CDJ Eliminated??

I'd been avoiding these threads as I don't want to jump on the bandwagon but hey its Friday and couple of thoughts are come to mind after reading all the way through.

As BD proved forward thinking enough to permit competition at any level in a snaffle, perhaps they could open this door too and remove the mandatory requirement for spurs from Advanced level upwards? I'm not sure if that would cause us an issue with being affiliated to the FEI though?

Also I've been lucky enough to come across some people who are very heavily into their horse training in general and in chats about liberty work and bridle-less/bitless work. They've mentioned that to their knowledge no horse has been trained from foal to finished ridden work without some form of bit or bridle/halter...

So even if it was possible to score well in a GP test sans spurs, could you get there without having used them in training at any point?

Personally I wish Charlotte the very best, this doesn't change my opinion of her and I hope it doesn't set her back or dent her confidence.
I support the blood rule, I know sometimes the nice guys get caught by it too , but that happens with any rule and shouldn't reflect badly on them, but it doesn't make the rule any less necessary.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
tbh I am just as uneasy at all those people hero worshipping someone they've never met as someone who is criticising one. social media gives me the creeps.
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it is weird but I would still fall down on the side of giving someone the benefit of the doubt when all evidence points to an innocent error rather than a history of horse abuse.

I have met her, I had a lesson, it was life changing and exhausting :Do_O:oops: I wouldn't say that meant I knew her any more than the next person but I def came away with a good impression after 2 hours of riding/chatting with her.
 
milliepops said:
it is weird but I would still fall down on the side of giving someone the benefit of the doubt when all evidence points to an innocent error rather than a history of horse abuse.

I have met her, I had a lesson, it was life changing and exhausting :Do_O:oops: I wouldn't say that meant I knew her any more than the next person but I def came away with a good impression after 2 hours of riding/chatting with her.
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I get that, defending her is fine, its a bit of blood-but it broke the rules and she was DQ-no problem and she could be lovely for all I know, I don't care for dressage so I have no idea. its the flowery, emotive words people use-everything is so exaggerated and most of them on FB sound like deranged stalkers.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
I get that, defending her is fine, its a bit of blood-but it broke the rules and she was DQ-no problem and she could be lovely for all I know, I don't care for dressage so I have no idea. its the flowery, emotive words people use-everything is so exaggerated and most of them on FB sound like deranged stalkers.
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yeah in fairness I have steered clear of the threads that seem to be attracting nutters from each side ;)
 
I think the quote from earlier about putting people on a pedestal is important here. It does no good for the person, or the fan. People make mistakes. It’s not a contradiction to believe that CDJ is a fantastic rider who cares for her horses, whilst also accepting that on the day an error was made in a very public way, and she had to face the consequences of it. This desire to hold people up to unreachable standards, then tear them down when they inevitably fall short, is a worrying trend. At the end of the day she is just a person. More talented, successful and driven than nearly everyone, but not immune to bad luck, or bad decisions. That doesn’t make her a bad person, or a horse abuser....
The pressure on her to keep being the best and above all criticism on a world stage is enormous. This will certainly have acted as a wake up call to her, and a reminder to us all that sometimes bad things do happen at the worst possible moment, even to Olympic champions!
 
tristar said:
i hate spurs and think they should be banned, in fact made illegal
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Spurs give a precision to aids. Similar to the fingertip, versus the entire hand, being used to prompt the horse to a specific action if that makes sense. The "buttons" on the flank of a GP-level dressage horse are many, versus the fewer "buttons" on a lower-level horse. That's the explanation I read.
 
milliepops said:
yep me too, I rode a very thin skinned TB for a while and anything other than smooth leather boots would rub a hole in her esp at this time of year or late winter when the coat was starting to change. I also found that any spurs had to be meticulously cleaned on her because just the build up of grease would be enough to create friction against her coat - one reason why rowels can be a better option on a thin skinned horse i think... am thinking ahead having acquired another weedy coated TB!
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Now where's that thread about the reasons people buy cobs :D
 
NinjaPony said:
I think the quote from earlier about putting people on a pedestal is important here. It does no good for the person, or the fan. People make mistakes. It’s not a contradiction to believe that CDJ is a fantastic rider who cares for her horses, whilst also accepting that on the day an error was made in a very public way, and she had to face the consequences of it. This desire to hold people up to unreachable standards, then tear them down when they inevitably fall short, is a worrying trend. At the end of the day she is just a person. More talented, successful and driven than nearly everyone, but not immune to bad luck, or bad decisions. That doesn’t make her a bad person, or a horse abuser....
The pressure on her to keep being the best and above all criticism on a world stage is enormous. This will certainly have acted as a wake up call to her, and a reminder to us all that sometimes bad things do happen at the worst possible moment, even to Olympic champions!
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Brilliantly said, couldnt agree more.
 
Gloi said:
Now where's that thread about the reasons people buy cobs :D
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My draft horse has ridiculously sensitive skin. I don't ride him any more but never found a girth that didn't rub. It's highly unlikely he'd ever be challenging the GP riders (although for entertainment value.....) but he'd be high risk for bleeding from a girth rub.

When I wrote my posts above I hadn't seen much on social media (mainly because I don't follow the dressage pages I think), but there seems to be an influx of "professionals" criticising her now and many of those comments are far removed from the point that the spurs drew blood and that is wrong.
 
Rather disappointing CDJ is now blaming the rug straps having caused the injury.

Best option is for the FEI to ban spurs in all Equestrian disciplines. You cant get a decent piaffe out of a horse by not jabbing its sides with metal, get out of the ring.

I feel Charlotte might have overstepped the mark with her use of spurs on this ride due to the pressure and previous success she rather effortlessly enjoyed with Valegro. This is not the way to repeat that success. Many horses are abused in this manner in dressage particularly during the piaffe. To blame it now on her rug straps is utterly shameful.

Ban them and no one can abuse them. A rider who saves the spurs just for the piaffe is still abusing a horse even if they don't draw blood.

The only thing spurs refine is abuse.
 
Koen said:
previous success she rather effortlessly enjoyed with Valegro.
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😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣
 
Koen said:
Rather disappointing CDJ is now blaming the rug straps having caused the injury.

Best option is for the FEI to ban spurs in all Equestrian disciplines. You cant get a decent piaffe out of a horse by not jabbing its sides with metal, get out of the ring.

I feel Charlotte might have overstepped the mark with her use of spurs on this ride due to the pressure and previous success she rather effortlessly enjoyed with Valegro. This is not the way to repeat that success. Many horses are abused in this manner in dressage particularly during the piaffe. To blame it now on her rug straps is utterly shameful.

Ban them and no one can abuse them. A rider who saves the spurs just for the piaffe is still abusing a horse even if they don't draw blood.

The only thing spurs refine is abuse.
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hopefully one day they will become optional and eventually banned

i think riders who win at the top must be under pressure to stay there, and the horse she was riding is relatively young in dressage terms
 
I haven't seen CDJ say anywhere that the horse's rug caused the blood on the flank. I'd find that surprising, since the rug would have been removed and the horse checked over before she mounts. I would be surprised if she put that forward as an argument.

She was undoubtedly very fortunate to have the ride of Valegro, but I don't think anyone could legitimately believe their achievements were effortless. They looked effortless, that was part of the magic, but a lot of hard work went into getting to that point, I'm sure. I would say "blood, sweat and tears" but that seems in poor taste 😁
 
Credit where it's due, let's not forget that Charlotte has ridden horses other than Valegro and Freestyle to huge successes. She's not exactly a one trick pony.Having picked up the ride on Erlentanz she was into the 80% scores at GP pretty fast, she's ridden Carl's other rides at the top levels (Delicato & Uthopia spring to mind). Plus all the young horses coming up the levels... you can't exactly accuse her of riding on the successes of one extraordinary horse.
 
milliepops said:
Credit where it's due, let's not forget that Charlotte has ridden horses other than Valegro and Freestyle to huge successes. She's not exactly a one trick pony.Having picked up the ride on Erlentanz she was into the 80% scores at GP pretty fast, she's ridden Carl's other rides at the top levels (Delicato & Uthopia spring to mind). Plus all the young horses coming up the levels... you can't exactly accuse her of riding on the successes of one extraordinary horse.
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Well put! Wasn't it the canter that Charlotte was told was poor in the early stages of his career? It's hardly a case of him landing on UK shores and getting medals on day 1.
 
milliepops said:
Credit where it's due, let's not forget that Charlotte has ridden horses other than Valegro and Freestyle to huge successes. She's not exactly a one trick pony.Having picked up the ride on Erlentanz she was into the 80% scores at GP pretty fast, she's ridden Carl's other rides at the top levels (Delicato & Uthopia spring to mind). Plus all the young horses coming up the levels... you can't exactly accuse her of riding on the successes of one extraordinary horse.
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Exactly! And realistically, even with the best horse in the whole world, you need a decent amount of talent to be able to present the horse adequately, never mind achieve the scores they achieved.
 
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