Badminton 2023 thread

Slight defence of Oli and SS. This horse is a very experienced campaigner and has always done a really good cross country round, maybe he was thinking that he had hit a bit of a wall, but would pick up again. His second horse finished well, so obviously fit enough. SS did suddenly look weary, maybe something will come to light in a few days.

Watching on TV only, so just saw what was on screen and obviously didn't see ditches in front, the yawning ditches underneath, or the up down terrain - but I thought that it was a "straightforward" course in that the fence was in front and it all it had to do was jump. There were no tricky turns, or lines of arrowheads, curving distances or anything to get them out of a rhythm. I was only watching the highlights on BBC so I was watching those who got it right, not anyone who got it wrong.
 
I agree that OT’s horses are usually fit enough (he did seem to learn his lesson from that issue previously), but for whatever reason SS repeatedly struggled at fences, couldn’t make long strides when asked, demolished a fence. There were a million reasons why he should have seen it wasn’t his day and pulled up. I didn’t even think he rode BC well either.
 
I found SS to be a similarly difficult watch last year, I didn’t think he’d have finished if not for the hold on course
 
SS is very experienced, but he very nearly fell last year and arguably wouldn’t have got around without the lengthy hold on course as he was tired, then he fell at Burghley. I watched him warm up and he had no sparkle, it was all quite labored and Oli was already working hard to keep him on his lines and to manufacture the jump.
 
billylula said:
I fell over in the mud on xc day, despite having chunky wellies on. Have a nasty muscle tear and ligament damage. No riding for weeks 😢
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Hope you are doing ok.

Agree that the mud at the beginning of xc day was the worst. At least on Sat, it was wet/watery mud. Sun am was heavy sticky worse mud, and when it was on carpets in some of the marquees, it was like walking on black ice. I minimised my walking, ie no shopping!
 
Just got round to watching prize giving, the the weather looks awful!! People shivering and the poor horses stood out in it!
 
Amymay said:
Love watching Tim Price ride. Can’t bear watching Pippa Funnell ride I’m afraid.
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I thought Gemma Stevens' cross country round was worse that PF. That poor horse. She seemed to get left behind the jump over and over again and had to hang on to the horse's mouth for balance. Some pretty rough riding. Not nice to watch. Her show jumping round looked better though. I thought Jalapeno didn't look quite right in the trot up?
 
Orangehorse said:
Slight defence of Oli and SS. This horse is a very experienced campaigner and has always done a really good cross country round, maybe he was thinking that he had hit a bit of a wall, but would pick up again. His second horse finished well, so obviously fit enough. SS did suddenly look weary, maybe something will come to light in a few days.

Watching on TV only, so just saw what was on screen and obviously didn't see ditches in front, the yawning ditches underneath, or the up down terrain - but I thought that it was a "straightforward" course in that the fence was in front and it all it had to do was jump. There were no tricky turns, or lines of arrowheads, curving distances or anything to get them out of a rhythm. I was only watching the highlights on BBC so I was watching those who got it right, not anyone who got it wrong.
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SS was knackered before he banked himself on top of the jump and demolished it. After that he was knackered and had lost confidence, but looked like he was too scared to stop 😢 I don’t know any rider, professional or amateur, that would have tried to continue in that situation. He was climbing over fences and they don’t pick up again once it gets that bad. If I was the rider I’d find it really hard to watch the replay of that.
 
Upthecreek said:
SS was knackered before he banked himself on top of the jump and demolished it. After that he was knackered and had lost confidence, but looked like he was too scared to stop 😢 I don’t know any rider, professional or amateur, that would have tried to continue in that situation. He was climbing over fences and they don’t pick up again once it gets that bad. If I was the rider I’d find it really hard to watch the replay of that.
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The sad thing for me is though quite a few horses did this and weren't stopped and went on to fall. Loads of horses banked the table that Ollie did. Dynasty made for real uncomfortable viewing.

The lack of pre runs was very evident.
 
Maddie Moo said:
This popped up on my YouTube - Really enjoyed watching it but that bounce into the water over railings was slightly terrifying, even if she made it look very easy! Plus the stone wall corner 😱

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I used to have the VHS that clip comes from, I used to love watching it! Holy moly that stone wall combo!

Sort of regretting my decision not to get BTV but might do it next year and for now catch the highlights on BBC. I have enjoyed following along with this thread.

Regarding OT, I generally like to give people the benefit of the doubt, at first. If someone is repeatedly showing you through their behaviour (i.e., what they do, not what they say), I think it's wise to believe them. He's got form that many other riders don't seem to have, it needs a robust response to protect horse welfare and the sport. Also his safety, even if he doesn't seem particularly minded of that.
 
Maddie Moo said:
This popped up on my YouTube - Really enjoyed watching it but that bounce into the water over railings was slightly terrifying, even if she made it look very easy! Plus the stone wall corner 😱

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I must have been there somewhere!
Looking at Priceless, you can see how well balanced he was. The horse never had a cross country penalty and the vet said he loved to hear Priceless trotting up, always sound.

Nice to see the old course - Tom Smith's Walls, Luckington Lane crossing, although was pleased to see the footbridge was the same this year.
 
Maddie Moo said:
This popped up on my YouTube - Really enjoyed watching it but that bounce into the water over railings was slightly terrifying, even if she made it look very easy! Plus the stone wall corner 😱

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Lovely to see that. Finished full of running
He’s beautifully ridden but very noticeable that the course was a galloping one and not all this twist and turning that we get nowadays.
 
shortstuff99 said:
The sad thing for me is though quite a few horses did this and weren't stopped and went on to fall. Loads of horses banked the table that Ollie did. Dynasty made for real uncomfortable viewing.

The lack of pre runs was very evident.
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Quite. Many of the rounds made uncomfortable viewing and it’s sad for the sport that more riders didn’t do the right thing by their horses and retire. I personally felt SS looked more in need of stopping than anyone else.
 
Maddie Moo said:
This popped up on my YouTube - Really enjoyed watching it but that bounce into the water over railings was slightly terrifying, even if she made it look very easy! Plus the stone wall corner 😱

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Lovely. And back in the day of weight clothes, of roads and tracks x 2 with a steeplechase in between.
 
Marigold4 said:
I thought Gemma Stevens' cross country round was worse that PF. That poor horse. She seemed to get left behind the jump over and over again and had to hang on to the horse's mouth for balance. Some pretty rough riding. Not nice to watch. Her show jumping round looked better though. I thought Jalapeno didn't look quite right in the trot up?
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I only saw today’s highlights so didn’t see Gemma Stevens. PF always rides incredibly roughly.
 
It was great that the course did not involve lots of skinnies . Have watched enough xc with a jump then a sharp turn to a skinny. This was as Eric Winter described it,’ more old fashioned but with modern technology’. Having said that there were still a lot of falls even with the mim clips and frangible pins there to prevent them. I don’t recall many of them actually being triggered though, Only one at the lake and OT of course. Interesting to see if the falls were because of the rain sodden ground, lack of prep runs or nature of the fences.Did not make for comfortable viewing and any lay person would probably have found it no more acceptable than the Grand National. It felt like all the interviewees were prepped to highlight horse welfare which unfortunately was slightly at odds with what we were seeing on screen. Ok for all of us ‘ in the know’ who understand all the care and attention that goes into getting a horse to this level.Perhaps it’s time for a return to roads and tracks and the steeplechase phases . Do we need all this technicality to the fences and hence technical engineering to make them safe? Well done to all those who withdrew or pulled up before their horses emptied. So sorry for Fiona and her beloved Revel. Hats off to Ros though, fantastic win
 
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Just to add to the OT debate I saw him being interviewed last year where he basically said he knew he had a reputation for being a bit of a selfish whatsit but he realised that meant he didn't come across as a team player....and you don't get selected for teams (ie Olympics next year) if you are selfish. So call me cynical but I think he's just on damage control to improve his reputation ahead of the Olympics next year....he said he needed to improve his team image...

Saying that though he obviously has no problem charming owners! Considering the fleet of horses he has! 🤣
 
Trakky14 said:
Just to add to the OT debate I saw him being interviewed last year where he basically said he knew he had a reputation for being a bit of a selfish whatsit but he realised that meant he didn't come across as a team player....and you don't get selected for teams (ie Olympics next year) if you are selfish. So call me cynical but I think he's just on damage control to improve his reputation ahead of the Olympics next year....he said he needed to improve his team image...

Saying that though he obviously has no problem charming owners! Considering the fleet of horses he has! 🤣
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I’m wondering if it hasn’t been mentioned at all in any interviews or social media pages because they are trying to decide how to keep his image as in tact as much as possible BECAUSE of the upcoming Olympics.

As for owners, some don’t care at all, they just like the glory. When I was doing my BHSAI I did work experience at a top eventer’s yard and went to a few events, met the owners of his current up and coming advanced horse several times. They loved going to events, spoiled the horse rotten, loved the parties etc. A few months later, when I got back to college, the rider’s head groom turned up with a horse that belonged to the same people. It was a retired badminton horse. They’d taken it hone when it had retired, threw it out with their cows, and ignored it. The head groom from the event yard persuaded them to loan it to our college. When it arrived it was so skinny it was actually in a sling for a few days. The same owners that gushed over their winning horse couldn’t give a stuff about their old horse when it stopped winning.
 
I was sure I saw a pretty significant fetlock drop on Cathargo immediately afterwards. So desperately unlucky, as it wasn't a dramatic fall/stop
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
To be fair, this was an odd one. Carthago didn't fall, he jumped into the ditch in front of a fence, stayed on his feet but catapulted Fiona into the next county.

The horse immediately received vet care on site, was bandaged and taken on the trailer to the on site vet centre where he was then transferred to a horsepital for surgery. It was only during surgery they realised the injury simply wasn't going to repair.

The TV coverage didn't show that side of the fence. Commentary said there was a ditch in front of the brush fence jump. I don't think he was the only horse to jump into the ditch so yes, I think there are lessons to be learned in how horses read and can misread fences. I think it needs a proper investigation.
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I was really hoping for him it would be all good, especially as he was on his feet and walking and didn’t actually fall into the fence. Condolences to Fiona and her team, not surprised she withdrew her second horse.

TheMule said:
It's incredibly sad and very unlucky as just a simple mistake has led to an irreparable injury, but there hasn’t been a horse death for several years at Badminton (and not many in total, to be fair), so I'm not sure what your comment means?
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I think in total there’s been a few, but some have been freak accidents.
The French horse who got caught on a flag a few years ago, Shanghai Joe who ran loose back to the stables, slipped and fell into Badminton House itself and broke his shoulder are two I can think of.

Horsetalk NZ have actually compiled a list of horses and riders who have died eventing. It’s not nice to read, but also a reminder of how dangerous eventing can be to horse and rider.

www.horsetalk.co.nz

Horse and human eventing fatalities - Horsetalk.co.nz

Database of eventing horse and rider fatalities.
www.horsetalk.co.nz www.horsetalk.co.nz
 
shortstuff99 said:
The sad thing for me is though quite a few horses did this and weren't stopped and went on to fall. Loads of horses banked the table that Ollie did. Dynasty made for real uncomfortable viewing.

The lack of pre runs was very evident.
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This. They clearly had it in for Oli.

The Lithuanian riders horse could barely put one foot in front of another by the end. All the commentary was very admiring of him.
 
Tracking_up said:
Hope you are doing ok.

Agree that the mud at the beginning of xc day was the worst. At least on Sat, it was wet/watery mud. Sun am was heavy sticky worse mud, and when it was on carpets in some of the marquees, it was like walking on black ice. I minimised my walking, ie no shopping!
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Yes by the end of the day the mud wasn't too bad. I don't think I'd go again though. Too many people at the fences, too many people holding phones up, too many buggies and dogs on leads (nothing against dogs we took ours but there were so many on extendable leads). Admittedly I was feeling a bit vulnerable with my arm in a sling!
 
Honey08 said:
I’m wondering if it hasn’t been mentioned at all in any interviews or social media pages because they are trying to decide how to keep his image as in tact as much as possible BECAUSE of the upcoming Olympics.

As for owners, some don’t care at all, they just like the glory. When I was doing my BHSAI I did work experience at a top eventer’s yard and went to a few events, met the owners of his current up and coming advanced horse several times. They loved going to events, spoiled the horse rotten, loved the parties etc. A few months later, when I got back to college, the rider’s head groom turned up with a horse that belonged to the same people. It was a retired badminton horse. They’d taken it hone when it had retired, threw it out with their cows, and ignored it. The head groom from the event yard persuaded them to loan it to our college. When it arrived it was so skinny it was actually in a sling for a few days. The same owners that gushed over their winning horse couldn’t give a stuff about their old horse when it stopped winning.
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Think you might be right there.

That is so sad 😞
 
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