Greenwich will be venue for 2012 Olympic equestrian sport

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jotesh

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What's everyone's thoughts?

My personal opinion is that we should build a sustainable venue i.e. not build something at Greenwich Park just for the games and then take it all down when the games is finished! Seems such a waste!

Surely the most cost effective way would be to build somewhere that will be long lasting and we can all get to benefit from / use in the future?

Other than that why not expand on somewhere that already exists? Hickstead, Blenheim, or - David Broome's excellent idea - an existing racecourse??
 
Never mind just the equestrian side of things I wonder if hosting the Olympics in the current climate is going to bankrupt us anyway, but again given the state of affairs at the moment it makes far more sense to produce something that can carry on generating revenue after the Olympics, we don't need another ' DOME' afterall.
 
i just cant be bothered with the stpidy of these people anymore. lets just get on with it then and the lasting legacy og the london olympics will be the destruction of world heritage centre oh and the death knell for olympic equestrian. No one including the residents is objecting to the dressge and show jumping being there, its the cross country, but even if you didnt have that to fit in the required stabling and excersise areas will completely ruin the park, it will be in accessible for most of two years and i think the whole thing is completely selfish.
it is a pity that none of those making these descisions has been big enough to admit that greenich was put in as a venue without proper thought when everyone expected paris to get the Games. When London got them instead then they decised they couldnt go back on the bid (tho many places in similar situations have done.
Further i believe the whole report does not say greenwich is the best, most cost effective venue but that no money would be saved NOW by changing. well perhaps if those in charge had listened to the knowlegable in the first place, not so much money would have been wasted on plans in the wrong scale and other such basic blunders.
as for the pentathalon showjumping well that is just another stupid argument. the athletes ride borrowed horses over a tiny course there are several places within miles of the shooting/athletic venues that would have a suitable arena like hickstead or addington for example or towerlands even closer.
the whole thing makes me ill as much as it would bother those others if they were going to destroy Central Park in new York or the Bois be Bolougne in Paris or the Tivolli Gardens or the Valley of the Kings etc etc etc. I hope those people in charge are reading, you make me sick. i am so proud of being part of the nation that will finish olympic equestrian for good.
If we, one of the worlds formost horsey nations cannot do the horse sports without this hideous waste of money in addition to leaving no legacy in one of the few places where such a legacy would be utilised and show other nations horses are not a waste onf money, then who can.
 
Having been to two olympics to watch the eventing now I think it will be a fantastic venue and the legacy that it may leave will be the wider exposure of the sport.

It must be understood that the olympics is not like Badminton and Burghley with a shopping village etc it is just the event itsself

the cost of altering Badminton / Burghley etc and accomadating all the competitors / officials within a 45 minute radius would ( and has ) made Grenwich much more viable financially and the equestrian world need to get behind this now and support and promote this as best they can
 
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i think that is anyone had bothered to read the financial report, what it actually said was thet it would cost more money to move it n

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What it actually says it that there will be no cost savings! i.e. it will cost the same.

But my point would be this is the ££ cost, not the 'whole' cost perhaps including the damage to the park, etc, etc.

If we are going to spend many millions, why not spend it on something that is everlasting? Another Aachen for example? Once the games are over, and the jumps, arenas, etc are taken down Greenwich will return (hopefully) to a park.

The opportunity to build a world class equestrian venue is being lost!
 
pity you clearly havent been to greenwich then Billyslad other than on BEF official tours maybe. This is not just about the eventing is it?
and the legacy as you describe it will just expose the reat of the anti horse sport nations to a few more good reason why its time for horsesprts to go.
usually i agree with what you say but not this time. the thought of the park where i spent much time as a child being flattened with the trees being cut down and the flower garden ripped up apals me and dont bother giving me the official 2we will fix it" argument, you cant fix what is being called 'severe pruning' particualrly as it is obvious that many trees will actually have to go entirely if you actualy go to the park and compare the current plan to the actual site, assuming it is in scale of course, unlike the first time they did it.
 
Like Lucretia I'm fed up with the whole subject. I've spent months during the summer researching statistics of previous equestrian Olympics, writing to those involved in the decision making process (and not one of them has replied, or even acknowledged receiving any of my letters - grr!!), trying to add my voice to persuade them to admit that the original decision was a poor one. Would they admit it - like hell. Apart from the spectacle of the Queen's House this site has absolutely nothing to recommend it, with the destruction of the Park and its trees it will be an environmental catastrophe for the site from which it might never recover, the site is claustrophobicly cramped, the access is impossible, tickets for enthusiasts will be severely limited, and the local inhabitants will LOVE us!! It is hard to get away from the feeling that the British public were duped into thinking the Games would be of lasting benefit when the reality is that new and unnecessary venues are to be constructed at vast expense and then immediately removed, although there are perfectly good ones already in existence only down the road. And now we are told it would be too expensive to move anything. How?? Nothing has been built yet, everything is still at the planning stage. What is the point of spending all this money only to tear everything down a month later. And the inference is that the decision hinges around the Pentathlon. Don't even get me on that subject..... I just hope it's better organised and presented than the distasteful viewing that Beijing made.
If those in authority want equestrianism out of the Olympics then in these recession-hit times (and don't think that's going to go away in a hurry) then we're going the right way about it.
Those who want to go had better book their tickets early as there probably won't be many on sale. The Government must be quietly panicking about what they've let this country and their own "legacy" in for although it'll most likely be the Tories who have to carry the can at the time. How I wish the French had been awarded this liability!!!!
 
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If those in authority want equestrianism out of the Olympics then in these recession-hit times (and don't think that's going to go away in a hurry) then we're going the right way about it.

The cynical may say "QED" (and to be honest, given the recent record of equestrian sports in the Olympics - failed drugs tests , concerns over cross country safety, and the somewhat selective consultation with competitors and "interesting" judging in the dressage, can you blame them?)

However as I am not a cynic but a fluffy bunny of sunny optimism, as it seems it is going to be Greenwich regardless, I really hope they find some way to make it work - -but even my bouncy bunny heart fears the only legacy for SE London will be outrage and resentment at the damage that the toffs and their horses have done to our priceless heritage, etc etc.
 
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pity you clearly havent been to greenwich then Billyslad other than on BEF official tours maybe. This is not just about the eventing is it?
and the legacy as you describe it will just expose the reat of the anti horse sport nations to a few more good reason why its time for horsesprts to go.
usually i agree with what you say but not this time. the thought of the park where i spent much time as a child being flattened with the trees being cut down and the flower garden ripped up apals me and dont bother giving me the official 2we will fix it" argument, you cant fix what is being called 'severe pruning' particualrly as it is obvious that many trees will actually have to go entirely if you actualy go to the park and compare the current plan to the actual site, assuming it is in scale of course, unlike the first time they did it.

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My thoughts exactly. I can't believe they're still going to go ahead with it!
 
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