Cross Country Thread!

33 xc completions.
seems very low.

just looked back at previous results, 40-45 seems more usual. bumper year in 2015 with 55 finishers
 
0.6 penalties separating the top 3 :O

Whens the jumping tomorrow?! I'm working 11-3.
burghley website says the first horse will be about 10.30 but not sure what the BBC will be showing


eta looks like red button will have the morning SJ and then the highlights show will include the afternoon from 2.30
 
I thought unusually OT interviewed very well

Agree. Not a fan as I haven't forgotten or forgiven his many misdemeanors but I am relieved at the drastic and dramatic change in his public riding and horsemanship styles. Whatever coaching he's received has massively improved his interview techniques. He was also good during his Badminton interview excluding awkwardly bringing up that Piggy was his ex.

I really hope Pippa or Piggy win and go on for the Grand Slam 🤞🏻
 
I think Oli has done some very humble/good interviews in the past, hes just been defensive when criticised. I thought he was going to be a bit whip happy on the run in, but he looked as though he thought twice.
 
Hmmmm, not really the image we want to portray for Eventing.

5* is the ultimate - it’s almost a different sport to 4* and it should sort the wheat from the chaff.

But we had perfect Eventing weather & ground today and we shouldn’t have seen such a high % fail to complete and with more ugly falls than needed.

Why I’m not sure but in retrospect maybe Cpt Mark Phillips will reflect that the Trout Hatchery and Maltings was too difficult in such close proximity.

We were obviously missing a lot of top class combos who were at the Euros and maybe the slight over-representation of the less experienced made it look even worse.

I do think maybe there needs to be a slight tightening of the qualification needed for lower ranked riders and maybe the younger horses.
 
I really hope Pippa or Piggy win and go on for the Grand Slam 🤞🏻

We would love to see both of them in Kentucky!!!!

Interesting day. What makes me ponder it a bit more is that a few very capable (Past Rolex riders) from the US are there in person and we were chatting. Their experience watching in person and not the feed was completely different from the experience I, and all of you and all of us US riders, had while watching the feed online.
 
Phew what a day. As always the really good horse and riders made it look easy, well maybe not easy, but a good course.

Mark Philips did say (in article last week?) that he was a bit nervous as a lot of top riders wouldn't be there, but I think maybe there were a couple of very wide fences too many, as Dan said in his interview that his horse struggled even though he got home OK.
Some of the riders didn't really look like 5* considering that they must have qualified and must be experienced at this and would be out competing over Advanced courses every week. That one rider came round the corner far too short into the Maltings and didn't give her horse a bit of chance to jump the fence.

It is all too easy to be an armchair rider, and I can easily imagine that your first time at Burghley might be overwhelming and of the first timers did well. Some of the American riders went well as they attacked the course. Good for Pippa.
 
Late to the party as usual but didn't start watching until 13.30ish. It was a very tough course wasn't it? However, it's the top of the game and I thought the comment about the use of frangible pins was interesting in that it enables the course builder to ask a more difficult question without necessarily compromising the safety of the horse and rider (they didn't say that but that is what I understood). I really found the commentary from the riders so interesting and helpful. It's so easy to sit and watch and criticise, I did it with some of Pippa's round but was brought up short, inexperienced horse at this level being helped out and given confidence, not always pretty but effective! Piggy knows her horse and her horses's limitations, riding to work with the horse and get the mare round safety but quickly. I thought Oli's round was pure class and tbh I don't give a damn how he comes across in an interview, he'd never get employed as a diplomat but if I was in a sticky situation, I'd have him at my side any day.
 
When you think who is missing, Andrew Nicholson, Toddy, Oli would usual have two or possibly three, William, Burto, Micheal Jung would usually be there, ingrid too. If they were all there would be fewer riders who struggled possibly. The percentage getting round would be higher which would have made better viewing. Not a day I enjoyed, and I'm glad I didn't go.
 
got there at 7.30am, located ourselves v. pleased they put a big screen back in discovery valley
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Not the quietest of days, don't think we will be long watching SJ tomorrow, given that we have to wait for trot up too.
Course wasn't massively different to last year (we didn't walk it because of that) and I think Oli was good on the radio interview confirming so and backing up MP on the quality of the field being an issue (we've definitely had low SJ numbers on championship years before).
 
Oh no, poor lad. Im sure I remember one of Micheal Jungs horses doing that a year or so ago when they were running in the other direction. I suppose the footing must be difficult to be 100% true in water though
 
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