There were 35 in the class, with the top 12 back for the handy round.
I’m chuckling at Erynn’s comment about the evolution of hunters and the night class. Dude, remember at the start of this class half the field was in the dark, half in shadows, and the parts that had lights had the noise from the generators.
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Thx! Very pretty horses & arena. The commentary is ridiculously unprofessional though. One of the ladies said that some of the most famous European show jumpers are adopting the hunter style/posture, but conviniently failed to mentioned any names…so IMO she basically just sucked this out of her fingers for the sake of saying smth (to which the other 2 agreed).
Commentary is coming from one of Canada’s top Grand Prix riders and one of the most respected hunter judges in the US. You can disagree, but it’s far from unprofessional.
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Uninformative is the right word then. The fact that you’re successful in smth doesn’t make you a good in commentary. Also, it actually makes it worse to state something without backup info. I’m for example interested who from the top adopts the hunter style in Europe?
Another example, quoting: ‘’ The rider’s card said they had an injury. Glad they’re back on the saddle". Like what injury? Who doesn’t get injured at some point…
Complete lack of info.
You are being extremely nitpicky. I believe the rider who referenced an injury was a younger rider who perhaps these commentators didn’t know. They can’t tell you what the injury was if they weren’t provided with that information and it wasn’t a rider they are familiar with. Personally, I think they’ve been pretty informative and entertaining without being distracting.
Private I had a lovely handy round just now, minus a lackluster hand gallop.
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I love the comment about Liza’s following the track as in “the paw prints”. That was something.
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Their job is to provide info for both pro and newbie viewers, to shed some light about this sport & its athletes. Stating something without reference for your info (for interested party to research), is not at all informative (as anyone with university degree knows). I stopped watching after the above mentioned 2 exapmes, as it just became boring. Not a big deal, just another potential euro fan lost.
I was totally thinking the same thing! I remember that first class extremely well.
Not to mention the fact that I believe it was held on Monday the first couple of years, until somebody realized the drawbacks involved in that approach.
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I remember that discussion as well.
Still my favorite class memory though is at the beginning when importing a WB was still somewhat new, and they were also starting to announce the breeding. Someone slipped one in that was out of Europe, by Plane… and I can’t remember if it was Kenny or Peter, but they announced it before thinking it through and then audibly snorted.
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Yes. When they were saying last night that past winners Monday Morning and High Hearts were both thoroughbreds, that felt like a really long time ago. They were both very successful horses, though.
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I was there in person- it was a lot of fun! It was a little confusing bc they handed out course maps to spectators that called for a trot fence after fences 4 and 5 in the handy (where the riders ended up being asked to slow to a walk) and didn’t mention the hand gallop. I was pretty confused when the first horse went in for the handy and walked.
I really enjoyed Mimi’s ride on Catch Me- I’d love to take a spin on him 
. Unfortunate evening for Liza though.
Those were great horses.
Hudson was half-thoroughbred, by Mytens.
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How is the world of HIPPA is that anyone’s business? They had an injury… maybe the rider got knocked out from a bad fall, maybe they broke a leg, maybe they had a bad hangnail… either way, that’s not our business and not the point. They’re wishing that rider well on their return to competition. It’s not The View … it’s a sport commentary.
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Very unfortunate.
Good lesson for the rest of us, though, that even the very best riders can have an off day. She still patted her horses on the way out of the ring, and I’m sure she’ll be back to her usual winning ways in short order.
Chronicle write up.
Precisely, here’s another example for you:
Commentaror 1: This horse is 7y/o and came from Europe, where he’s done a lot.
Commentaror 2 : Yes, but he’s a little bit green.
Commentaror 1: Yes, still green.
End of discussion.
What do you mean by green? Is it the cantering or his hunter jumps? In what way is he green (certainly not the brain or ridability, since he obviously has some euro shows). The viewer is left wondering, when they could’ve simply elaborate with few words to promote the interest for their sport with their professional knowledge.
Honestly, sometimes I want the commentators to shut up so I can just watch the horses go and it sounds like that’s what they did. Let’s be real–no uneducated layperson is just stumbling across this class while clicking through the channels on their TV.
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I appreciated Erynn Ballard. She seems geniunely compassionate for both horses and riders.
Edited to add I wish they’d have allowed Louise Serio some mic time. Seemed kind of an awkward set up. I was like, hey Sissy I think Louise is speaking.
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Typically when it’s the imports that have jumped 1.30M and come over to do the hunters, it’s considered green when it’s still peeky at the fill or the big built out oxers or plays through lead changes, etc.
Spooky fill and flowers and such are relatively new to the Euro horses where they’re seeing mostly rails…so I’ve seen 10 year old imports come over that can march around a 1.40M course but you put them in a 3’6 derby and you better pack some SaddleTite and a seat belt and carry a big stick and spurs.
I guess it could also be differentiating leaving from the gap rather than the base, since that’s a new thing for them, as well.
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