[QUOTE=Madison;8714404]
Has anyone heard if there will be a livestream?[/QUOTE]
Haven’t heard or looked for anything official, but I am assuming there will be based on prior years. “We have the technology.”
[QUOTE=mosmom;8714461]
If I remember correctly, Boyd did make it around xc. Otis was held at the jogs before show jumping and Boyd decided to withdrawal. Turned out Otis had an infection[/QUOTE]
I thought it was a cork issue? He strained something?
[QUOTE=LadyB;8714503]
I thought it was a cork issue? He strained something?[/QUOTE]
That’s what they thought at first. According to their blog it turned out to be an infection.
[QUOTE=mosmom;8714549]
That’s what they thought at first. According to their blog it turned out to be an infection.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for clarifying. Clearly I’ve known the wrong information since 2012 LOL.
It’s probably only correlation, but the United States hasn’t done anything well as a Team since 2007 when PD started being the mainstay. Our last gleam of a medal was in 2008. That’s two WEGs and one Olympics.
Does anyone know if the Swedes will have an Olympic Team this year?
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8712951]
I’m struggling as an owner whether I go…as far as Zika…yes, it is a risk. But it will be winter and less of a one than during peak season. If I was pregnant or planning to become pregnant…than no. But otherwise, I think the risk of Zika is more manageable.
Honestly, security/crime is a much more likely risk…and the one that I’m more concerned about.[/QUOTE]
What horse is yours?
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8714602]
It’s probably only correlation, but the United States hasn’t done anything well as a Team since 2007 when PD started being the mainstay. Our last gleam of a medal was in 2008. That’s two WEGs and one Olympics.
Does anyone know if the Swedes will have an Olympic Team this year?[/QUOTE]
http://fei.org/system/files/FINAL%20-%20Nominated%20Entries%20COCs%20OG%202016%20EVENTING_21June2016.pdf They have nominated 11 horses, so I believe so.
[QUOTE=SendenHorse;8714685]
What horse is yours?[/QUOTE]
Muggle. His rider is Brazillian. We will know whether he is on the team or reserve after Bradbury Castle (trying to decide if I can also swing to go there). I’ve owned him since he was two, but syndicated him for a friend. Very small syndicate. I originally bought him for myself to ride (and backed him myself) but he kept growing and is more of a man’s ride. Very cool for this horse to get to this level as well as for his rider!
The really funny story is his name. A friend dared me to call him Muggle (his barn name is Prince)…and the name stuck :). He now has his own fan club…part of our fundraising for them.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10154951594505299&id=57736720298
[QUOTE=Backstage;8712922]
Just because I like numbers…
On 2012, the podium positions/team scores were as follows:
Gold - German - 133.7
Silver - UK - 138.2
Bronze - NZL - 144.40
The US had a 208.6.
Phillip Dutton + Fernhill Cubalawn. 4* results: 2016, 59.40 (7 xc time), 2015, 54.10 (3.2 time on xc). He has run within the time at the CCI3* level. He has never finished under 50pp at the CCI3* or CCI4* level. If the XC is a bit softer and has good conditions, he could be quick enough. With a bit of luck, he could finish high 40s, but low 50s is more likely.
Lauren Kieffer + Veronica. They finished on a 46.7 at Rolex in 2014, and a 52.50 in 2016. They had time penalties (7.2) in 2016, none in 2014. This is a combo that could finish in the low 40s.
Boyd Martin + Blackfoot Mystery. 4* 2016 58.60 (3.6pp time on xc). Dressage was a 52, but previous outings at the 3* level suggest he is capable of more. Just not sure if it can be produced under the OG stress and excitement. He often has a rail or two, so a low to mid 50s score is most likely.
Clark Montgomery + Loughan Glen. Mid-30s dressage is a definite possibility. He has the potential to finish on that score - he won Blenheim on a 33.3 last year, and was 6th at Luhmuhlen on a 37.5 in 2015. Certainly some risk, of course.
If Clark Montgomery and Lauren Kieffer deliver and one of Phillip or Boyd is able to keep the score as close to 50 as possible, you could have something like a 38 + 46 + 53 (Boyd or PD)…137 total. Not good enough for Gold, but could nab Silver or Bronze if things play out similarly to London scoring-wise. Basically, this could be a competitive team if all goes to plan. Which is the tricky part!
The real question is how much lower with the team scores be in 2016. They dropped considerably from 2008 to 2012. Back in 2012, Jung and Sam finished on a 40.6 (their dressage score). They have obviously upped their game since then. Sandra Auffarth finished on a 44.8 in 2012, but have the ability also finish in the 30s. Ingrid Klimke could as well. If all three finish in the 30s, we could see some very low team scores, at least for the gold spot. Al three of these riders were on the Gold team at the Euros, and even with only two of them finishing on scores in the 30s, the team score was 122.7. The UK was FAR behind with 173.3, and France in third with 183.70.[/QUOTE]
…this is all true BUT - who else would you pick? In an ideal world we would have a team to go head to head with the best of the Germans on paper, but…we don’t. However there have been may a time whre heart outbeats the head…this team have all shown their dedication the past two years (Lauren at Rolex, Phillip consistently in every top 5, Boyd broken limbs but still running to Bromont and Luhmulen, Clark best dressage scores on the US team…) I agree they may not be as strong as the Europeans on paper, but their hearts are all in for sure.
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8714372]
The riders all are still making a living…schooling and showing other horses. I’d be less concerned about Lauren at the Nations…and more concerned about some of the others schooling a green horse at home.[/QUOTE]
True…remember Boyd broke his collarbone schooling a novice horse right after his big win in Florida…
[QUOTE=JER;8713449]
Interesting to see the comments here on the zika virus. I know a number of athletes, coaches, and support staff going to Rio – and not one of them is concerned about it.[/QUOTE]
I hang out with Olympic sailors a bit, and the horrid water has gotten people much more wound up than Zika. On the other hand, folks are hyperfocused on performance at the games (where one stomach bug can ruin your whole day), not as much what happens after.
On the equestrian side, I really hope glanders is a non-issue.
Does anyone know what actually happened to Shamwari? He is such a cool horse. 
What I’m surprised about is the timelines of international shipping and having Clark ship Glen (via long airplane ride) to Virginia for Great Meadow, and then boom on a plane again to Rio.
Those of us who are embedded in the racing world saw the folly of turn around shipping with flights last year when American Pharoah had his one defeat at the Travers. My friends in general were not loving his chances after he was flown home to California after the Haskell win and then flown back. This on top of already being flown back to the west coast once since the triple crown ended.
Shipping via plane takes a lot out of a horse. there’s a small window for peak performance and why we see many American runners heading to the Dubai world cup either 6 weeks out (or more) or the week of.
Two long distance flights for Glen in a short period of time… just doesn’t make sense to me. I think it’s akin to handing our best track sprinter a pair of heavy shoes and asking them to run 100m in 9.7 seconds. It just won’t happen.
So I am looking harder at the reserve list and seeing how likely it could be for Maya to step up.
~Emily
While I certainly don’t disagree about the risks of doing too much long-distance shipping with these horses, Virginia is somewhat en route between the UK and Argentina and would break up the trip into a 6- and 10-hour (ish) flights instead of one 14-hour-ish one. I’ve no idea whether one long flight is easier on a horse than two not-quite-as-long flights, but it’s a bit different than shipping a horse back and forth across the country.
Regardless, agree the combination of long flights and competitions is less than ideal. The horse JUST competed and proved he’s on form, and against arguably tougher competition than he’ll see at the mandatory outing. I’d like it better if Glen could rest up in Virginia or just do the dressage there.
[QUOTE=Larksmom;8714283]
Lynn had a xc stop at Kentucky. I suspect they looked hard at Rolex. And even though some seem to think this one or that one should have been picked, This is how the ball has bounced. There have been other years when it got downright ugly.
The bonus of going to Europe, [hopefully Burghley], should be a great incentive for Maya. An incredible opportunity, with much less pressure than the Olympics. Also hopefully the best horses will have gone to Rio, so it could be really a good thing. If she could get into the top ten there, she would be competitive anywhere.:yes:[/QUOTE]
Lynn had no jumping penalties and was second only to Michael Jung for the fastest time of the day.
[QUOTE=goodmorning;8714253]
Listen, Boyd & PD are great, but let’s look back to London. Boyd didn’t get to SJ, PD had a refusal etc in SJ. Boyd made it around XC at WEG on his experienced horse, PD did not on Boyd’s questionable horse. There are several very good eventers, but you can’t ignore the horse.
I hope both Sinead & Lynn aim for Burghley. Lynn was so close last year. Didn’t push him XC, she did at Rolex, he could go out & whoop a$$. Sinead & Tate should go try to get their blue ribbon they missed out on last time :yes: The Olympics isn’t a 4* so no need to waste these horses there, though that’s easy for me to say.[/QUOTE]
Totally agree. Even with their experience, their results haven’t been stellar. Personally I’ve never been a fan of buying a made horse just before a big team competition. I’ve never done it before (DUH, haha), so I can’t say for sure, but it seems like the partnership wouldn’t be there. Plus, logically, if a made horse in europe has real potential to win a medal, it seems unlikely it would be for sale. Kind of sheds some light on the desire to get a spot and go to the games, but not a lot of long-term thinking about being competitive once you get there…
Again, I have NO clue what I’m talking about compared to these riders (or maybe even at all :lol:), but also, the proof is in the pudding… None of these last minute horse purchases have won medals for the US. The best this strategy has ever played out was with Shamwari at WEG, but he still wasn’t on the podium (not that 10th at WEG is ANYTHING to scoff at, just saying, it wasn’t a medal).
Just think it’s unfortunate that there seems to be a lack of importance placed on patiently developing the horse and the partnership from the ground up. When you think back to the medals we have one in the past several Games, most seem to have been won by long-term partnerships developed over time. Definitely correct me if I’m wrong on this, though.
Makes me think of Will Coleman’s reaction after London… He went home, really thought through his performance, and decided the best way to be competitive the next opportunity he got to go to the Olympics was to buy some REALLY nice youngsters, and by the next Games, hopefully have some real competitors on his hands. Seems logical they’ll have the background and partnership to hopefully handle the pressure a little better.
I think Lynn and Sinead should go do Burghley or Pau as well. Last Olympics, not being selected led to the high point of Sinead’s career, so I say they go out and kick ass somewhere else.
[QUOTE=JER;8713449]
Interesting to see the comments here on the zika virus. I know a number of athletes, coaches, and support staff going to Rio – and not one of them is concerned about it.
(And yes, we’ve been receiving info about it from our NOCs for months, so this isn’t about ignorance.)[/QUOTE]
A tad unrelated, but did y’all see Rory McIlroy, the golfer, has decided to not go to the Olympics because of Zika? Just thought it was interesting.
[QUOTE=spencergbennett;8715546]
A tad unrelated, but did y’all see Rory McIlroy, the golfer, has decided to not go to the Olympics because of Zika? Just thought it was interesting.[/QUOTE]
I heard that this morning. There is no reason for Rory to go to the Olympics, though, he makes more than enough money on the pro tour and has lots of sponsorships. There’s not much he can gain from a trip to Rio.
[QUOTE=spencergbennett;8715546]
A tad unrelated, but did y’all see Rory McIlroy, the golfer, has decided to not go to the Olympics because of Zika? Just thought it was interesting.[/QUOTE]
Oh yes, the top golfers can’t get away from the Olympics fast enough. If it wasn’t zika, it would be an ‘injury’, and if he couldn’t find a believable hurting body part, he’d be saying he wants to ‘spend more time with his family’.
The IOC seized on golf as a way to seize some of golf’s revenues, except the doddering corrupt fools didn’t realize that golf’s numbers who be dropping sharply (young people don’t want to golf, no one has the time or money anymore), or that the top golfers’ sponsors would rather have them sit out Rio and focus on the majors. More here.
Golf and Rio have been entwined in a routine public-relations disaster. This started with epic wrangling over the construction of the venue itself and has now led to a batch of players – the number is certain to increase – think better of attending. At the Players Championship last month two professionals, Graham DeLaet and Caroline Masson, were placed on a podium and asked to chat through all that was good about Olympic golf. This was stunted, desperate stuff; the narrative had long since swung in an alternate direction.
In other words, zika my a**. 
This is how bad things are: H & H has a beginner’s guide to eventing on its website that lists the countries expected to vie for medals, along with some others that could be in contention. The US is never mentioned, not even among the possibles.
I wrote this exact same post before WEG 2014.
