Just seen Lee whinging on the Midlands nesw

[mle22]

Well maybe it's just a particularly British trait - don't blow your own trumpet.

I just think he gets a disproportionate amount of criticism. Like all the para athletes he is inspirational and was the first to be famous as a paradressage rider. I can't understand why some people seem to always want to bash him.

 

[Koala Kate]

He brings it on himself. I watched interviews with the and was in tears . So gracious and humble . O was so happy for them I cried .

 

[Koala Kate]

The girls

 

[mle22]

Tell the wheelchair rugby team they have to be humble and gracious!

 

[Koala Kate]

Why ?!!! They are not obnoxious little brats

 

[mle22]

They're not humble and gracious either! Are you saying Lee is an obnoxious little brat? Because that is the implication of your post. I feel very angry on his behalf.

 

[DragonSlayer]

The man works hard to get where he is, able-bodied or otherwise.

He is at the top of his game, I don't know him personally, so I don't judge on the kind of guy he is, but I do admire his dedication to the sport.

I take all interviews with a pinch of salt, things said may raise eyebrows, but it doesn't affect my everyday life so I don't see the point in making comments on 'attitudes'.

We had a similar discussion on Murray during Wimbledon here on HHO, I said the same thing, then and I'll say it now.

What is the point in character assassinations?

 

[NoseyPosey]

I've said it before & I'll say it again - I don't think any sport which does not have a clear cut "fastest time" or "first past the post" should be an olympic sport and this highlights the reason why. Maybe the judge thinks he's an arrogant so & so as well?

 

[hobo]

Thanks for posting the results cruiseline very interesting result from judge M. My OH and I met him while we were waiting for MK to take the water jump at the WEG Kentucky. We found him friendly and funny and some of the things he said still make us chuckle.
I think he has done a lot to lift the profile of para dressage to what it is today.

 

[cruiseline]

Lee has every right to be proud of what he has achieved, he also has the right (as a competitor) to question a quite blatant discrepancy in the way one of the judges marked his test (4 others got it right)! If you watch sport, you will see that athletes always take bad decisions quite personally, I know I do.

I find it very sad that there are people who are willing to very publicly bad mouth someone that they have firstly never met and secondly never experienced what they have been through in their life to get where they are.

What is the old saying:

DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES

I would love to hear back from you when you have, I might then take your comments to heart. Until that happens, its all just hot air!!!!!!!!!

 

[merrymeasure]

Lee has every right to be proud of what he has achieved, he also has the right (as a competitor) to question a quite blatant discrepancy in the way one of the judges marked his test (4 others got it right)! If you watch sport, you will see that athletes always take bad decisions quite personally, I know I do.

I find it very sad that there are people who are willing to very publicly bad mouth someone that they have firstly never met and secondly never experienced what they have been through in their life to get where they are.

What is the old saying:

DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES

I would love to hear back from you when you have, I might then take your comments to heart. Until that happens, its all just hot air!!!!!!!!!

Agree. I think people take Lee too seriously. I really admire his achievements and I'm pretty sure a lot of his comments are said tongue in cheek.

 

[siennamum]

How nasty some of you are. What a pointless post.

 

[Alec Swan]

There's another thread somewhere, with equally conflicting views on Lee P. I suspect that all those who for what ever reason, are catapulted into the public arena, find such fame to be difficult to deal with, and perhaps on occasion they will fall short of our expectations.

I wonder what I'd be like, were I famous; probably even more insufferable than I am now! I've decided that I'm now officially in training, for fame and fortune!

Alec.

 

[ester]

but Alec you ARE famous.. you were on countryfile and everything

 

[Luci07]

I saw him on come dine with me and thought he was funny! And actually, made a very strong point about recognition. Ever thought that the general public might still not really know about Paralympic dressage and him if he WASN'T so outspoken?!

He used to post on here a while back and got slammed by a lot of people for putting up a picture of a 3 year old as a lot of our local experts said it was clearly over trained at too early an age. Hilarious. It was a 3 year old colt just starting out. Yes it had quite a reasonable crest on it ..about half of what it would have when it actually did start work.!

 

[JanetGeorge]

I find it very sad that there are people who are willing to very publicly bad mouth someone that they have firstly never met and secondly never experienced what they have been through in their life to get where they are.

What is the old saying:

DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES

I would love to hear back from you when you have, I might then take your comments to heart. Until that happens, its all just hot air!!!!!!!!!

Well said cruiseline!!

Lee wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth - just a disability that would finish off many people! He's worked his a*se off to get where he is today, and he has HAD to blow his own trumpet - because without sponsors - and the media - he couldn't survive at the level he is, let alone score gold medals!

He has a fantastic sense of humour - including the ability to laugh at himself. When he joined my forum he did so with the user-name 'crutch'!

He has inspired MANY people - particularly many disabled riders - by proving 'it's ability that counts'!! And he's raised the standard of para dressage to an enormous degree! I'd ask, WTF have his critics achieved???

 

[EAST KENT]

but Alec you ARE famous.. you were on countryfile and everything

Really? Ooh will have to watch then!

 

[JanetGeorge]

but Alec you ARE famous.. you were on countryfile and everything

Oooh - does that make you famous?? I did that once or twice!

 

[Serenity087]

"I hate him cos I saw a TV documentary with him in it"

This is possible the most redundant explanation for an utterly uncalled for character assassination in the history of mankind.

When one has achieved 10 gold medals and 1 silver at Paralympic games and when one has spent time with Lee in person and got to know the real Lee, can one possibly post an opinion on his character.

On the plus side, I CAN vouch that there are a number of arrogant **** posting in this thread!

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

He's a nice guy - and yes, I have met him, he came to Devon in September last year for a fortnight to teach at a clinic, and I sat next to him at dinner. He's funny, dry, and he really strongly wanted to win at the Paralympics, home turf and all that. I would say he's a great ambassador for para dressage.

The Last Leg has been very funny viewing, but I doubt Lee's comment was the only one that some would find offensive! And as for the documentary recently shown, Lee wants to WIN! If he didn't want to WIN, he'd probably be going for a riding at an RDA centre once a week, if that. You have to push yourself, have self belief and a desire to always try harder, again and again, whether disabled or able bodied - humble, what a load of tosh, if I'd won nine Para Golds in three Paralympics, therefore having a 100% compete/win rate, I'd be damn proud of what I'd accomplished.

 

[Sagittarius]

Lee has every right to be proud of what he has achieved, he also has the right (as a competitor) to question a quite blatant discrepancy in the way one of the judges marked his test (4 others got it right)

Putting aside personal comments about Lee himself - why the assumption that the low marking judge was wrong and the others were right?

The horse was noticably unlevel in the trot work and the walk wasn't always fluent.

Lee himself commented in press reports "Gentleman has struggled this week physically. It is quite unusual for him to compete every other day over six days, so the guys backstage have been working hard on keeping him sane and sound."

Perhaps the judge in question was right to put her head above the parapet and mark exactly what she saw, not what she hoped to see based on past performance?

 

[Mike007]

Cant see what the fuss is about. Lee could be as gay as a box of frogs but he is still a blokes kind of bloke. I would love to down a few pints with the man. I think the problem is entirely with those that want to steriotype him into some kind of neet box. Get real , get a life.

 

[chris_j]

Whether you like the guy or not, how would you feel reading this thread if it was you being ripped apart by the Internet experts.

Have some bloody class & compassion people.

 

[DragonSlayer]

@chris j - Id be saying WHO has won the medals??? Me!

The man deserves to be at the top, I greatly admire him, I hope his success continues.

I remember robbie Williams getting shredded once by the tabloids, and on an interview he said "I don't care, I have £28 million in royalties...'...class answer.

'Love thy fellow man...'...yeah right, that one went a bit wrong!

 

[HashRouge]

I don't mind Lee, and I was cheerfully supporting him going in to his final test. I thought he did a decent test (though was I the only one who thought Gentleman looked rather *ahem* fat? ) but Pepo Puch did by far the best performance on the day. And as far as I can work out, even if the low marking judge had equaled the score given by the highest marking judge (78%), Lee wouldn't have beaten him. I didn't see the test by the woman who came second, however, so I can't comment on that. But I certainly don't think there is any shame in Lee losing the gold on that occasion, as Pepo Puch did a stunning test and it would have been a scandal had he not won gold.

 

[Rollin]

I can't believe this.

I listened to his mother on Radio Four describing his birth and early start in life and how disabled he was. It was his own will that started him riding. He still needs crutches to walk. What a wonderful young man he is to have done so much. If he has a high opinion of himself he deserves it.

I have a son with Dyspraxia - Clumsy Child Syndrome and have the greatest admiration for our equestrian dressage team.

 

[cruiseline]

Putting aside personal comments about Lee himself - why the assumption that the low marking judge was wrong and the others were right?

Because at international level you would expect all judges to be professional and singing from the same hymn book! That is a huge gap between the marks for the judge at 'M' and everyone else.

If 2 or 3 of them had scored similar marks to judge 'M', then there would have been no need to question the result, but as you can see the other 4 judges were very similar in their opinion of the test. It's not rocket science it black and white.

 

[Alyth]

From a completely impartian viewpoint!! Remember each judge has a completely different viewpoint from the other judges.....and remember you need to look at the judges scores for all competitiors....if one judge is consistently lower than the others that is fine. It is when one riders score by one judge is "out of character" that you need to start worrying!!

 

[Stateside]

I must say I really admire Lees achievements ,he has done us proud but why has nobody around him not employed a decent PR person to put him in the right direction, he comes across as a bitter old Queen with a chip on his shoulder.When I saw Judy Goodyear on Big brother I thought of Lee.So much talent that is being distracted by the way he comes across.
If someone in high places decide to give him a Knighthood or any other honor good BUT I think he has blown his chances now .except with grace but never demand .

 

[combat_claire]

I can't believe this.

I listened to his mother on Radio Four describing his birth and early start in life and how disabled he was. It was his own will that started him riding. He still needs crutches to walk. What a wonderful young man he is to have done so much. If he has a high opinion of himself he deserves it.

^^^^ This