TGM
Well-Known Member
I'm afraid that statement was so obviously not genuine and not written by him, coming as it did after his 'win ugly' interview, which more truly reflected his real attitude.
Badminton XC!
- Thread starter only_me
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I'm afraid that statement was so obviously not genuine and not written by him, coming as it did after his 'win ugly' interview, which more truly reflected his real attitude.
ester
Not slacking multitasking
It was interesting reading American comments re. Marilyn Little that they thought the taper gauge was being used in Europe.
It seems like a very simple resolution to the problem to me, with few if any problems with it's use. I'm not sure if those against it are such because they don't think it will work/is fair, or they deny the existance of the problem in the first place.
It seems like a very simple resolution to the problem to me, with few if any problems with it's use. I'm not sure if those against it are such because they don't think it will work/is fair, or they deny the existance of the problem in the first place.
ester
Not slacking multitasking
But even if ungenuine it does get his sponsors off the hook a bit.
be positive
Well-Known Member
I would like to see how it would work with a padded noseband, the one in the video was a plain thin one of the type rarely used now and certainly hardly ever in a dressage competition, a wider padded one may make it more difficult to have a definitive result especially with a horses head being tapered under the noseband to a degree that varies from horse to horse, it may well be looser at the bottom than the top and the bridle makers could quickly develop something that is going to get round the rules, I can see something stiffened to allow the very front to have space yet still be cranked tight at the sides and back, while riders think they need to have tight nosebands they will always be trying to get round the rules.
It should be simple but I don't think it will be.
TGM
Well-Known Member
But his statement obviously wasn't enough to convince the BHS! And you have to think why top riders are sponsored in the first place, and that is usually because the general horsey public look up to them and trust their judgement, and think if Oli T uses it, it must be good! It is interesting to note that when I checked some of his sponsors' FB pages they had only put up early photos of him from Badminton, couldn't see any taken after his XC performance! Bit of a shame if you sponsor a top rider and you can't brag about his top placings at Badminton because so many people now disapprove of him!
Clodagh
Well-Known Member
ester
Not slacking multitasking
Ah good point BP thanks 
I'm never sure about the impact of the removal of sponsorship, partly on the basis that there will always be others waiting in the wings. If sponsorship is removed does that come with a clause that riders are no longer allowed to use those products (if purchased by them) in case an ongoing association is presumed?
I'm never sure about the impact of the removal of sponsorship, partly on the basis that there will always be others waiting in the wings. If sponsorship is removed does that come with a clause that riders are no longer allowed to use those products (if purchased by them) in case an ongoing association is presumed?
TGM
Well-Known Member
Ah good point BP thanks
I'm never sure about the impact of the removal of sponsorship, partly on the basis that there will always be others waiting in the wings. If sponsorship is removed does that come with a clause that riders are no longer allowed to use those products (if purchased by them) in case an ongoing association is presumed?
I have no idea! But if, for example, a horse feed company sponsored him, he would probably get their feed for free, plus money towards his competing costs. If they withdrew their sponsorship I think he would probably be so disgruntled he wouldn't want to actually have to buy their feed, so unlikely to be an issue. As to whether other sponsors would queue up to fill their space, I suspect they wouldn't want to do so straightaway whilst his actions are still so fresh in the public's mind, although in the long term he may be able to recoup. I think it depends on the products as well I suppose, I wouldn't want to be his horse feed sponsor in particular, if the message that could be inferred is that horses fed that feed need to be flogged home to finish! (I am not casting aspersions on that particularly feed company, BTW, just giving an example of how their thinking about the matter might go. Ideally, you'd want to be sponsoring someone whose horse finishes Badminton
as fresh as a daisy!).
ester
Not slacking multitasking
yes, I guess I always think of hats, as they are so careful to show their names these days and I'd be gutted if I had to change a hat that fits
TGM
Well-Known Member
yes, I guess I always think of hats, as they are so careful to show their names these days and I'd be gutted if I had to change a hat that fits
Well I suppose a comparison to that is saddles, and he does have a saddle sponsor, so I suppose that is similar in he wouldn't want to change a saddle he really liked! Although I think hats are one of the ultimate things to sponsor given how much photos concentrate on riders' faces and therefore the hat, and the brand is quite often clearly discernible - Charlotte Dujardin and the CO Ayr8 springs to mind. Probably not so obvious what brand the saddle is when the rider's bum and legs are covering most of it!
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fetlock
Well-Known Member
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sp...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Leading showjump manufacturer Jump 4 Joy told Sportsmail it will assess its future links with him in light of his riding at Badminton. A spokesperson said: ‘We take animal welfare very seriously and following the incident we can confirm that we will be reviewing all our options in connection with Oliver Townend going forward.’
Irish company GAIN Equine Nutrition, which provides nutritional support to Townend in the form of tailored diets for his horses, told Sportsmail that it will review the incident before making a decision.
Anne Priestman, UK National Sales Manager for the company, said: ‘We are aware of the incident...we take animal welfare very seriously and are committed to the highest standards; we are reviewing this incident.’
Mule
Well-Known Member
Interesting
popsdosh
Well-Known Member
Yes and what will happen when the 'ladies that lunch' furore dies down? Not a lot.
Rowreach
👀
Bernster
Well-Known Member
Trial by media, whatever the subject, absolutely sickens me
I haven’t commented on the Oli thing as the whole thing depresses me, his poor riding but also the social media horridness that follows. I want him to regret it and change but I don’t want one of our greatest equestrian sportsman (whether you like him or not, you can’t ignore his achievements), to be brought down either.
popsdosh
Well-Known Member
Trial by media, whatever the subject, absolutely sickens me
Exactly reminds me of lynch mobs in the good old days . They just cant accept the matter was dealt with . I fence judge a lot and what happened was not unusual and certainly not horse abuse. I have seen the winner a lot more ugly and dangerous than that on occasions even I shut my eyes a few times.
TGM
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure that criticism of his behaviour is just limited to 'ladies that lunch'! I have heard several old school, hunting types criticize the way he rode and the way he spoke after his XC round. But I do agree that it will all be forgotten in a few weeks time.
Sandstone1
Well-Known Member
Im sure the Bhs will be delighted to be called ladies that lunch!
Sadly I also think it will be forgotten in a few weeks and no doubt OT will go back to his old ways which is why the penalties should be much tougher.
Hes been warned for this before so clearly a warning isnt going to stop him or other riders like him.
Maybe if he loses some sponsors and it hits him in the pocket he will learn a lesson.
Sadly I also think it will be forgotten in a few weeks and no doubt OT will go back to his old ways which is why the penalties should be much tougher.
Hes been warned for this before so clearly a warning isnt going to stop him or other riders like him.
Maybe if he loses some sponsors and it hits him in the pocket he will learn a lesson.
Rowreach
👀
But by then the damage is done, isn't it?
The issue was dealt with by the Ground Jury at the time. That is the system in place at the moment. If people have a problem with that, then maybe lobby BE and get them to review their procedures for the future.
This bandwagoning thing is getting really out of hand. The BHS and the statements from the sponsors seem to be appearing as a result of the trial by media that is going on.
I've lost a lot of respect for Ian Stark, whose comments on the live feed were completely different to those he offered later.
And as for the BHS, I've seen first hand the sort of practices they condone at their "BHS Approved" establishments.
I watched practically all of the XC live feed, and there were several riders who behaved in the exact same way as OT. I don't see them receiving the same sort of vitriol on here or anywhere else for that matter.
WandaMare
Well-Known Member
I think in the light of the ongoing criticism he needs to do a lot more to show people he's accepted his warning and will change his ways. His apology hasn't convinced people so he needs to do something else, maybe donate part of his winnings to a welfare charity for example.
It might not be a bad thing if some of his sponsors drop out, he has proved that he needs some consequences to his behaviour before he's going to change.
I don't think it will be forgotten in a few weeks, I think the mud is going to stick unless he actively does something to stop any further reputational damage.
This is an unusual position for an event rider which makes it more of a talking point and more memorable.
I'm not a particular OT fan but like someone said above, we don't want to lose one of our GB best riders and competitors because of this. I really hope this has made him question himself and accept that he has done something wrong, and then learn from it.
It might not be a bad thing if some of his sponsors drop out, he has proved that he needs some consequences to his behaviour before he's going to change.
I don't think it will be forgotten in a few weeks, I think the mud is going to stick unless he actively does something to stop any further reputational damage.
This is an unusual position for an event rider which makes it more of a talking point and more memorable.
I'm not a particular OT fan but like someone said above, we don't want to lose one of our GB best riders and competitors because of this. I really hope this has made him question himself and accept that he has done something wrong, and then learn from it.
Rowreach
👀
I reckon it will make a lot of them think, as a lot of them do it, and possibly the sanctions from BE should be greater, but I cannot abide witch hunts.
scats
Well-Known Member
In all fairness to Ian, when commentating, I think its quite difficult to really pay attention fully to the situation. I was watching on TV and I remember one particular part that I saw Oli using the whip quite a lot and thought he was being a bit whip happy really, but I really didnt register much else. It wasnt until afterwards that I watched it again that I actually realisesed how much he was using the whip. I know sitting at home and sitting in the commentary box is totally different, but it might offer some explanation as to why Ians view seemed to change.
KautoStar1
Well-Known Member
This. Agree 100%
WandaMare
Well-Known Member
Me too, it seems to becoming so much a part of our culture now as well. People have such hostility towards complete strangers, its quite frightening. Their reactions are completely disproportionate in many cases, its as though they want to believe the very worst in people. Quite strange really, maybe its because they are very unhappy in their own lives and this provides a channel for their aggression.
I'm surprised the statement by the BHS was so specific to an individual, I would have preferred them to say they would like to look at the Eventing rules following issues at Badminton rather than to publicly undermine another equestrian committee. I don't know how all the different organisations hang together but I would have thought if anyone was going to make a similar statement it would be British Eventing, but still its done now. I think the sponsors reaction is more likely to have an impact anyway so it will be interesting to see what happens.
I think Oli's team need to act quickly to stop any further fall out, offer more to the critics because the longer this goes on the more permanent the damage is going to be.
Bernster
Well-Known Member
Agree WM, there’s an odd environment now which I find disturbing. Social media can be really positive, like Art’s crowd funding, but then so mean spirited at the same time ��
TGM
Well-Known Member
I agree this is a worrying trend, that is particularly prevalent in animal based Facebook groups. I've seen some terrible vitriolic comments spilling out from people who have absolutely no idea of the real situation at all.
Scarlett
Well-Known Member
The problem OT has is that it's not the first time. People have been making excuses for his behaviour for years and for me that's the problem.
Every rider/owner has made mistakes but to repeatedly do it and seemingly not learn from it shows a lack of compassion and respect for his horses IMO. Yes I'm sure he does love his horses, but when his competitiveness takes over he makes bad decisions.
Personally I have heard some horror stories about him as a person so I will always be biased I admit, but even when trying to be objective I cant see past the fact he does stupid things and never seems genuine in his remorse.
Every rider/owner has made mistakes but to repeatedly do it and seemingly not learn from it shows a lack of compassion and respect for his horses IMO. Yes I'm sure he does love his horses, but when his competitiveness takes over he makes bad decisions.
Personally I have heard some horror stories about him as a person so I will always be biased I admit, but even when trying to be objective I cant see past the fact he does stupid things and never seems genuine in his remorse.
WandaMare
Well-Known Member
What you have said is true, there's no debating he's done wrong. So where do you think he should go from here, be banned for a temporary period, be banned for life, leave eventing voluntarily, never be selected for a GB team, emigrate
? I would be interested to know what people need to see happen now to consider that justice has been done.
TGM
Well-Known Member
What you have said is true, there's no debating he's done wrong. So where do you think he should go from here, be banned for a temporary period, be banned for life, leave eventing voluntarily, never be selected for a GB team, emigrate
Personally, I'd be quite happy if he lost some of his sponsorship due to this. He has had warnings before and has still repeated the behaviour, but if his behaviour affected him financially it might have more of an impact. I don't think a ban is appropriate and I think the ground jury made a sensible decision on the day, given that they had the opportunity at the trot-up the next day to inspect the horses carefully. I think it was good for Jonelle to win fair and square, rather than have OT knocked out of the running by the actions of the ground jury.
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Denbob
Well-Known Member
Absolutely agree! And I think there is talk of at least one of his sponsors backing out before WEG. As far as the keyboard warriors go some of the things being written about OT made me feel a bit ill, it's amazing the kind of vitriol that comes from watching a video of someone that they've probably never heard of until last weekend. The worst offenders are usually non-horsey as well, amazing how some people can latch onto a cause with such passion and anger without looking at the bigger picture (and ignore other offenders in their ignorance).