Badminton XC thread

Ambers Echo

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Pipsqueak, agree. I think most riders genuinely love their horses and treat them with kindness and respect. And also expect a lot of them and put them at risk which is another contradiciton. I love Amber and I am putting her at risk by breeding her. Yet another contradiction. Human-animal relationships are very contradictory in all areas. Not just eventing.

And I agree there needs to be either strengthening or proper enforcement of a 'tired horse' rule.
 

Tiddlypom

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Jerky SJ footage for me, too. Wish they'd keep the horse and rider name up for the duration plus display the time. The time is quite tight, but you only see after the round what the time was/any time faults.

Swallow Springs looked really good at the trot up, so his glance off can't have hurt him too much.

ETA 7 horses withdrawn overnight after the XC. 3 horses held after first trot up but all passed after a 2nd look. Long discussion over John the Bull, but allowed through.
 
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sasquatch

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So some of the things I found interesting about xc;

A lot of the first timers seemed to do better than experienced riders, I was very impressed by Ariel Grald, who completed her first 5* and looked to have a good round once her horse settled and rode well.
Could it be that some of the first timers were just more cautious and prepared to be cautious than the experienced riders this time round?

There were some unfortunate falls that were just unfortunate - Hazel Shannon comes to mind as her horse just seemed to hesitate too much at the ditch and then fall over it. Maybe she could have pushed him forward more, but it looked like the horse just came in and hung in the air and was looking too much into the drop on the other side. Any other fence, and I’m sure she would have gotten away with the horse backing off a bit. Interestingly, I think before his fall Alex Bragg had a similar problem where the horse just looked into the ditch at the V and got lucky as the pins fell.

Cathal Daniels fall was horrible to watch, but looks as if Barichello may have slipped on take off or just misjudged his take off point because of the , they were both very lucky. It was the same fence Emily King fell at, where the horse just left a leg.

Tom McEwen’s fall was pure rider error, Toledo had been forward and jumping massively and TM just didn’t seem to adjust him for it properly.

The French horse (I cannot remember his name) was a hideous rider judgement on a tired horse. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a red card come out of that.

I do feel a bit for Ben Hobday, it looks like the horse left a leg, unseated him and he just toppled off the side. I’m sure he’s kicking himself as he’s probably sat to much worse but we all have those moments of ‘I really should have sat that’.

I didn’t see Pippa’s fall or the other fall by the American (?) girl so have nonidesnwhar

I do think this being the first Badminton in 3 years, with a sold out crowd played a big part in it. Horses that have competed over the last 2/3 years with smaller or no crowds probably did find it a different experience, combined with a tough, full up 5* course. I’m not surprised horses were withdrawn before the jumping phase today. It was also nice to see riders retiring horses who weren’t enjoying the trip rather than pushing them round a few more fences.

I do think XC should be technical, and should have questions for both horse and rider but not to the point it causes serious horse falls. I don’t enjoy eventing as much when it turns into a dressage and showjumping competition, and I do think so many of the top riders after dressage having falls or penalties did give a good indication on how the course was riding.

I’m going to be interested to see how many riders are handed warnings, red and yellow cards after XC.
 

sasquatch

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To add as well, very impressed with Ariel Grald’s jumping round and think she’s going to be someone to watch out for in the future
 

RachelFerd

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To add as well, very impressed with Ariel Grald’s jumping round and think she’s going to be someone to watch out for in the future

Arial Grald has been round Burghley and Luhmuhlen once (oh, and Kentucky too) with that horse - quite a long way from a 5* first-timer - although I agree she was super!
 
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Chianti

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Anyone interested in the use of horses in high level competition might want to read 'I Can't watch Anymore' by Julie Taylor. It's an open letter to the IOC as to why horses shouldn't be included in the Olympic games but it relates to all high level competitions. It mainly discusses how horses are managed in order to compete in dressage and show jumping but there are also some references to eventing.
 

sasquatch

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Arial Grald has been round Burghley and Luhmuhlen once (oh, and Kentucky too) with that horse - quite a long way from a 5* first-timer - although I agree she was super!

I swear the commentators said it was her first 5* yesterday on XC, so maybe I misheard or maybe they were wrong too lol
 

milliepops

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I just don’t know what the answer is to keep the sport at true 5* level but being aware of the social licence of horse sport especially now.
no it's a tricky one, that's for sure.
I love eventing, it's fun to do and exciting to watch. But times are changing and I am also unsure how to square the top competition aspect with preventing any horse from having an accident.

It feels unusual to see this much negativity (whereas it feels commonplace in dressage) , previously it's been more ripping into individuals rather than questioning the sport as a whole. wonder why it's taken this long? rewatching the footage even the top riders in the world are yanking away on horses mouths in a way that would have them slaughtered in a dressage ring... but it's OK because the horse has its ears forward (doesn't that just mean its attention is ahead of it??)
 
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