HOYS Supreme Horse ???!!!!

I think that you are misunderstanding the point of showing.

This horse was picked as the best on the day - in the judges opinion. Now of course people may choose to disagree with the judges choice. But based on breed type this judge obviously thought that it measured up better than the others put forward.

I don't think that anyone would think that this is now the best horse in the country - but appreciate it for what it is - performed wonderfully on the day, was produced magnificently and deserved the win over the others.

Showing at the end of the day is hugely subjective - and always full of interesting debate.
 
The british have alot of fine animals in the showing ring, but even if there was the most DROP DEAD GORGEOUS stunning elegant show hack, but wasnt quite correct to its type and/or breed standard, but the Cob was, then the cob should win!! Thats what proper showing SHOULD be about. The best down to its breed/ type!
 
in terms of showing (remember I am not a showing person again) i have NO issues with a coloured cob representing british breeding and again I don't see why anyone should have a problem with this, you still haven't given a particular reason as to why a coloured cob shouldn't win except for seemingly your dislike for cobs and in particular coloureds which is purely a personal preference it seems.

Arko and Mr Springfield represent the countries ability to breed SHOWJUMPERS!!

Remember the british are considered one of the best in the world to breed TBs but this is for racing NOT showing.

Britain is improving in producing Showjumpers, not getting that far with dressage horses as far easier to import (but there are some peopl doing some wonderful work still producing british bred horses but infusing imported lines).
 
This is a very interesting discussion as as personally when I saw it in the finale I was disappointed too! I should add that I am a great cob fan: I used to loan a heavy cob and I'm sure one day I will have one again as they make great husband and wife mounts. I think a minor reason I was disappointed was because I had assumed it would be a horse I knew, and this wasn't. I also didn't like how it was ridden - a very old-fashioned almost backwards seat (tho I appreciate people shows cobs a certain way and both Katie Jerram and Lynne Russell sit back when showing cobs and hunters).

I suppose I had assumed a heavyish hunter would win, or else a very dainty hack. Of the cobs I'd have tipped Robocob BUT in the last H&H where Lucinda Green rode him I was surprised to read that he can be tense and difficult to ride so perhaps his nerves or mannrers let him down?

Now THIS is why I want to see showing on the TV: we can see the classes and all judge for ourselves. In my old age I FINALLY find showing as interesting as jumping!
 
For what it is worth, we know the owners, and they are very hard working people who do get up early to show/hunt. Having Robert to ride must surely give the horse its best chance and if it were me I'd be torn over the chance to ride myself or having the best chance of a prize!!
 
Why is so bad that a coloured cob represents the best of british breeding? Judges are there to judge what's in front of them on the day- its all objective and down to personal opinion. Arko may represent the best in German breeding, but surely its possible that even he could be beaten in the showring, after all he's not a show hunter.
K9 Wendy, my grey (white) Highland mare has four black hooves, and it still looks weird to me when she's all washed and white with these shiny black hooves! I think some of the native breed standards specify that ponies must have black feet ( Highland Pony Society certainly does) so maybe the cob has native blood in him somewhere.
 
Your Highland will have black skin under his grey coat which is why his feet are black. Coloured horses have white (or pink) skin under their white bits in the same way Bay/Chestnuts have white skin under their white markings. Its the colour of the skin which determines the hoof colour

This Cob probably has white feet painted black, unless its white legs all have black markings just where the hooves start.
 
i always thought that the point of 'best in show' was to pick the horse who was most true to ts own type - therefore the best example of its breed and most likely to do the job its breed was bred for.
so, surely the fact that the cob won hoys shows that on that day, the best bred/ put together horse won, and so the conformation/performance of the other horses were not to the same standard. i, for one am pleased that such a horse has won, it proves to some people that your horse doesnt have to be a WB or TB to be a quality horse.
Sarah
 
I dont care a coloured cob won, tho I do think that there are better animals out there, but I do take umbrage with the fact the horse has its mouth wide open and looks very resistant

*slopes off as she has never done showing in her life*
 
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Have to say, it still doesn't grab me; it's front end doesn't match the back end (to me!); imagine that tanking off with you, you wouldn't have a chance!!

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Can you tell from those pics? Oh, sorry, disregard... have engaged brain and now remember you saying you'd seen him in RL!
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I'm clueless about cobs I'm afraid. He looks much like all cobs do!
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They must be over the moon and fair do's to them.
The one thing they guarranteed by using RW was the fact he is a showman through to his bones; he's even a showman when he field masters; he does it in his sleep I shouldn't wonder!
Also, for someone else, can't remember who, the backward seat like they use for cobs (and some hunters) does seem to be more comfortable but, it also shows off the shoulder better as it gives the illusion of a longer rein length (could be why his were overlong in that picture!) and it could also hark back to the glory days when cobs were ridden by gentlemen to hack to the meets and it is the old fashioned seat in essence; another piece of showmanship!
Let's face it, after all the hard preparation work, once you're in the ring, you're on your own. Being a showman is always about presenting an illusion that the judges want to see, which is why, blast his eyes, RW is so good!
 
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I dont care a coloured cob won, tho I do think that there are better animals out there, but I do take umbrage with the fact the horse has its mouth wide open and looks very resistant

*slopes off as she has never done showing in her life*

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PMSL!! Hence my thought before about it tanking off!
 
Sorry Rach,
I am your friend but even I have to post against you here as what you have said isnt really fair!

I know you have a bee in your bonnet about cheque book winners and produced horses but at HOYS level when you compete, its pretty much the pros that do well, not for biased reason but they have the best horses and are produced the best!

I think fair play to them and maybe a coloured cob winning will go some way to get rid of the still clearly so open prejudice about coloured horse,

PS unbiased opinion here as dont own a coloured or a cob, I just show and when they are nice animals it shouldnt matter the colour!!!

N
x
 
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Fair enough- everyone is entitled to their opinion all i was saying si that out of all the fine specimens of animals at HOYS and they choose a coloured cob.

I think the combnation fo the fact that it was coloured and a cob makes it a bit of a joke that the best horse in the country is one such as this.

fair enuf if you think that the judegs are good jsut because they are judging at hoys- but i take it you havent been involved in showing too much then.

Also the peopel who own this horse have their horse with Robert Walker so i doubt they have been up at 4 in the morning to get the horse ready for the shows themselves, ride it, school it etc etc. so if they said to me- i was supreme at HOYS i wud say- bully to you- you didnt do any of the work yourself os therefore your prize is pretty much worhtless. they porb paid a lot of money for the cob and to get it proodcued so at the end of the day they are just cheque book winners. perosnally i wouldnt want that.

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I am sorry but this is BS - i own a horse that competes in dressage, she is away on full livery with a rider, who looks after her on her yard, trains her and competes her, my horse and her rider have had some very good results in dressage and i try to always be there to watch and am always delighted - just because she is based with a rider (a choice i made because i believe she will be able to excell in this situation as the rider has more time and expertise) does this mean that i should not be delighted or that i would not care if someone said my horse should not have won.

And i think bringing 'buying' success into this is just wrong - everyone knows that every champion in every disipline has to be a FANTASTIC horse and fantastic horses *usually* cost alot. Every horse in that competition will be worth a lot of money and cost alot to keep and therefore the winner was no different to the rest in that regard and therefore did not win because of it.

i don't think this horse represents the best of british breeding - if someone wants to look at our dressage / sj ing prospects they are hardly going to look up the HOYS results. If Britain were asked to put forward a horse to be compared with Arko / Flemmingh then this cob would not get a look in, but then arko wouldn't be selected by Germany to be compared against this cob - i don't really understand how arko came into it actually.

i personally, as i have said, don't like cobs, and ashamedly admit that i agree with the comment about getting them pulling carts but that in MY opinion and i don't expect MY opinion to detract from the competition which is that the horse closest to its own breed standard should win and if on that day it was that coloured cob then i am glad it won. the competition was not "which horse would you like to represent British breeding"

i hasten to add that you are right i do not know alot about showing, nor cobs - which is partly why i haven't said that this is a good example of a cob because i don't know nor even as hoys supreme champ would i want this cob because as i said i am not a fan BUT if that was the best then that was the best and therefore it deserved to win and i don't understand why you have such a problem with that.
 
Excellent post Jem1, I get the feeling, reading between the lines, that Sherwood is more against supposed 'cheque book winners' than the fact that it is a coloured cob.

I have always ridden and competed my own horses, initially in showing and now in dressage, however, with my two year old, I am seriously considering getting someone else to compete her as she has probably more talent than I can cope with and I am not getting any younger
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Its all down to what comes up trumps on the day - some of the previous supremes have not been my type but on that day they sparkled, behaved like angels and moved like a dream. They raise their game. I think its quite nice that the judges considered something other than the obligatory annoying tiny show pony and the huge over the top hunter. Personally showing winds me up as all so opinion based and frankly that supreme could go out tomorrow and come last judged by someone else. In fact what is the point of showing!
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but at HOYS level when you compete, its pretty much the pros that do well

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Not sure I entirely agree with this. My friends brood mare has been supreme inhand champion twice at HOYS and she is most definately not a professional.
 
I'd imagine the judges could see past colour.

It's not the horses fault who owns and rides it, doesn't make it less of a horse if its with a pro.

The price of coloured cobs should go up now
 
No not at all i jsut couldnt believ out of all those horses they chose a coloured cob- end of. Clearly i am not supported by many others but i was just commenting that was all!

i dotn agree with cheque book winners either but thats an argument for another day!

sorry if i offended!
 
I really can't believe someone can be so biased....
what is wrong with a coloured cob winning?
They are not ( as someone else said) a 'second class horse' so why treat them like one!?
The judges obviously thought it was a very good example of what it is supposed to be!
Have to say, I picked the b+w cob in the overall cob, but this one behaved better!
And I don't think the poster has an issue with the particular cob, just coloured cobs!
WHY exactly is it a problem that a coloured cob won?!!
 
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