1) they are not prepared as thoroughly at home they have more runs but their stamina is not worked on as much at home.
2) The course is very twisty with a lot of jumping efforts. At Lexington they always finish tired.
3) I do not think the riders are so good at conserving energy.
Would you think that the unpredictable weather/number of cancelled events has had an effect on the preperation of these horses for this event? They look like they need another few weeks fitness training
I think in the case of Oli/Piggy, if you're used to being fast and competitive because of your speed at one days, you tend to set out at a 3 day thinking youre horse normally easily gets the time so you can ride for it. You cant hurry a horse round a 4*, I think that takes a LONG time to learn!