Chilli morning

[dingle12]

Thumbs up to Mary for been so honest, as others have said cannot see how CM can fit in with so many 4* horses, however good luck to WFP.

Also just seen that Stunning was PTS on monday

 

[AmyMay]

Also just seen that Stunning was PTS on monday

Terrible news. Do you know why??

 

[dingle12]

No sorry would think its to do with his age

 

[amyneave]

Gutted for Mary, and for Nick. I'm sure William will do a great job with him, but can't really see he has the space for another 4 star ride. Where is he going to take them all? Good Luck to them and I hope it works out

ps. so much for WFP retiring at end of 2012 like mentioned last year!!!

 

[vallin]

ps. so much for WFP retiring at end of 2012 like mentioned last year!!!

I'd forgotten about that! Pah!

 

[H-J]

Well that rather defeats the point of him being moved! Now the horse will be one of 6 4*horses and is hardly going to leap into contention. Personally I am surprised OT did not get the ride.

Do you mean in contention for the olympics? if so i thought there was an article where the owners said they knew he wouldnt be picked and they wanted to put him someone to hopefully just have lots of good results with.....I agree he probably should have stayed with Nick but good for Mary admitting it wouldnt work and im sure WFP will do a good job with him.

 

[icestationzebra]

Hats off to Mary for putting her hand up and saying he wasn't the horse for her - and that she couldn't do him justice. There are riders that wouldn't stand up and say that as quickly and as plainly as she has.

He is an amazing horse and I hope things are secure for him soon. Interested to see how he goes for William. My memory is shocking - has he had a top level stallion in the past? Genuine question not for one minute to insinuate that WFP wouldn't know how to ride/deal with one

 

[Freddie19]

sounds like a very mature professional decision on MKs part, deserves a lot of respect
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/comp...ium=social&utm_campaign=fanpage-chillimorning

Agree completely.

 

[breezing]

Cant see Nick getting the ride back however well he did with him ,as they say "never go back " would be embarassing for all .I can see him being sold abroad if things dont work out soon .

 

[teapot]

What I've found a little odd (and maybe a tad unfair) is the number of times it's been tweeted by the WFP team today alone.

Nick Guantlett had tweeted that he's an amazing horse who he misses lots & sincerely hoped that William liked him & he goes well.

 

[flyonthewall]

Well that rather defeats the point of him being moved! Now the horse will be one of 6 4*horses and is hardly going to leap into contention. Personally I am surprised OT did not get the ride.

Im glad he didnt got the OT.....! He wouldnt make old bones! I agree with Seabiscuit, it was never going to work with MK. She rides old type event horses and her style is not suited to CM type. Nick did fantastically in producing the horse but I should think there is more to this story than meets the eye. Elektron was moved from NG in July last year so perhaps the owners, who I have heard are extremely competitive wanted to try more senior riders on their horses. As it happens, Elektron seriously injured himself on Paul Tapners yard soon after the move and now this has happened with Chilli. They must be getting very frustrated... I also agree that Chilli will not be the apple of williams eye with his vast selection is 4* horses... god knows whether he is the one doing the schooling of all these horses per day ;-). He also tennds to run them very slowly unless they are at a very important event or are contention for top few placings so I hoe the owners who are clearly keen to see Chilli back up the leader board each time, are ready for this.

Good luck to the new combination, I look forward to seeing how they progress.

 

[Fools Motto]

I still feel so sorry for NG. I, and many others know they were a partnership, they did well and surely in the horses best interests he should go back.
I admire MK, she really is fab. Hats off to her for realising they were not matched.
The stallion should never go to OT! Clash made in hell comes to mind!
Good luck to WFP. I'd be interested to see how they develop, that is if WFP can possibly find the time to develop a partnership!

 

[kerilli]

i can't think of anyone better for CM to go to if going back to NG is not an option. WFP doesn't resort to strong bits on his horses, so his style should suit the horse. He's ridden mares with success, & Oslo was a stallion when he first competed him, was gelded to get his mind on his main job though! Jackie's care and attention to detail is second to none, and he has a big enough yard that he can put the stallion wherever would suit the horse best iykwim. I don't think there's a problem with him having time to ride him, at last year's Hartpury conf he said he rides (flat or jump) each horse about 4 x a week (if they have a day off, or a day or two hacking or being lunged, or on walker, this makes sense, plus a session or two on the gallops) and i am positive he allows enough time for every single horse!
Also, CM does have an occasional stop in him (i heard an eyewitness account of an absolutely filthy stop somewhere) and maybe WFP's tactic of going steadily unless he really thinks it is worth going for it will give the horse that extra bit of confidence to eradicate the odd anchors-on moment?

 

[oldvic]

It will be interesting to see if he fulfills his potential or whether he becomes a "nearly" horse. His record is best at 2* level. He has won a 3* over a course that was considered to be nearer 2* with a couple of 3* fences. He also needs to prove he has the stamina for top level at the required speed and recover his form in the show jumping. If he was mine, I would consider trying to get some good results at 2/3* level before deciding whether he needs to go 4*. He does, after all, have a life after eventing.

 

[TableDancer]

It will be interesting to see if he fulfills his potential or whether he becomes a "nearly" horse. His record is best at 2* level. He has won a 3* over a course that was considered to be nearer 2* with a couple of 3* fences. He also needs to prove he has the stamina for top level at the required speed and recover his form in the show jumping. If he was mine, I would consider trying to get some good results at 2/3* level before deciding whether he needs to go 4*. He does, after all, have a life after eventing.

Totally agree, he has by no means proved himself at the top level - history is littered with "nearly" horses...

I happened to bump into Nick yesterday and we chatted briefly about it. His take was that he was sad when the horse went but, once gone, there was never any question on either side of him returning. He pointed out that William is of a similar stature to himself and will not need to use a strong bit, which the horse clearly couldn't deal with and, as we both agreed, is undeniably a class act who should give the horse every chance to prove himself. Inevitably, we also agreed that William could do with another 4* ride

To cheer the NG fans up, saw Rocket Science and he was jumping beautifully and looking fab so hopefully will be back soon

 

[Eventinggroupie]

Did anyone watch Anne Robinson tearing apart the Fitness First guy on BBC? Is that the same Chris Stone that owns Chilli Morning? ...

 

[Chloe_GHE]

If it doesn't work out for WFP I think Francis Whittington should be next in line for the ride imho

Love MK such a pro so many wopuld have battled on and blamed the horse, sign of a true pro *3 cheers for mary*

must be gutting for NG to not get him back and don't envy the pressure now on WFP to make this work

 

[louisem]

Stallions can be VERY tricky like that, not just for riding but for their whole management. Maybe they underestimated this? Perhaps he just didn't settle in her program? If their goal is to go to Badminton they wouldn't have had much time to click anyway, so if it wasn't working 100% it would have been a big gamble.

But if he showed her something at Belton (or around Belton) that made her go "hmmm" then she shows sense by ending things sooner rather than later. She has nothing to prove and the owners want results so it's in everyone's best interests, if she feels it's not going to work, to let them make a change as quickly as possible. I wouldn't want to set out at 4* on a horse I didn't have the utmost confidence in, especially if I knew the owners were expecting a competitive result. (Leaving aside that I, personally, wouldn't be setting off on ANY 4*! ) And I wouldn't want to see a horse stay with a rider out of pride when he could be better served somewhere else.

My experience of top riders is the good ones who win lots and have long careers get very smart about what sorts of horses suit them and where their own strengths lie. When you're young and unknown you have to make anything you're offered work (or not, at least as often - that's how you learn) but when your job is to win and you have more offers than you can really entertain there is no value in pursuing a situation that's going to take an unequal amount of effort and time to pursue. There is also no shame in sending a horse on to a situation that might suit it better.

The fact is we don't know and we won't ever know the whole truth. (Nor is it our business!) It's unfortunate it's played out so publicly but lots of horses change hands - especially in an Olympic year - for all sorts of reasons. I feel for Nick as he doesn't have a whole string and it sucks to loose a horse you love but unfortunately it's part of the game.

*LIKE*

 

[flurrydor]

Yes that was Chilli's owner, CEO of Fitness First on Watchdog......................no match for Anne Robinson!!