Here is the order of go for the class, which is about to start. This is the one that the kids qualify for throughout the winter, and then they have to do the class without any help from their trainers. I believe the live feed is on the USEF Network this year.
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Live feed:
Watching now. Excellent commentary.
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Rachel Kennedy and Lillie Keenan doing the very informative commentary with Steven ?, the announcer who does a lot of the big jumper classes.
Just finished the first round. Top twelve come back shortly for the second round, then probably a test of the top four or so after that.
Is there an event “promo” that will let me watch without joining? I feel like there often is one for these types of events. Would LOVE to watch 
Never mind, I see now that you need a subscriber or competitor membership to watch on-demand content 
USEF Network had a link to it, but it was really on the PBIEC site. Looks like you can watch the replay here: https://pbiec.coth.com/article/live-streaming-wef-equitation-championship-presented-by-netjets-at-5-p-m-et-on-331.
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OMG, when I have time, I am totally going to go back and listen to Lillie Keenan explain about leads on a bending line again, during the top 12 it was IIRC.
I am so very, very grateful for commentary like that (even if it makes me feel so very, very uneducated 
) – and would go back and shake Younger Me if I could, who thought she wouldn’t get that much out of watching video.
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It was! She explained that Andre taught her depending on track in the bend, you ride it one of two ways:
- for a right angle bend (sometimes I think of them as “broken” not bending), you would swap to the correct lead in the bend because of the sharp angle of the turn
- for a softer angle or gentle bend, (greater than 90°), you hold the counter lead to show balance for horse and rider
Something I really hadn’t thought about since I rarely do equitation classes…such an interesting side comment!
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For those of us with a long memory on the BB, it’s a little funny to think back on a specific thread many years ago that I believe was about Lillie when she was a pony rider.
Quite a few posters were very derogatory about her position and implied ability from a single photograph. To paraphrase the country song, how do they like her now? Lol.
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I was a big fan of Lillie’s mother, Pamela Carmichael, one of the top juniors in the country at the time, so I followed Lillie’s career as well and remember the criticisms. Lillie’s talent was apparent right from her pony days and I’m happy to see the success she has had.
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Thank you!!!
I actually had a way easier time following your explanation 
ah yes I remember, it was about the spurs! She’ll never go far bc she relies on her spurs too high to compensate for a weak leg, or something like that.
Boy, feel old. Every time I see her name I remember the munchkin on a magazine or catalogue cover. Pictured over top of a jump on a rather…rotund…buckskin with dead serious face, pigtails and big bows flying. Now, after an enviable Junior career, shes a commentator explaining bending line options at a prestige event.
Well remember she was trashed for the spurs and being a know nothing kid handed carefully prepped mounts and handing them back to grooms without knowing “true” horsemanship. We know how she ended up, wonder where those who piled on the little kid are today.
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Yes, that was quite amazing.
I don’t think I ever even commented on that thread. I just kept reading it with my jaw on the floor.
Flash forward a few years, and I believe she was the one who basically put the entire green riding jacket industry back in business after being in the doldrums for decades. And now she’s wearing the red jacket for the USET in international competitions. And providing free equitation pointers to the live stream watchers in her copious free time. Lol.
Good for her.
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I remember Lillie winning the International Hunter Derby Finals on C Coast Z finishing with a very bold gallop to the last fence, she was only 14! I hope everyone who criticized her as a pony rider saw that.
