Carl Hester Out of olympics!

Such a shame..... it won't be the same without him. He is such a good role model for the sport.... he must be gutted.
 
Is this really 100% definite. To me he was asked to pull out of one show. Not out of the olympics. It could have been a possible lameness but they didn't run him in case that it was something really wrong.
 
Such a shame, poor Carl. I hope Dolendo and Lecantos make a swift recovery.

We will still have a strong dressage team tho - Obviously Laura B and Emma Hindle, then Anna Ross Davies and i should think Jane Gregory or Wayne Channon now.
 
Lecantos knocked himself on the journey over apparently. There is only so much bubble wrap you can put on a horse I guess....

I suppose they can't wait to see if Lecantos will be fit as team horses have to go into quarantine very soon. Such a huge pity for Carl.
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Having prepared and indeed groomed one of the Irish eventers at the Athens Olympics I know only too well how easy it is for these horses to hurt themselves....indeed our boy travelled all the way over there and very nearly did not make it to the first trot up as he managed to get a bit of gravel under one of the pads he wore on his front feet and go lame...luckily we got to it in time and he was fine.

As halfstep said....there is only so much bubblewrap...I have known a horse to break its pelvis having a roll in its stable so if there is a will there is a way! Also, it always ends up being the case that the fitter the horse gets, the more accident prone they become....
 
also having groomed an olympic horse (dressage though) I have to say that when they are at their peak, they are particularly prone to injury, just like human athletes.
The smallest upset in their routine (of which of course they have gazillions as the preparations build up) can unsettle them, and make them behave out of character, hence making all sorts of simple procedures suddenly risky.
Grand Prix dressage horses are in any case on a fine line between ultra fit and totally b*ggered!
 
It is tough for Carl though, as by all accounts Lecantos is now sound and fine, but he's not going to be selected as he didn't compete at Rotterdam. A pity. I understand the selector's problem, but Carl would be a bonus on any team......
 
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