Well, whether it works is a question for the rider first and foremost, and if sketchy enough, for the ground jury. If you watch enough XC, you’ll see your heros skate on the edge, I promise.
My first thought looking at these rings is that they would catch on ANYTHING. I understand there’s not a whole lot on a manicured xc course to get caught on but I could see the argument being made.
Agree with other posters that I don’t particularly enjoy watching this pair out there.
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I watch plenty, thanks. There’s a big difference between a solid pair having the occasional hairy moments as a normal part of cross country, and a pair that looks like they’re almost always on the brink of a serious mistake. It’s not fun to watch and not a good look for the sport. In a perfect world riders and GJs would always make the right calls and there wouldn’t be any cause for raised eyebrows from fans, but that’s not the world we live in.
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The way the reins attach to the bit is loose enough. The reason for this attachment is that it obviates the need for rein stoppers for the martingale rings. The martingale rings won’t get hung up (in theory) on the reins if they slide down to the bit. We use these rein attachments at the racetrack for this reason.
Seems like a lot of his gear is racetrack gear (big loose ring, ring bit, rein wraps), down to his boot soles, which look super pliable like a jockey boot. No judgment, I don’t care what he wears on him or his horse. This big ring is a nice bit to gallop in—my favorite, in fact—and I’m surprised so many people are negatively commenting on it given all the complicated bit contraptions other use especially in stadium.
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I don’t think the negative comments are about the bit itself. The way I read the comments, It’s more about seeing too many sketchy moments and questioning the training and rideability of this pair.
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I mean if the mare likes the mouthpiece the size it is and the double bit guards keep it from rubbing why does it matter? From what I’ve seen it looks much more controlled than it used to be. The pony is always going to look like she’s going fast honestly. At her size she’s going to need her legs moving a little faster than a regular size horse to help her have the power to get over everything. And while I would never want to run around a 4 star in a Crosby people back in the day obviously managed just fine in them.
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I think you’re reading more into my comment than was there.
It just seemed odd that they’d go to the trouble of having a custom bit made and not use the appropriate size mouthpiece.
I don’t know there people from Adam’s off ox, and have no opinion on their training or competition methodology.
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I looked again and it seems there is a slot for the rein in that bit. Anyone else see that?
They are all snaffles so no rein slot. Maybe it’s the thick rein making it look that way?
I did find that odd. There’s a lady on Etsy who makes Leather bits and you just order them with the ring you want in your mouthpiece. I would think ordering a metal bit custom would be the same way.
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If these are Warendorf reins, they are legal in dressage AFAIK. I have ridden in them. I always checked with the TD first to make sure.
It also isn’t helping the pair that they are doing near constant PR about themselves, like what are we trying to prove and to whom? It doesn’t feel like the standard genuine “here is how my show went” recap.
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Yeah, the “PR” is really odd. It’s as if they desperately want the attention but don’t want the negativity that can sometimes come with it.
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I almost feel like they are trying to get the non-pros, unknown people, to support them so that when they get pushback from officials, they (Rick) can then complain on social media & have an army of people to back them up against the officials.
That is probably a very weird theory, but there is some reason they are pushing the PR.
_
They see how successful Elisa is with her social media following, but they don’t seem to be doing the social media nearly as well/correctly as Elisa (and I’m sure Elisa could give them better tips on that than many others - including myself).
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Or… maybe they are excited about their accomplishments with their little horse.
Just saying.
These are literally two of the nicest people you will ever meet.
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Ya I don’t like assuming the intentions are nefarious when, from what I know at least, there isn’t reason to think that…It’s an old guy bragging about his husband and this little horse that could - many people might think they shouldn’t, and I’m not saying I agree with the decision to run the horse at this level, but at a fundamental level it’s not crazy and the sentiment is a pretty normal one.
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No, they really like this pony, and they should, she’s a lovely pony. I don’t think anything nefarious or they are doing anything other than be excited and proud of the partnership between the rider and Haute.
I’m not on Facebook. Did they comment on Kentucky? The pair didn’t do well, the live stream showed very little of the cross country round. 20 jumping and 40 time faults. 12 faults in the SJ.
Dressage wasn’t horrible, though the mare has a busy mouth.
They were eliminated in the last two 4* before Kentucky.
I don’t know them. @Texarkana does, so I’ll take her word for it that these folks are nice people.
They may just enjoy putting their lives out on social media. They’re hardly alone in that respect.
To be fair, the 20 was at 4ab, the tough first combination that caught out MANY that day, including seasoned pros. After she had a 20, I don’t fault him for the 40 time faults - the previous complaint was that she was having her legs “run off” - so why not slow down to have an educational experience around the rest of the course?
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It’s one thing to share on your own pages, but quite another to share to public eventing group pages like Major League Eventing and the Area III page. I don’t really get the point of it but maybe I’m missing something.
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