Badminton XC!

AdorableAlice said:
There was a male rider who dropped his whip half way round. Nursed a tired horse home hands and heels. The horse kept going at a pace he could manage.

Mr Townend is a driven highly competitive man who has gained everything through dedication and hard work. Horses are merely a tool of his trade and with a huge sum of money up for grabs if he can win the Rolex title with a win at Badminton there was never any doubt he would thrash those horses round. He was sheepish when interviewed by Clare Balding and claimed the grey was nappy and difficult thereby using precious energy before he ran and therefore got tired too quickly.

He certainly has not done the sport any favours today. No one, horsey or not want to see brave honest horses being thrashed. One wonders how he treats the horses at home especially a non compliant one.
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I'm afraid I'm with you on this one. I've never been a fan, and he seems to go through high class horses at quite a rate. The inspiration today was Mark Todd, who at the grand old age of 62, rode like a man half his age, and showed how to ride a horse into a tricky fence and make it look easy. Both his horses lasted home well and he wasn't hard on them. I do think some of the men (trying not to be sexist!) looked knackered towards the end of the course. There was a lot of flopping and flapping going on!
 
Is there any news on what happened to Denis Mesples and his horse Oregon de la Vigne. I know they had an accident in the start box which required a horse ambulance. After the sad news about Redpath Ransom, hoping for some better news.

As for the OT issue; I don't know what is right. I saw him smack both rides a number of times but not in a harsh way IMHO. The horses were tiring on the ground and I'd hate to see a tired horse take a lazy jump over a badminton fence and end up injured. Both horses will be fully inspected before they are allowed to take the trot up.

I never feel the need to watch his rounds hidden behind a cushion in fear of the horses safety. Other posters have mentioned Louise Harwood's riding style and I find her style terrifying and I endlessly worry for the safety of her and her horse at every fence. If I owned a horse capable of this, would I send it to Louise or Oli? TBH neither and I've long admired Oli's commitment to the sport, honesty and work ethic.
 
cundlegreen said:
I'm afraid I'm with you on this one. I've never been a fan, and he seems to go through high class horses at quite a rate. The inspiration today was Mark Todd, who at the grand old age of 62, rode like a man half his age, and showed how to ride a horse into a tricky fence and make it look easy. Both his horses lasted home well and he wasn't hard on them. I do think some of the men (trying not to be sexist!) looked knackered towards the end of the course. There was a lot of flopping and flapping going on!
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I thought Will Furlong rode very well too, very impressive as he's only 22 and it was his first time round Badminton, and I believe his first 4*

also sad to hear that Mr Mulry will be retiring after Badminton, there's a wonderful photo of him flying the 3rd fence and they really were a favourite pairing
 
I don't follow much eventing, it's not my cup of tea but I have been reading this thread to give myself a bit more of an idea seeing as everyone is so psyched about it.

What I have learnt - you can use whatever vile contraptions on your horse you deem fit.
Riders can batter their horses with whips and get a slap on the wrist (racing jockeys have huge whip restrictions that are always up for debate!)
People can turn against their favourite riders within seconds.

A suspensory Injury deems putting to sleep. I'd be interested to know why. Bones, a completely broken down tendon or two but not a suspensory in racing.
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
Is there any news on what happened to Denis Mesples and his horse Oregon de la Vigne. I know they had an accident in the start box which required a horse ambulance. After the sad news about Redpath Ransom, hoping for some better news.
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have been checking twitter, but sadly haven't seen anything or much mention of them. I really am hoping no news is good news.
 
cundlegreen said:
I'm afraid I'm with you on this one. I've never been a fan, and he seems to go through high class horses at quite a rate.!
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That's like saying Katie Jerram gets through a lot of top class horses. :-D

He took on any and all rides he could get when starting out. It didn't matter how dangerous and unrideable they were. In recent years he has had rides recommended for him by Andrew Nicholson etc and has started to get better quality horses. He continued to keep a large yard but in the last year or so, made a conscious effort to slim down from the 40+ horses to a more focused string of the best talent. Moving on the previous rides wasn't difficult because he spent time getting to know them and making them successful.
 
EKW said:
A suspensory Injury deems putting to sleep. I'd be interested to know why. Bones, a completely broken down tendon or two but not a suspensory in racing.
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That's a bit low seeing as you have absolutely no knowledge of the actual circumstances and the extent of the injury. There are several reasons why a suspensory injury may be deemed untreatable and you have passed a hugely unfair judgement on the rider and horse's owners.
The rider, owners and whole team are beyond distraught right now (yes, I do know that for sure) There was nothing that could be done for the horse.
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
The hiding OT gave his first ride after they had cleanly jumped the vicarage vee was appalling, go and re watch it if in any doubt. Caught clearly on tv, landed and did about 6 strides and he gave it at least 4 ruddy hard stripes on the off side.
I never usually comment but this was bang out of order imho.
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Just rewatched and have to disagree he does hit it but 3 times , not 4 or 5 being mentioned. He also waves the whip like jockeys in the last straight it only looks like waves, agreed I only see the fences the bbc showed and I have only rewatched Cooley so he may be worse on his second ride and hence the warning.
I have seen mark Todd ok a lot of years ago who I agree is a legend sharpen a tired horse with his stick, it was required and as always he rode well, and it did the job enabling him to complete safely .
 
TheMule said:
Surely this is what the 25 penalty 'Abuse of horse' rule is for?He quite clearly contravenes the FEI rules so they should use the penalty system
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I think the 25 penalties is one of the options for dangerous riding rather than abuse of horse.
Abuse of horse lists the options as warning, yellow card, elimination, fine, or disqualification. :)

Interesting that many fans think he wasn't abusive even though the stewards obviously thought so. They probably also have access to more video and different views as well as the eye witness accounts of officials on the course.
 
in an unrelated question, does anyone know why Denis Mesples and Oregon de la Vigne don't appear to have a dressage score?

Is this just a mistake, because they were able to proceed to xc before they had their accident at the start box. on the xc results, they're also listed without a dressage score. also, you can read the scores on the dressage tests too if you click on the percentage.

https://www.badminton-horse.co.uk/dressage-results-2018/
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
That's like saying Katie Jerram gets through a lot of top class horses. :-D

He took on any and all rides he could get when starting out. It didn't matter how dangerous and unrideable they were. In recent years he has had rides recommended for him by Andrew Nicholson etc and has started to get better quality horses. He continued to keep a large yard but in the last year or so, made a conscious effort to slim down from the 40+ horses to a more focused string of the best talent. Moving on the previous rides wasn't difficult because he spent time getting to know them and making them successful.
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Agree totally and both his rides today he has produced from 4yo, so they are where they are today due to him bringing them on , So it can’t all be bad.
No one can get the consistent results oli gets running a horse on fear .
 
EKW said:
I don't follow much eventing, it's not my cup of tea but I have been reading this thread to give myself a bit more of an idea seeing as everyone is so psyched about it.

What I have learnt - you can use whatever vile contraptions on your horse you deem fit.
Riders can batter their horses with whips and get a slap on the wrist (racing jockeys have huge whip restrictions that are always up for debate!)
People can turn against their favourite riders within seconds.

A suspensory Injury deems putting to sleep. I'd be interested to know why. Bones, a completely broken down tendon or two but not a suspensory in racing.
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I event but I have become increasingly uncomfortable watching 4 * competitions. I didn't watch Badminton this year. I do think too much is asked of the horse.

I've never watched racing because I don't like watching horses being whipped. (I'm not in the UK and not all countries have stringent rules on whip use)

I hate seeing the horses fall and have to be put down. This is the case in both racing and eventing. I can't get my head around the idea that we should accept equine deaths as part of horse sport. At least with racing the public has forced change for the better.

Eventing isn't watched by the general public so it isn't subject to the same scrutiny. I think it would be better for the horses if it were.

I understand when ones livelihood depends on the sport one would feel differently. However perhaps outsiders who aren't invested in the sport are better judges of what is and isn't acceptable.
 
TheMule said:
That's a bit low seeing as you have absolutely no knowledge of the actual circumstances and the extent of the injury. There are several reasons why a suspensory injury may be deemed untreatable and you have passed a hugely unfair judgement on the rider and horse's owners.
The rider, owners and whole team are beyond distraught right now (yes, I do know that for sure) There was nothing that could be done for the horse.
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The statement on badminton website states it was "irreparable " so must have been fairly catastrophic. What a horrible day for their team. :(
 
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My thoughts are with the team.Unless you have experienced the trauma of going home with an empty horsebox ,you know nothing. so keep your mouths firmly shut.
 
Ref Denis Mesples, there's the following update at the end of the H&H article, so fingers crossed all's well with him this morning:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/badminton-cross-country-results-2018-652015

"French rider Denis Mesples’ horse, Oregon De La Vigne, reared and fell over at the start — he was taken away in a horse ambulance and is back in the stables under observation."

Looking at previous photos of Oregon De La Vigne, I think it was the same horse who was rearing at the First Horse Inspection.

Also, so sorry to read about Alexander Bragg losing his lovely horse, it must be awful for the whole team, so my thoughts are with them all.
 
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mule said:
I event but I have become increasingly uncomfortable watching 4 * competitions. I didn't watch Badminton this year. I do think too much is asked of the horse.
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I do understand your concerns. I love eventing, and most of yesterday's riders did a brilliant job. The only ones who really stood out were Oli Townend and Louise Harwood, though obviously for different reasons. Very disappointed in Oli as I thought he had changed and come a long way as a rider.
However, with regards to your point, I do think the time was far too tight. What is the point of having a time that no-one can actually achieve? Surely that encourages riders to ask more from their horses than they normally would?
 
Northern Hare said:
Ref Denis Mesples, there's the following update at the end of the H&H article, so fingers crossed all's well with him this morning:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/badminton-cross-country-results-2018-652015

"French rider Denis Mesples’ horse, Oregon De La Vigne, reared and fell over at the start — he was taken away in a horse ambulance and is back in the stables under observation."

Looking at previous photos of Oregon De La Vigne, I think it was the same horse who was rearing at the First Horse Inspection.
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I wondered if something like that had happened, I think the same horse also reared during dressage. Hope both are okay.

Now time for the trot up to be starting soon!
 
HashRouge said:
I do understand your concerns. I love eventing, and most of yesterday's riders did a brilliant job. The only ones who really stood out were Oli Townend and Louise Harwood, though obviously for different reasons. Very disappointed in Oli as I thought he had changed and come a long way as a rider.
However, with regards to your point, I do think the time was far too tight. What is the point of having a time that no-one can actually achieve? Surely that encourages riders to ask more from their horses than they normally would?
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I agree, having a time so tight that nobody can make it doesn't help matters. As you said most riders are fair to their horses. It tends to be the actions of a few that are off-putting.
 
Bob notacob said:
My thoughts are with the team.Unless you have experienced the trauma of going home with an empty horsebox ,you know nothing. so keep your mouths firmly shut.
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This is what I was thinking yesterday. Can’t imagine the loss and after arriving with all that excitement, to go home with no horse. Awful.
 
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