It doesn’t have to be an eventer, the best Olympic commentator I have heard was Bill Steinkraus doing the cross country at Seoul in 1988. But he is an exceptional, all around horseman, his comments were right on and he knew exactly what he was seeing with every rider.
MST is a great rider and clinician, but sadly her expertise does not lie in commentating, IMO, and I wish they would find someone else, she just ruins it for me.
I’m ready with the flak jacket and the shield I wil probably need in response to this but…Wow! You guys are hard on Melanie. She’s not perfect, but keep in mind that she is seeing all of this on the same TV screen that you are, in real time, with no preview, no time-delay and no opportunity to retract a comment that might not have been brilliant. I bet it’s difficult; way more difficult than it looks. As you watch it back on your DVR, turn off the sound and try to be the commentator; identify each horse as it comes into the screen, remember how its dressage performance might have been, recognize what is happening at that exact moment in time and immediately be articulate, technically correct and entertaining all at once, for the 15 seconds it is on the screen before they move to the next one (without any warning to you) and you have to do it all over again. For 5 hours without a break, no less. She’s not here to negotiate world peace. Just to add a little color, background and some insight for the uninitiated. I don’t think her errors rise to the criminal level that many of you are accusing her of. OK, fire away! I can take it.
I wish NBC would take a clue and get expert commentators for the discipline being broadcast. Amen, it’s tough to do, but it’s even tougher if you’re not currently engaged in the sport. A Wofford or Brian O’Connor knows the players without having to check their cheat sheet.
MST had some good moments, but overall she was very repititive and often inane. The guy was a total waste of air time. Did anyone catch him saying Nina was riding for China as she left the start box? Again, not being involved in the sport, it has to be nearly impossible to keep it all straight in real time.
Another thought, are the commentators not tied into control? The fact that they were so lost on who had fallen and who was on course at times makes me think they are not. Seems like that would solve some problems.
Nope. They are seeing it as the feed comes to them. No control over the feed at all.
[QUOTE=JanM;6466880]
Melanie is bad enough, but she didn’t even comment when the one Japanese rider fell off, rolled clear, and as his horse was led away totally lame her commentator partner said the horse was fine. The horse wasn’t fine, and that man is an idiot.[/QUOTE]
I think she gave up correcting him on anything after the tenth time he called it the “Silver Jubilee jump.” (I get it, he’s looking at a fence painted vaguely-gray-silver and it looked more like a square on its corner than a diamond, but yeesh.) I would have preferred if she cold-cocked him halfway through and just did commentary alone. At the very least, she could tell which horse and rider they were looking at, whether or not it matched the order they thought they had…
[QUOTE=222orchids;6467453]
I’m ready with the flak jacket and the shield I wil probably need in response to this but…Wow! You guys are hard on Melanie. She’s not perfect, but keep in mind that she is seeing all of this on the same TV screen that you are, in real time, with no preview, no time-delay and no opportunity to retract a comment that might not have been brilliant. I bet it’s difficult; way more difficult than it looks. As you watch it back on your DVR, turn off the sound and try to be the commentator; identify each horse as it comes into the screen, remember how its dressage performance might have been, recognize what is happening at that exact moment in time and immediately be articulate, technically correct and entertaining all at once, for the 15 seconds it is on the screen before they move to the next one (without any warning to you) and you have to do it all over again. For 5 hours without a break, no less. She’s not here to negotiate world peace. Just to add a little color, background and some insight for the uninitiated. I don’t think her errors rise to the criminal level that many of you are accusing her of. OK, fire away! I can take it.[/QUOTE]
Compare her to Jim W and what he gets paid for what he does for Rolex and then what she’s getting paid and her DECADES of doing this for NBC and she deserves to be taken out to the wood shed…along with the person who keeps bringing her back!
Seriously. Look what Axel did in the dressage at the championships. It’s a no brainer for someone with a personality and a full understanding of the sport in front of them (on the screen or IRL) and the competitors. And the personality? Some people naturally have a good one and are just MUCH better.
Then again, look at how long they kept Dick Button around for figure skating. :lol: He was SO awful compared to Scotty! Once we got Scotty, a guy who knew everyone and had been around the sport forever, and won a more recent gold than Dick’s medal, it made a huge difference and showed us just how bad Dick was/is. With all the other options you’d think they would have killed off her contract long ago. Our sports have come a long way and have much better people available as commentators. NBC needs to wake up. I’m surprised her co-commentators have not complained about her more.
[QUOTE=Velvet;6467551]
Then again, look at how long they kept Dick Button around for figure skating. :lol: He was SO awful compared to Scotty! Once we got Scotty, a guy who knew everyone and had been around the sport forever, and won a more recent gold than Dick’s medal, it made a huge difference and showed us just how bad Dick was/is.[/QUOTE]
Um…Scott’s pretty much universally loathed by figure skating fans as far as commentary goes. He doesn’t understand the IJS (really doesn’t understand the modern sport-his gold-medal skate wouldn’t be good enough for Juniors now) and never knows when to shut up. They haven’t got a soul on the commentary team who understands modern ice dance AT ALL, either. Dick Button is much more respected overall, as well, as he’s a double gold medalist (last to win US, Europeans before they closed it non-Europeans, the North Americans, and Olympics in one year) and has been watching the whole sport develop, though he’s really too elderly now to do much in the way of actual commentary and people like him more for his…creative remarks. (What is a ‘rusty hoot’?) And features like “Push Dick’s Button.”
Skating, if anything, has the same problem people here say they do with Melanie–the commentators aren’t really aware about the discipline they’re watching.
This may explain, from MST Facebook
I think you all are extremely hard on the commentating and maybe the posts on facebook will help you understand the challenges faced…or maybe you will feel the same.
Wow … what a wild day …… we are on , we are off, we are on , we are off…. and I mean the announcers not the riders ! At the start of our cross country live coverage we certainly had thrills and spills …. horses fell, ambulances arrived, the event was delayed and we were left up in the air as far as coverage was concerned. Obviously if a horse and rider are down on course , NBC breaks away to another event . We never know when they might return to us and when they do , we have no idea what rider or what jump they will show . We have to ad lib the whole way as we are not in control of the “world feed” which is the video we have to follow . We cannot decide who to show and when to run replays so what you see is what you get and the same goes for us as announcers. It keeps you on your toes and may explain a few gaffes here and there… so please bear with us 
The producer and director ,talking in our ear, do a wonderful job trying to bring cohesiveness to our broadcast . It is all fun and a great learning experience. I was so impressed with the British riders bringing all 5 horses home with no jumping penalties along with the Germans who remain on top. . They stand one two atop the leader board . We saw some terrific equine and human athletic endeavors today… along with a few unlucky moments for Aussie Clayton Fredericks, slipping down at the big drop and Oiwa of Japan getting unhorsed at the same place . Mark Todd went for the big one at the last fence on an exhausted horse which almost cost him everything if he had fallen … but still cost him first place … That extra stride his horse took to save the day cost him the .4 time penalty which dropped him from first to third by .2 of a point … It may not matter in the end but could be a heartbreaker that keeps him from Gold. Going last is never easy and Mark, a double Gold Medalist , looked as exhausted as his horse at the finish .
Sweden is surprisingly in third place followed by New Zealand . The Americans are still in striking distance of a medal in fifth place . Horses have to pass the vet inspection in the morning and then jump the final phase in the stadium . Anything can happen as we all well know .
Tomorrow is a new day and almost upon us so I will sign off for the evening and give you my thoughts at the end of the Team and Individual Finals for Eventing tomorrow … … the first Equestrian Medals of this Olympiad.
From the other day:
Hello All
The Games began for us today with Eventing Dressage . Three of 5 Americans rode their Dressage tests with average results as a Team. I am not planning to write a lot of details on results because that can be accessed at numerous official sites and by professional journalists. Just know that the Germans finished one-two today with Great Britain in third . The best American was Karen O’Connor in 9th., but we are only half way through the start list with the rest coming tomorrow . Boyd Martin had to ride first and probably was not given the scores he would have gotten if he had ridden later in the draw … Judges seem to hold back at the start, but that is the luck of the draw … or bad luck in this case. US drew first out of all the teams .
I don’t have beautiful on site pictures to share from now on so will have to show you those from the IBC. The picture below is “our venue” . Tim Ryan and I are watching on a tv monitor just like everyone without a ringside seat . It makes it more difficult to feel the energy of the moment but fortunately we were able to see and feel the facility in the days prior to the opening of competition .
222,
35 weekends a year, I DO what MST does - live, for hours (many more than 5!) for a heck of a lot less than she gets paid.
We all make mistakes; we all have to learn. And every weekend I learn a bit more and try to be just that much better.
For goodness sake, there were only 74 horses.
I liked the BBC online stream. IMO, no need to dumb down the sport. They commented and then quietly explained in more detail during slow motion after the ride. I thought it was excellent and enhanced the program rather than making it excruciating to watch (which is what MST does-ugh!).
I don’t personally care for MST and I think they could say a lot more to interest the audience like “What are those white patches on the horse’s nose?” “Why does that horse look like it has 2 bits in it’s mouth?” You know - the questions my husband asks because he doesn’t know much. But the male announcer is the WORST. He pronounced “Trakehner” so badly today that I choked on my coffee. 
MST is ok, her male counterpart is an idiot. And for the record the single worst job of commentating I have heard is recent years was Wofford - doing a combined driving event. :lol::lol::lol:
The guy doing the online was quite good, although he did reclaim Boyd for Australia after Boyd and Otis finished.
[QUOTE=GreekDressageQueen;6467739]
He pronounced “Trakehner” so badly today that I choked on my coffee. :D[/QUOTE]
I heard that, too. You’re right. It was BAD.
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who was suffering through their commentary! I keep wanting to mute them, but I like hearing the horse and crowd sounds! I wish they would get someone who actually knows this sport!
I only really know the bigger international names, but somehow am able to keep straight who is on course, and what order the jumps are in…solely based on my TV feed…imagine what someone like Jimmy could do! With actual experience and immersion in the sport…and the ability to be witty and informative!
The only thing that saves MST is how TERRIBLE Tim Ryan is!
OK, I am super confused. Where are you guys watching this on TV? I have been DVR’ing all of the Olympics on NBC and cant find any coverage of any of the eventing etc…?? 
Am I on the wrong channel??
Only seen it streaming online thus far…
[QUOTE=wcporter;6468031]
OK, I am super confused. Where are you guys watching this on TV? I have been DVR’ing all of the Olympics on NBC and cant find any coverage of any of the eventing etc…??
Am I on the wrong channel??
Only seen it streaming online thus far…[/QUOTE]
Channel 603 on DirecTV and I think 227 is Comcast NBCSN around here. Follow this link to find your local information.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/get-local/tvlistings.html#
I’m now watching it on the BBC feed using the expat shield install. It’s WAY better.
[QUOTE=Zevida;6465008]
I don’t care for her at all. She may have been a great rider in her day, but she brings nothing of value to the commentary and frequently makes mistakes and inane comments. NBC trots her out for every equestrian sport they cover and I wish they’d dump her, at least for dressage and evening.
It’d be like having a diver commenting on the synchronized swimming. Yeah, both are in a pool and need good swimmers, but they are very different sports.[/QUOTE]
My thoughts exactly.
[QUOTE=Zevida;6465008]
I don’t care for her at all. She may have been a great rider in her day, but she brings nothing of value to the commentary and frequently makes mistakes and inane comments. NBC trots her out for every equestrian sport they cover and I wish they’d dump her, at least for dressage and evening.
It’d be like having a diver commenting on the synchronized swimming. Yeah, both are in a pool and need good swimmers, but they are very different sports.[/QUOTE]
ok, so day 2 with the NBC commentators, and while this may have been Melanie’s riding specialty, she’s still making idiot comments on the show jumping. Agree with the comment on the SJ thread re: Melanie bitching about the german rider and no hairnet. MST’s snappy comment was that you’d never see an American rider without a hairnet. On the other hand, the Americans are out of the team medals, so perhaps the Germans are on to something when riding without hairnets :lol:
I’m with 222Orchids. HUGE KUDOS to NBC for giving eventing the detailed and vast amount of airtime. THANK YOU!!! I’m just so excited that we were not relegated to a five minute clip on prime time. I just love watching ALL the riders of various experience levels tackle these world class courses. I think Melanie & Tim are doing a great job of explaining the sport to laymen.
Am very happy with Melanie Smith Taylor’s commentary. And yesterday she did observe the work it takes for a rider to be fit. Must have read it on here! :lol:
But honestly, as you watch a competition, how much are you concentrating on the rider, and how much on the horse? Some small degree for the former, a great deal more on the latter. We all pretty much know when, or because, the rider made the error, and we are instinctively worrying about the horse during the whole trip. The rider, perhaps, only during a fall.
And for those who don’t offer praise or encouragement at the end of the ride, suppose you’re in the same boat as those on here who talk about not “getting” being friendly and all warm and fuzzy. Funny how you’ll all still get it around the holidays though! 
It doesn’t hurt to display emotion, or gratitude towards the horse. Think that’s one of the things I have appreciated the most about owning one. Mine “gets it”.
Back to the show. (By the way, it’s on “NBC Sports” channel - here on Dish TV it’s channel 159.)
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
