Harry Meade and Dunauger

[only_me]

oh yes, ive no doubt that harry will be extremely annoyed with himself.

But as for "her" she carried on on a 3 legged horse because "she couldnt feel it and it locked on"

 

[Pidgeon]

Just watched it and TBH words fail me

 

[hollibobs]

Hornby - you are absolutly right.
If that isn't a shattered horse that has nothing left then I don't know what is.
Very sad that one of our so called pros can have such lack of judgement

Poor genuine horse, thankfully no fatatilities in this instance.

 

[Mbronze]

I thought when he was doing the circles (both of them) it looked almost like he was in two minds whether to jump or not?? So maybe he had a gut feeling but didn't go with it due to peer pressure etc. In no way do i think it is acceptable and i'm not making excuses for him but he is only human and made a grave error of judgement of which i doubt you'll ever see him make again.
I once went too fast on a xc course and at the end got pulled up for it, because the faster i went the sloppier her jumping got, i now know i will never run faster than my horse feels comfortable.
Others should learn from this bad example and just be glad this horse wasn't seriously injured.

 

[lizzie_liz]

I have just watched it and I too am shocked. The horse practically trotted into the corner where it almost fell. And even at a couple of fences before it looked tired.
I have no idea what Harry was thinking to continue riding and I do hope he gets punished, to set an example to other riders both pro and amateur. The welfare of the horse is paramount. He and all connections are lucky the horse is still alive.

 

[brushingboots]

The horse - was absolutley shattered It was laying down on the ground it was so tired! Bless him...harry circled on and everybody thought he'd retired but then he went on to jump the jump. Me and mum were talking about it and she said that someone especially like harry whos ridden at top level before should have known his horse was shattered and wasn't capable of carrying on. I was a little infuriated.

And on the side of 'dont stop pro's' i have to agree with the pro's being confined to the top end of the sport. how is anyone else ever going to be pro in that case?!

 

[only_me]

Having just watched the vid, all I can say is that I am horrified by his lack of judgement.

I actually think Harry needs to watch the video, as then he can see how awful it looked, never mind felt.

 

[Baggybreeches]

I just watched the video, and IMO the horse was struggling at 5minutes, it was not going to make it home, let alone by taking all the long routes.
Strange decision making from Harry.
Looks like a pretty damn genuine horse to keep trying when it so tired.

 

[AutumnRose]

I'm very surprised by this, both by HMs riding and what the stewards were told. BE really doesn continue to amaze me, and not in a good way!!!

 

[YummyHorses]

His round is on burghley tv - obvious that the horse was knackered - am astonished he kept asking the horse to continue. The crowd clapped on two seperate occasions when he pulled the horse up so they could tell he shouldnt go on. Poor judgement.

 

[Santa_Claus]

That video has left me somewhat puzzled. Firstly I don't think the horse personally looked 'right' right from the start, really was lacking the forwardness I expect from him. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out he has a virus or similar.

As for Harry's riding don't know what to say, and I would be extremely interested to hear his reasoning. I think he did make a very big mistake by carrying on for many many fences beyond the point the horse looked tired. I can almost certainly bet there will be comment that he was expecting to have been at least yellow flagged if there had been concern from the ground jury/jump judges etc (which they should have done).

He will learn a very hard lesson and thankfully the horse is apparently none the worse from getting stuck. But again would be very surprised if there wasn't something underlying as there is no way he would have brought him to Burghley that unfit considering how early on he started flagging.

 

[brushingboots]

It was shocking to watch

i was watching on the big screen, and dad was watching he's got some photos of the fall...its horrid i just thought harry would have known better "/

 

[oldvic]

There has never been any discrimination between pros and amateurs when it comes to stopping horses. The main criteria is whether the horse is still jumping well or not and if it is, whether the rider is nursing it home or pressing it. It shouldn't get to the stage of whether it can raise a canter. Dunauger is a renowned hard puller and has to put effort into his gallop. He is not accustomed to going as fast as he did - he was approx. 10 secs faster than Armada at the time check on the video - and by comparison to a more blood horse he is nearer his top speed. Also the terrain and nature of the course is especially tiring for a horse that has to keep changing his rhythm due to having to keep turning and being rebalanced. The horse was fit but maybe lacks the stamina to combine the distance with the speed required. Harry has learnt the hard way that there is a time to pull up.

 

[sare_bear]

Finally watched the video. Amazed by how tired Dunauger is by the dairy mounds and should have pulled up then. Think that both HM and the stewards are at fault. He should have been pulled up like they did with the french rider. Very bad judgement.
On another note AN's Amarda is an amazingly talented horse and finished so full of running. Made the course look effortless.

 

[k1963]

I shouldn't comment as I've not seen any coverage - but a tired horse is a tired horse , regardless of who is riding it & should be stopped . I wish BE would get their act together

 

[charliebo]

[ QUOTE ]
There has never been any discrimination between pros and amateurs when it comes to stopping horses. The main criteria is whether the horse is still jumping well or not and if it is, whether the rider is nursing it home or pressing it. It shouldn't get to the stage of whether it can raise a canter. Dunauger is a renowned hard puller and has to put effort into his gallop. He is not accustomed to going as fast as he did - he was approx. 10 secs faster than Armada at the time check on the video - and by comparison to a more blood horse he is nearer his top speed. Also the terrain and nature of the course is especially tiring for a horse that has to keep changing his rhythm due to having to keep turning and being rebalanced. The horse was fit but maybe lacks the stamina to combine the distance with the speed required. Harry has learnt the hard way that there is a time to pull up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Completely agree

 

[GinaB]

Good grief

That was awful to watch. It was plain for anyone to see the horse just wasn't right. He just looked exhausted but for HM to carry on was beggars belief. I hope Dunager isn't too sore tomorrow. Very distressing to watch.

 

[punk]

k - have just come on here and am only on page 2 of this thread!!

However, I can assure you that the pep talk WAS given at Blair - especially as the ground was a bit sticky and deep in places - with a lot of hills!!

We WERE told about yellow cards for tired horses, and to think of the welfare of the horse first, but actually, not about elimination if we carried on I don't think.? Maybe I'm wrong.

Scared the living daylights out of daughter, but I am sure made her ride sensibly, and not kick on after the top of the hill until second wind came in!! ( To do amateurs justice, I think they love their horses too much to do otherwise anyway!!)

Am going to read on through the thread now as I am really SHOCKED to hear this is why Midnight Dazzler was withdrawn.

Can't believe any rider could do this........

The H&H live thread did say that Dunauger was being very strong at the start. Like a racehorse, the more they fight - the more they tire themselves - however fit they are........

 

[ladyt25]

God I didn't know anything about this, know Dunauger's owner as she's local to us. Sounds horrid - is he ok?

 

[sea_view]

Harry Meade suffered the only horse fall, when his first ride Dunauger refused and then became stuck at the alternative corner at the Capability's Classic (fence 19ab). The horse was extracted, washed off and then walked into a horse ambulance to return uninjured to the stables.

This is what it says in H&H news about it.

 

[CastleMouse]

That was not nice viewing, and I thought Harry would be the type of rider who would make the correct decisions

 

[kit279]

Having seen the video, it was a really bad decision to jump one last fence - no question. But I agree - there's something that looks odd about the horse from very early on, like he never really got going, never looked forward enough. I wonder if he tied up?

 

[yeeharider]

have always watched Dunauger's career with interest we were both taught by Rosemary when he was a novice my horse did not progress as fast as him but have never seen him so lack lustre as today and I agree with other he should have been pulled up at the dairy mound when he had his first stop it was not a run out he had run out of gas!!!!!! shame on harry for pushing him further

 

[JoJo_]

Just watched the vid. Agree with everyone else that he should have pulled up after the near fall at that corner. I've always liked Harry Meade but he has gone down in my book after this. Why try to jump anymore when the horse obviously looked exhausted? He must have felt it and known he wouldnt be finishing the course! He should have put his hand up and retired a lot earlier. I wouldnt be surprised if the ride is taken off him.

 

[jonny]

Doesn't this sound like a certain somebody, but obviously not as BAD. She obviously wasn't sticking up to her reputation as horse killer at Burghley today.

 

[Hesperus]

Having seen the video - horse broke into trot coming to that corner. That was the time to stop - given the wearied leaps before that.

Still watching him ride- he is a lovely rider. He didn't chase or beat the horse. Just an error of judgement.

 

[WishfulThinker]

The horse had the momentum of a burst football all the way round and then that of a soggy pudding coming up to that jump, there was no energy at all, he must have felt that. The horse was going so slow that he could have easily just stopped directly in front of the fence and just called it a day there- how on earth did he feel it would get over that combination?
Something must have been with it from the start, and I kinda do hope it is a virus and not that he just chose to squeeze every drop of energy out of the horse.

Either way..............he really should have pulled up sooner. There is calm, slow and controlled, and then there is hesitant and lacking movement

 

[kerilli]

[ QUOTE ]
I can almost certainly bet there will be comment that he was expecting to have been at least yellow flagged if there had been concern from the ground jury/jump judges etc (which they should have done).


[/ QUOTE ]

Ultimately, it isn't up to the officials to stop a horse, it is up to the rider, who can make an instant judgement call and stop immediately. Officials might take minutes to make the decision (it's a big deal, esp if you stop a Pro who is in with a good chance) and then to radio ahead far enough for someone to react fast enough to stop the horse!
The rider makes the call, based on feel, always. I can think of many cases i have seen of riders feeling something wrong and pulling up immediately, sometimes before onlookers could see any problem. In one case, a few strides from a fence (horse collapsed and died actually, had had a heart attack, rider felt something wasn't right and thank God pulled up, imagine if horse had tried to jump.)
it is no defence at all to say "somebody should have stopped him".. he should have stopped himself.

to the person who said that there has never been a discrimination made between stopping Pros and Amateurs, previously i would have agreed (in theory) but what i was told came straight from the horse's mouth (as it were) at Burghley yesterday... from a VERY credible source.

 

[vikkiandmonica]

Just watched the video, and I think when the horse started breaking into trot and clearly was tired, he should have stopped. I think Dunauger could possibly have a virus, as I saw him warm up for the XC at Hartpury, and he was jumping very well then.

 

[abbie29]

Just watched it and whilst the horse is clearly tired, I really like Harry Meade and he's made a mistake. He obviously knew the horse was tired, hence the long route and he got it wrong. Let's not crucify him for it, we've all made mistakes. Although he is a pro and has been riding for a long time, he may never have been in that exact situation (let's face it, Midnight Dazzler skips round courses). He was wrong and as long as he learns from it... I'm no expert, I just hate to see riders villanised. The stewards didn't stop him either... Its a shame for the sport but I've seen far more dangerous riding from people going too fast and turning the horses over. I'm not saying he wasn't in the wrong, he was. Just that one bad ride from a normally good and careful rider shouldn't make him evil!