What is the deal with the telescopes?
Are they big in scoping the stars over there? From the photo, it looks like a fairly simple jump with a crappy approach. I think she went nuts on the skinnies too. I saw a a wagon with junk piled around it-what is that supposed to be!
I would really like to get a look at the spread of that Saturn jump. It is pretty, but if you look at the flags, it is a wide skinny. There appears to be only one place to jump it. Weird looking course.
Greenwich was the home of the Royal Observatory for eons. It’s also the place where “official time” was developed–thus the clock jump.
[QUOTE=Larksmom;6458796]
Are they big in scoping the stars over there? From the photo, it looks like a fairly simple jump with a crappy approach. I think she went nuts on the skinnies too. [/QUOTE]
Greenwich is the home of the Royal Observatory, and has been for several hundred years. The Prime Meridian runs through here, and they’re official keepers of Greenwich Mean Time.
While I think most of the fences are very visually interesting, I wonder if some of them are rather too interesting for the horses. While the clocktower wall seems pretty straightforward, all those tripoded telescopes in front of the skinny stargazing hedge seem incredibly distracting, and possibly dangerous if there’s a runout or bobble.
I think my favorite fence is the table with the chessmen, though, which reminds me a bit of Alice in Wonderland.
Not an eventer here but I love the technical debates and like learning the who/what/where/when/why/hows…
Love the chess table too - it’s just cool looking. Glad I don’t have to jump even mini-versions of any of this stuff though.
My question is… and it’s an honest question - I am curious… is it normal for the options to look absolutely no different than the fences they are options for?
I’m wondering if there’s really not much difference, or if the difference is the technicality of the ground geography and lines rather than the approachable-ness of the fences?
I’d love to walk this course. It would be phenomenally interesting.
I’m wondering if there’s really not much difference, or if the difference is the technicality of the ground geography and lines rather than the approachable-ness of the fences?
This is the usual case in normal eventing.
Thanks Viney. I’ve photographed some local stuff (doesn’t go higher than Prelim) and at the courses I photographed, the options were such that the fences themselves were less difficult. So I wasn’t sure if that was the norm, or… 
Always like to learn.
I have a question, since I don’t often study cross country courses outside of Olympic interest…
About how wide are those skinnies? And is that common? I’m pretty sure I couldn’t aim my galloping horse between those flags even without a jump to complicate things.
No ditch, no banks, no sunken road…no “leaps”…where is the country on this cross country. Oh right, we are in the middle of the city, forgot for a second there.
Comment about the take off spots is right…with only really ONE spot to take off, it’s going to be quite torn up.
[QUOTE=NCRider;6458772]
Last thought. I hope it stays dry because most of those jumps have a very narrow possible takeoff spot and as the day goes on, that spot is going to get more and more torn up.[/QUOTE]
Definitely.
That’s a whole lot of skinnies. Guess it’ll make for good TV. That’s what it’s all about, right?
Usually the options are easier topography, but more time consuming, even if the actual obstacles look very similar. I wonder if some of these are very similar/equal, with the differences being horse-preference type things, and designed to make people choose the option, just to protect the footing. Because the footing in front of some of those skinnies … yowza, by the end of the day; disaster if it rains.
I do like the idea that the fences have international themes, but agree that some (like the telescopes) are potential hazzards–unless they are very well thought-out in construction. But, then … we ARE talking about horses here :eek:.
I think in some of those pictures, there is still construction activity going on–I don’t think all of the tractors and wagons and trash cans and stuff are actually part of the course (some are, but I think some are not). JMHO.
This course does clearly remind me of a concern I’ve felt during the whole team selection period. Most of the 4* courses that people and horses build their experience on are used year after year. The experienced riders know the terrain, construction, layout issues to some degree (granted, they do change, but there are some things that can’t change). Some of the famous obstacles change little from year to year. And then, comes the Olympics–usually in a venue that has never been used, nor will ever be used again, plus a course designer attempting to assure their immortality (not in a bad way), and special funding, and wanting to appeal to a multi-national audience with a larger number of less experienced viewers. It seems there are times that this becomes an issue, and times that it is not. It does make me worry about less experienced/seasoned horses (Mandiba in '08; alas, Otis, this year, and others). I hope not, I hope I’m wrong; but it does concern me. Oh, well–all part of the game, I guess.
I do wonder if the horse-statue question wasn’t a given, after what happened in Montana with Arthur. And thus, had to be an unspoken (or perhaps, not) factor in team selection.
Just thinking out loud …
I don’t think I saw a traekkener or steps either. So really show jumping over fixed obstacles on a hill.
ETA IMO distracting jump decoration should never be a question on cross country. Sue tried it befor with the life sized people lying on top of a table jump with disasterous results. You would have thought she learned her lesson.
And if the horse mirage jump is there intentionally to hurt a potential American horse’s chances then I hope it catches out the Brits instead.
Yep…no ditch or steps/banks or trakehners - can’t dig into the ground in such a historic park! Heck, even the stables and dressage/jumping area are up on stilts as to not destroy the grass below!
MAPS; http://www.london2012.com/venue/greenwich-park/maps
More detailed XC; http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a383/forester11/scan0001-1.jpg
[QUOTE=NCRider;6459145]
And if the horse mirage jump is there intentionally to hurt a potential American horse’s chances then I hope it catches out the Brits instead.[/QUOTE]
I didn’t mean to imply that, simply that Arthur is the unfortunate one who pointed out the fact that a particular type of fence could be a problem. So, it became a (perhaps warped) “logical choice” to anticipate the question appearing, and everyone saw it coming, so it ended up being an item in Arthur’s “no” column. Not that it was aimed at him specifically, just that a statue could make a “good” question. If you happen to have forgotten what XC is about, that is.
Sue Benson is the course designer - trying to ‘make it British’ over a terrain that is tight with paths, roads and trees to navigate.
I’d like to put a shout-out to Equibrit - all her research makes for interesting reading that I’d never go to do myself.
Thanks for that jpg. I saved it and blew it up a bit.
this cd?
now we see why we’ve seen so many angled fences this Spring:yes: ; is this a hallmark of this course designer:confused:? Didn’t she design the Pan Ams?
Thank you Equibrit
Thank you Equibrit:yes:
Will there be a virtual course walk, with Wofford?
or someone else?
Several comments:
I saw a sunken road. Somewhere in the middle of the course. The perspective is deceiving – you think that it is a jump when it is actually a lower spot.
Trakheners taken literally are a hanging log over a ditch, right? Well, there are enough hanging logs to suit anyone, and the ditch effect is created by the logs on the ground which look like there is a ditch in between them. Technically not a trakhener, but since the course designer could not dig trenches in the park, it is a reasonable facsimile.
It appears that 80% of the jumps are on skids for easy removal. Probably only the “signature” jumps will stay in place.
There is always a test event before a major event. I know that the test event for Jumping was last year. I remember that the test event in Athens showed that the footing they had installed was horrible and not safe, so the organizers were redoing the footing only several weeks before the Olympics.
No way are the first horses to ever jump around going to be the first out of the start box on x/c day. This course has been ridden enough to make sure that the questions are answerable.
Given the constraints inherent in the park in the middle of London, I think it is unfair to second guess the course designer without seeing how the course rides. If I remember correctly, there was a poll taken several years ago to decide if the cross country was held close by so that more spectators would see it, or held outside London at an existing x/c course.
Who remembers the LA Olympics where Dressage and SJ were held in the main equestrian venue, but the horses were all vanned down to Fairbanks Ranch for the x/c. That was unwieldy and entailed an travel day between Dressage and x/c.
I think the organizers made the right decision to make x/c viewer friendly and I can’t wait to see how the course rides. As they say, “the proof is in the pudding”.:).
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