Except the first article I posted by Nancy Jaffer said that we did not qualify for Barcelona this year due to pandemic complications.
Hence my comment about Chile for the Pan Ams next year.
McLain is quoted as saying the ground was soft by the time he went the first day.
Thanks, my horse-news-while-at-work this morning has focused on Pony Finals, so I didnât read that article yet. I edited my post.
Well, sometimes the difference between clear and four faults is negligible.
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Looking at the pictures the same two Swedish horses are barefoot. I thought that was interesting. That doesnât mean that you can make a horse a winner by pulling its shoes but the Swedes must be doing something right. They are keeping the same horses sound and at the top for a while and I find that impressive.
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Yes, one of the articles posted above mentions that the one horse has not worn shoes since they took them off a year and a half ago. Very impressive.
Is anyone watching? Iâm just looking at scores for todayâs round and so far the faults are piling up (many horses with faults in the 10s to 30s). Is the course that nasty to watch, or are a lot of these rails coming down without much of a touch?
I donât haqve a premium membership and canât watch live⊠grr. I hope I will be able to watch on the small screen soon⊠How is the Canadian team doing⊠I want Eric to have great resultsâŠ
It wasnât nasty to watch, just rails falling. FEI has also switched how they count time faults which contributed to it a little. Brian Moggre for example was in the 30âs but a lot of that was time.
Canada did well but we needed a couple of riders to jump clear today and that just didnât happen. Bethâs horse got a bit green but otherwise jumped insane (will be one to watch at Paris 2024) and Tiffany is in the top 25 though and should ride Sunday
How did Beth get eliminated today?
Beth wasnât eliminated in the class so it must have been blood somewhere? She finished with 8 faults from what I saw watching and the announcer didnât mention anything
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McLain and Brian are out of the individual competition. Sad face.
Swedenâs on a roll.
Iâve read some of the press on that and Peder F. pointed out that the horses on the team can all go barefoot because they are always on groomed, perfect footing or really good grass. He said not all horses can or should go barefoot but these particular ones all have good feet and they are never ridden on bad footing so it works out. He also said not all of his horses are barefoot, because each one has different needs or is not always ridden on perfect footing.
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So I canât believe that not more questions are being asked of team usaâs performance this week. Footing had nothing to do with it. The best horses in the world for both sj and dressage had no issues with the footing in the main arena. But, how about the fact that half the team consisted of mclain wardâs pupils, both of whom struggled with the techicality of the team rounds. Also interesting that this was the first team at a world championship level that was dominated by the daughters and son of multimillionaires/billionaires. Undoubtedly all three are talented and win plenty - but they will never have the drive of many of the top class European riders who came from humble beginnings. The US will gain Olympic qualification at the (easier) PanAms. But will the children of the 0.01 percent keep the US competitive at an Olympic/worlds level (when the older generation/true horse people (Kraut, Farringdon, ward are in the minority)? Time will tellâŠ
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I guess Iâm just plain not that mad about it.
Our next generation of top show jumpers wonât learn to ride around top-tier championship courses without riding around top-tier championship courses. We can qualify for the Olympics in this sport without too much fuss about it, and we can medal at the Olympics pretty consistently. If this team was sent in part to play the long game and give some up and comers experience they could potentially parlay into success in Paris, then hereâs hoping everyone learned something.
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I believe it was one pupil and one former pupil.
Well, unless one is standing behind them ready to go with a world class horse and international riding experience, there really isnât much room to criticize. Someone has to buy horses and someone has to ride them, and in order for the newer generation to become experienced they have to actually get experience.
And if Mclain says his horse needed the firmer footing, then it needed firmer footing. Heâs the one actually sitting on the horse so his is literally the only opinion that counts.
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I donât understand the gripe about where the money is coming from to buy these horses. As long as itâs U.S. money to buy U.S. horses why do you care where the money comes from?
It takes talent to ride them, young people have to gain experience, and we canât win everything all the time.
