no kidding …“my definition of wealthy must be different from hers.”
i think that it is a rare that a person riding / competing / coaching at the international levels does not have considerable money behind him/her, whether sponsors, family money, etc.
I wish there was more financial support for the one horse wonder rider/horses.
Maybe the well dried up as far as financing her. There’s wealthy in the horse world and there is Wealthy. I have no idea what her background is or any thing about her, but sometimes the wealth isn’t bottomless at all times.
CP has been very candid about her business and finances.
Long story short: her family told her they could only continue funding 1 UL horse. She knew she wasn’t going to achieve her goals competing only 1 horse. So she worked hard to find her niche to support herself through sales.
I know most of us scoff at the idea of 1 fully-funded upper level horse not being “enough,” but at the same time, I also appreciate the awareness and realism. The only people who can maintain places at the top of the world rankings have a deep pool of talented horses.
Circling back to the dish soap…
My guess is that was more to hide teeth griding than to produce “foam.” Dish soap bubbles look nothing like latherin, the protein in horse sweat and saliva responsible for foaming. It may make them salivate more, though, as you would imagine having something icky in your mouth might make you drool. Perhaps the surfactant in soap might coat the molars and make the grinding less noisy. I’m not going to jump to obvious conclusions about dentistry and contact issues…I’ve had a horse who grinded (ground?) his teeth, even with impeccable dental work and ridden on a loose rein with no contact in various bits, and even a hackamore. In his case, he was breeding stallion who was a bit stressy during breeding season, and the teeth griding was mostly gone the rest of the year. Sometimes it happens. But if it’s multiple horses, perhaps one should look at oneself and how the riding methods might contribute.
YES, sorry, but during those few months of pregnancy and early postpartum the mother’s lifestyle choices matter more than the father’s because they more directly impact the child’s health. During pregnancy and breastfeeding (if she chooses to breastfeed) her choices in nutrition, whether she smokes, drinks, takes street drugs, engages in activities that carry risk of serious injury, etc. have the potential to directly harm the child. And being pregnant and giving birth in turn affects her ability in high performance sports and demanding roles in other careers during pregnancy and for some period after giving birth. Moreso than the father. Especially if the birth was caesarian, or even involved an episiotomy. Of course the father is affected too. He will probably have sleepless nights and various forms of stress. And his interaction with the baby is important. The father has the opportunity to be and often is an equally importance parent in the long run.
But really, can you deny the unique role of the biological mother in the prenatal development of the child? Or claim that someone who didn’t experience pregnancy and childbirth is equally affected?
Maybe we need facial recognition software instead or in addition to of a chip scanner?? 
I don’t know whether there is facial recognition software to ID the horse? If so maybe we can go without numbers? And save ten cents per competitor and the stress of sending someone running back to the stall if you forget to put it on the bridle or have the wrong one? And improve the show’s carbon footprint by not needing the cardboard numbers, which may or may not get recycled? (just kidding of course, but someday it may come to this; if so I will probably retire as a volunteer and leave it to the generation that prefers expensive technology to a list on a clipboard)
What the actual F did this thread devolve into?
The comments about a mother’s postpartum choices on the ears of this adoptee… 
ok this I can get behind 
Another solution – Maybe we can license the sales of mobile robots that can a) hold on to the numbers, keep up with the numbers, know where each number should be and when, and turn up at the right place and time with the number, and … b) will also trundle back to the trailer or barn to find that number that someone’s best friend or mom was supposed to hold to give over at warm-up but forgot about … A robot technology upgrade designed to not scare the horses! 
It’s been coming apart faster all the time … there are some useful bits still clinging to the rim …
At this point I think I would rather be raised by an elephant
I see that some people do like to yammer on borderline hysterically about points they claim to be missing. Sick face, laughing face, double crying laughing face, etc etc
Once again, an Olympian proves they are not someone to look up to or emulate.
I was a WS for an Olympian who put gravel in the horses’ mouths to stop the grinding. Then did the noseband and flash up as tight as they could be levered. Including cinching up the strap over the poll.
Just horrifying what the poor horses are subjected to when the rider is “single-minded, driven, and doesn’t come from wealth”. (I am deeply ashamed of the things I did in that program. I started there as a very naive teen, and idolized an Olympian who “obviously knew better” than me.)
Its devolved into a hate on for several riders it seems, which is pretty disappointing from a group that generally prides itself on its friendliness. I’ve seen this happen over the years with several riders.
It takes more than two hands to count the number of times I have seen event riders stuff arena sand into the horses mouth to hide any sort of blood or imperfection, so I can’t even imagine the number of pure dressage riders who do this. CM is certainly guilty of the sand trick.
I’m not saying that “hating” on anyone is a positive but in a couple cases folks speaking out about improper treatment (of horses or humans) has been correct.
From the highlights:
ML - Proven to be abusive, but largely swept under the rug
Andrew - Valid
Denny (Me Too offender)
I mean, I don’t love false rumors but when it’s real and it prevents misery for horses or people, I’m thankful someone said something.
Em
It just blows my mind that professional riders would stuff sand and gravel (or anything) into a horse’s mouth. SMH
I believe they were supporting between 3 and 6 for some time before they said they would only keep the one.
Stuffing sand or gravel into a horse’s mouth to win a ribbon.
I was already disgusted with dish soap, and I suppose I should have anticipated it would only get worse.
Yeah, makes putting marshmallow fluff on the mouth sound positively beneficial. At least the horses get a sweet treat.
No wonder the company of animals is preferable to that of many people. 
Yes, I believe it was something like that. They were supporting her more when she was younger, which makes sense.
The girl is only 30.
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