enough”. I’ve seen it happen more than you would believe. Rocana is about as nondescript a horse as you can find, you will pass by her 5 times in the barn before realizing whose stall that is.
And this is not only true for Michael.
It is the biggest difference between German and US riders at this time - a good part of the German team riders that all can win and have won at the 4star level produce their horses from baby steps on. There is not even close as much money in German team horses (syndicates, owners, you name it) as you are familiar with from the US. Different culture altogether.

The “talent” in Michael’s barn is bought for very normal money when these horses are very young. Contrary to common believe, the Jung’s are not rich people. But they sure know how to develop horses, and a variety of types at that.

Somebody was asking about the full sister to Rocana, that would be Ricona, who has been sidelined for a bit after a spectacular debut all the way to 3*. And there is a 3rd full sister, she is a brood mare with a colt by Now or Never at her side this year. Saw him about 3 weeks ago - very cool little guy.

Vineyridge - FST stands for Foerderverein Sachsen-Thueringen, the sport horse promotion of that breed. The Trakehner one you first thought this was is TSF. Same gig though.[/QUOTE]

Very interesting. A similar comment was made about the top 10 finishers at Badminton last year IIRC. Most of them had produced their horses from baby steps on as well.

[LadyB]

Just watched ML and Demeters round on cross. The mare looked good in the beginning, I was hoping her schedule was going to work for her, but clearly it did not at all. The horse was quite exhausted by the 8 minute mark, ML was having to chase her Then she trotted after the angled cabins, true sign she was tired, then the fall came after. The horse was just tired.

Back to the drawing board for them.

[Belmont]

[QUOTE=riderboy;8644718]
Don’t get me wrong-Philip,Boyd and Buck are mainstays but it was very refreshing to see some younger riders ride really, really well this weekend. Lauren in particular. Such a classy and elegant rider and under pressure she keeps her cool. How many 4 stars have Boyd, Philip and Buck won between them? I can only recall one, Philip at Rolex in 2008. Hannah rode beautifully as well, time for some fresh blood.[/QUOTE]

They have all placed in the top ten and top three in numerous four stars. Boyd hasn’t won a four star since coming to America (I believe), but he did win the long format four start at Adelaide in Australia.

I don’t believe Buck has won a 4*, as of yet, but I didn’t go over his results with a fine tooth comb. If he had won one, I believe it would be on his career highlight reel. Phillip has one win at Rolex, but he also has multiple second place finishes at Rolex and the like.

[runNjump86]

[QUOTE=annikak;8643898]
If I was a mare, running around jumping the biggest fences I would face in my life, in mud, cold and rain? I’d look sullen and heads down too. Really, yesterday proved the benevolence of the horse. Those conditions sucked. Period[/QUOTE]

The conditions were FAR better than the previous year. Like others said, plenty of horses weren’t thrilled with the conditions, but that horse was completely exhausted from the start. I too am very surprised they didn’t fall earlier in the course.

[LadyB]

I am absolutely Gutted for Allison and Arthur, he just lost his gas to that out of the coffin. I thought they were doing great. He’s a horse that will never be an easy ride, BUT he did give her everything she asked for. I think they have a great partnership. No I don’t think he needs to retire, he looks like he still has a lot left to give, maybe another year or two. I love their partnership, again, he’s not an easy ride. He’s spooky as hell but he’s coming along each year. I think Allison is definitely kicking herself after that woops. She just needed more go as she was getting closer to that combination. So Gutted for her.

I love watching him in dressage, she’s done super well with him. I don’t think another rider would get the same out of him, its just such a great relationship.

I absolutely love Tate and Sinead, but I never noticed how business Sinead really was on cross. Not once did I see her reward him, clearly that’s her style, but after watching Jung continuously pat his mare, Its sad to not see some others do it with a long term relationship horse. Clearly riders know their horses than us arm chair internet people. Just interesting to see how others go out and handle each jump.

[Xctrygirl]

[QUOTE=LadyB;8645032]
I am absolutely Gutted for Allison and Arthur, he just lost his gas to that out of the coffin. I thought they were doing great. He’s a horse that will never be an easy ride, BUT he did give her everything she asked for. I think they have a great partnership. No I don’t think he needs to retire, he looks like he still has a lot left to give, maybe another year or two. I love their partnership, again, he’s not an easy ride. He’s spooky as hell but he’s coming along each year. I think Allison is definitely kicking herself after that woops. She just needed more go as she was getting closer to that combination. So Gutted for her. [/QUOTE]

So how do we explain him being a ((Expletive ladden thoughts)) jerk in show jumping then?

Like Jimmy, I think I am just done with him. But not because he isn’t talented, but rather because he is but he disappoints all of us when we just start to believe in him.

Emily

[Darkwave]

[QUOTE=LadyB;8645032]
I am absolutely Gutted for Allison and Arthur, he just lost his gas to that out of the coffin. I thought they were doing great. He’s a horse that will never be an easy ride, BUT he did give her everything she asked for. I think they have a great partnership. No I don’t think he needs to retire, he looks like he still has a lot left to give, maybe another year or two. I love their partnership, again, he’s not an easy ride. He’s spooky as hell but he’s coming along each year. [/QUOTE]

But…isn’t he 17? He doesn’t have much more time to “come along” and get over this.

[LadyB]

yes he’s 17, I don’t expect him to ‘get over it’ but I do think he has more time in him.
He’s a horse that is either all in or half in, has always been that way. Its really up to Allison if she wants to play the 50/50 game. I still think he’s fabulous to watch.

If he’s spooky at ditches, even by the end of the course, then Allison should be aware of this, which she is, which I would think she would ride more aggressive. As he went into the coffin, she almost just sat there and let them lose the steam as he was being ditchy. He was still going, but then she just stopped riding the out. I really don’t think he was the reason he didn’t jump the C element. But thats just me, sitting behind a screen watching. I can’t say what exactly happened, but to me, she just stopped riding the out, and of course he had nothing left to get over the out

[TiaRosa]

Saw that too, laughed out loud. But didn’t you mean a Jawa?