Europeans cross country thread

[DabDab]

Wow what a day .
That was some ride from Nic brave brave riding and MJ as ever stuns me to silence I have never seen a rider like him before .
And I got all the ironing done .

That pretty much sums it up for me too (except I did no ironing )
I also found the commentary pretty hard going. I would have liked to hear bits about the horses other than just recent results, and I know they were trying to make it layman friendly but I doubt anyone non horsey would have been able to make much sense out of Harry's ramblings.

 

[MyBoyChe]

Enjoyed what I saw but had set the red button to record so missed the last 20 or so when the coverage stopped. Is there anywhere I can see all the rounds after Ludwig online now?

 

[teapot]

Broken pastern and pts for Bob the Builder

 

[Auslander]

Sad news about Bob the Builder.

"STATEMENT REGARDING - Bob The Builder
We very sorry to report that the Polish horse, Bob The Builder (no 37), which fell at fence 15 in the main arena with his rider Michal Knap, was put down after sustaining an injury.
The horse received immediate treatment at the fence and was taken to the on-site veterinary clinic for further assessment.
Sadly x-rays revealed an irreparable fracture of the horse’s front right long pastern bone (lower leg) and, on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and rider, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep. A post mortem will be carried out at the on-site veterinary clinic.
We extend our deepest sympathies to the horse´s rider and owner."

From - https://www.facebook.com/SHTStrzego...7SoK9zl1awqiQj_-EErMWRYU4CsVv5TNEUX3k&fref=nf

 

[AdorableAlice]

Sad news about Bob the Builder.

"STATEMENT REGARDING - Bob The Builder
We very sorry to report that the Polish horse, Bob The Builder (no 37), which fell at fence 15 in the main arena with his rider Michal Knap, was put down after sustaining an injury.
The horse received immediate treatment at the fence and was taken to the on-site veterinary clinic for further assessment.
Sadly x-rays revealed an irreparable fracture of the horse’s front right long pastern bone (lower leg) and, on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and rider, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep. A post mortem will be carried out at the on-site veterinary clinic.
We extend our deepest sympathies to the horse´s rider and owner."

From - https://www.facebook.com/SHTStrzego...7SoK9zl1awqiQj_-EErMWRYU4CsVv5TNEUX3k&fref=nf

Sad news. It is a high risk sport but I do think today's course was, in parts, an unfair test. These competition bred horses are bold, galloping, big jumping horses who need space to show their scope and bravery. Yes they need to be obedient, balanced and listening but this course, for me and I know nothing, resembled an equine version of trick and treat, with far more tricks than treats for the horses.

Horses are generous beasts and on the whole they want to please, parts of this course penalised their honesty. I gave up watching at lunchtime, it was a very different view of the eventing we see in the UK, the course at London was built in a small area compared to the big estates that host Badminton/Gatcombe etc, but the course builder got it right at London and it was a pleasure to watch. Today was no pleasure and not a great advert for the sport.

 

[TheMule]

I think the course was fantastic, a true test and the only nasty sights were through poor riding. We have to accept that most countries can't run a Burghley style championship and that the Olympic committee are unwilling to consider venues outside of the main centre so we must move with the times and accept thes twistier courses. These horses are well used to it, it's the shape of modern eventing
Unfortunately Bob The Builder ultimately paid the price for a rider error and a saftey feature which generally stops falls but which seems to have trapped his leg in a very tragic accident.

 

[rosiesowner]

How sad. My heart is in my mouth after reading that statement, can't imagine what the people connected to the horse are going through... Poor pony

 

[Tiddlypom]

If this course was 'the shape of modern eventing', then no knowledgable person would want to be a part of it. Eventing deserves to be demoted from the Olympics if it expects good horses to tackle such an appalling test.

RIP Bob the Builder, you cracking little chap. You didn't deserve this.

 

[Fidgety]

If this course was 'the shape of modern eventing', then no knowledgable person would want to be a part of it. Eventing deserves to be demoted from the Olympics if it expects good horses to tackle such an appalling test.

RIP Bob the Builder, you cracking little chap. You didn't deserve this.

Agree totally. Today was the first and only time I have questioned whether this was a sport I not only wished to continue follow, but whether I felt it was ethical to risk the lives of animals in the name of sport (BTW, the last part was a question I was asking myself, not for the forum generally ).

RIP Bob

 

[frankster]

It didn't make good tv, too 'messy' with all the loopy rope tracks.

Not enjoyable in my opinion.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Agree totally. Today was the first and only time I have questioned whether this was a sport I not only wished to continue follow, but whether I felt it was ethical to risk the lives of animals in the name of sport (BTW, the last part was a question I was asking myself, not for the forum generally ).

RIP Bob

I am relieved it is not just me then. Lets hope we don't see it again and continue to enjoy the sport.

 

[teapot]

I'm not sure that fall/fatality is a 'eventing is evil' type one though. If you watch it back in slow mo, I think it had happened as he took off and put down again. Pasterns can break at any time and he'd been jumping well up to that point.

There's a huge amount of pressure on the sport to keep Eventing in smaller spaces (see London) because of the costs involved. Courses are going to get twistier. Badminton, Burghley, Gatcombe will not be the norm.

 

[{97702}]

Didn't see any more but the live scoring showed a refusal or run out at fence 28b, tantalisingly close to home

Thanks MP - frustratingly it posted my comment just as we were taxi-ing out to take off so I have had to guess what went on since then!

 

[teddypops]

This new commentator is a class one Twit.

I liked him unlike stuttering, waffling, umming, erring, sort of ing Harry Meade

 

[teddypops]

Whacking it on the red button isn't that accessible though...

Really? I thought everyone could get BBC red button

 

[AdorableAlice]

I liked him unlike stuttering, waffling, umming, erring, sort of ing Harry Meade

But he didn't give any interesting commentary, it was just 'jumped that clear' etc. I love to hear the breeding and backgrounds of the horses, hence my liking of Steve Hadley. But in depth info isn't for everyone i do agree.

 

[TheOldTrout]

In case anyone missed today's coverage:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p05cph27/european-eventing-championships-2017-cross-country
Available for 29 days or something.

 

[teapot]

Really? I thought everyone could get BBC red button

I meant in terms of not being on a main channel, plenty of people who are interested who seem to struggle to get it to work. That's without them stopping coverage an hour early. I remember the days of watching Gatcombe on BBC2

 

[Lexi_]

I've been out fence judging today and refreshing the live scoring in mildly obsessive fashion - just watching the full thing back on iplayer now and catching up.

Commentary wise, I like the new guy and I like Harry's perspective but can't help but feel they don't gel that well together. Loads of points even in the first 90 mins or so where something got said or a question got asked that could have easily led into a really nice discussion about eventing/the horses/people's form and experience but instead Harry would reply with something quite terse and technical and it went nowhere. It'd have worked much better with a friendlier type of personality as third wheel (Tina and Zara have done this well recently) who could branch that gap between tv presenting and v technical punditry.

The FEI graphics were pants as well and the direction seemed to constantly miss all the action. I know it's hard when there are multiple horses on course but really! And taking nationalities out of it (I don't want another "they never show the Irish riders!" barney ) do we need to see 10 fences in a row of an individual who'd already had a stop and was never in contention, when there's a horse in a team medal position and top 10 individually also on course?

And to finish on a controversial note, I find Michael Jung incredibly boring and secretly think he's a cyborg. Just do something wrong for once!

 

[madmav]

Watched it all today on red button and then switching to iplayer. Enjoyed it. Nicola Wilson, Tina cook, and the rest of GB team were fabulous. Especially Nic and Tina. Loved the commentary team. Learned a lot from Harry. He taught us through it! Other guy, don't know name, was cute, asking questions he knew answers to. And Mike Tucker in background as course commentator! So why did he retire if he was then there? And where is Sir Ian Stark?!
Do hope Germans don't conquer all tomorrow.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Does the iplayer version have the missing last hour from the red button coverage?
Our internet at home is pants, so there was no chance of watching the live streamed footage.

 

[Custard Cream]

Yes, it should have all of it.

Trot up underway - Ollie not presenting Cooley but the rest of the team are through.

 

[stormox]

If this course was 'the shape of modern eventing', then no knowledgable person would want to be a part of it. Eventing deserves to be demoted from the Olympics if it expects good horses to tackle such an appalling test.

RIP Bob the Builder, you cracking little chap. You didn't deserve this.

Agree totally. Horses do their best to please us. They do not deserve to be tricked. A lot of horses ran out at that roll top to angled brush combo purely because they couldn't see what they were being asked to do. Then suddenly the fence was in front of them and they were too close so got a bang on the fence and/or a sock in the mouth when they ran out rather than do the impossible.
A fair test can be set without resorting to trickery. And it's xc- why the stupid 'mock show jumps'?

 

[TheOldTrout]

There was a lot of criticism on here last year of the Olympic cross-country course - iirc, someone said something along the lines of 'very few horses will have finished the day thinking I love my job'. Is there a problem with championship level course design? Or lack of suitable venues where you can build a good championship course? Would be interested in people's thoughts.

 

[caladria]

I meant in terms of not being on a main channel, plenty of people who are interested who seem to struggle to get it to work. That's without them stopping coverage an hour early. I remember the days of watching Gatcombe on BBC2

Those are not the current days, and the BBC are betting that Mo Farah's last ever track appearance this afternoon is going to be a better bet for ratings than what is frankly a niche sport.

With 8 hours of live coverage on Red Button and a highlights programme that lasts over two hours on BBC2 this afternoon to make 10 hours of airtime over the weekend, I don't think that eventing's done that badly for itself - rally gets a measly one hour highlights programme on C5 to cover the same amount of action!

(As for those asking about Mike Tucker - his interview at Badminton said that his contract with the BBC was in 4 year cycles, to fit in with the Olympics, and he didn't think that in three years time he'd be up to jetting off to Tokyo. I'm sure he'll enjoy himself commentating where and when he wants to on an ad hoc basis)

 

[Red-1]

I started watching it, but the number of skinny fences really put me off. Yes, I think skinnies *should* be included, but not in that number. The number of offset skinnines/corners was punishing the bolder horses IMO, as they could not see their way and then needed pulling through.

I agree that small venues mean twistier courses, but London showed that a twisty course could still be a fair test.

OH and I agreed that if we had turned up at an individual event to be met with such a course, we would have withdrawn.

I quit watching.

 

[teapot]

Watched it all today on red button and then switching to iplayer. Enjoyed it. Nicola Wilson, Tina cook, and the rest of GB team were fabulous. Especially Nic and Tina. Loved the commentary team. Learned a lot from Harry. He taught us through it! Other guy, don't know name, was cute, asking questions he knew answers to. And Mike Tucker in background as course commentator! So why did he retire if he was then there? And where is Sir Ian Stark?!
Do hope Germans don't conquer all tomorrow.

Scotty's a bit broken at the moment, recovering from a missed broken pelvis.