Kauto doing dressage

I must say I haven't read anywhere that the horse is being trained for anything other than dressage. The owner said dressage, the trainer said dressage, Breisner and the BHA said dressage. Forgive me if I am mistaken, but I understood that the only reason he ended up with Collett was in a chain through Smith-Arbuthnot-Breisner, hence the perplexing nature of the decision
 
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Louise12 said:
...but I've seen the interviews with the owner on RUK. Dressage.
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And this is a direct quote from Yogi, by the look of it

“It is a pleasure and privilege to have been asked to assess Kauto Star with a view to finding him an alternative activity now he is retired from racing,” Breisner said.
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Don't forget the owner probably knows nothing about horses outside racing either, and is equally likely to have latched onto the dressage word because the horse already knows how to jump and he would not think that he needs assessing for SJ or XC


The quote was in a RacingUK article headlined

Dressage not only option for Kauto Star
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Fantasy_World said:
The gutter press maybe but not the racing press..... do not taint all journalists with the same brush thankyou!
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Blimey! First Kauto is some mystical beast that only Ditcheat can manage, and now there are a select band of journalists who never misinterpret anything or make up stories.

FW can you tell me what planet you live on, because it certainly isn't the same one as me. A small case of nominative determinism going on here I think :D
 
ChristmasPTrees said:
And this is a direct quote from Yogi, by the look of it



Don't forget the owner probably knows nothing about horses outside racing either, and is equally likely to have latched onto the dressage word because the horse already knows how to jump and he would not think that he needs assessing for SJ or XC


The quote was in a RacingUK article headlined
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Do you not think then that this year's Olympics and how well the Brits faired in dressage in both the Olympic games and the Para Olympic games had an influence?
True the owner appears to have very little understanding of horses outside racing and horses in general to be honest.
The horse can jump National Hunt fences and even then he was not foot perfect. Remember the King George in 2008 and 2011. Also the Cheltenham Gold Cup of 2010. He unshipped his rider in the Betfair chase in 2008. Fell in the 2006 Queen Mother chase. At Exeter in Jan 2005 he fell and in the days when remounting was allowed following a fall he was ridden out for second place on the day that he suffered an injury, a fracture to be exact.
True he has won many races and been placed in between, but who is saying that the horse knows how to jump?
Jumping National Hunt fences is far different to showjumping poles and fillers and cross country courses.
A horse can brush through a fence or land and recover and lose impetus and yet still place or win, but the same can not be afforded to similar mistakes over poles or other types of fences/jumps. They will either be knocked down resulting in faults, slow the horse down resulting in time faults or even make the horse unable to jump the next obstacle on the correct stride/angle.
Similar can be said of the cross country courses, where time is again an issue.
Such mistakes would be highly penalised.
It does not matter how long it takes a horse to finish a National Hunt race, the fastest will clearly be the winner so long as the jockey is on board.
Those who finish but are not as fast will either be in the frame or out of it.
On a showjumping or cross country course time is a major issue.
So I would not say that Kauto knows how to jump.
He is able to jump National Hunt fences and unless he has been tried over poles at Ditcheat then no one knows if he is able to jump them clearly and at speed.
 
ChristmasPTrees said:
Blimey! First Kauto is some mystical beast that only Ditcheat can manage, and now there are a select band of journalists who never misinterpret anything or make up stories.

FW can you tell me what planet you live on, because it certainly isn't the same one as me. A small case of nominative determinism going on here I think :D
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I can happily say I live on Earth or at least that is where gravity keeps me ;)
The racing press such as Racing Post etc do not make up stories, why would they?
I know some of their journalists personally and have worked alongside them.

As for the other tabloid and broadsheet press then I beg to differ.
We all know that scandal sells newspapers.

In the case of Kauto Star there are two papers I would read to hear about his progress or any fallout. The Racing Post and the online Sporting Life.
I do like the Horse and Hound though which is a magazine, and The Telegraph too but as for any other daily publication I am not bothered what they say or do not say.
 
ChristmasPTrees said:
Blimey! First Kauto is some mystical beast that only Ditcheat can manage, and now there are a select band of journalists who never misinterpret anything or make up stories.

FW can you tell me what planet you live on, because it certainly isn't the same one as me. A small case of nominative determinism going on here I think :D
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FW lives on this planet, you though reside in a whole different galaxy, nominative determination what the hell does that mean?

The RP is the first stop for any news on racing and their journalists are second to none, why would they make stuff up, they would lose credability and no trainers,owners or jockeys would speak to them ever again.

You say Clive Smith probabley knows nothing outside racing, how do you know that, that is just your opinion and this is where we differ.
 
Unfortunately discussions tend to get heated when we start to discuss what we think people might mean, because we all infer different things. I absolutely agree that Clive Smith does not seem to understand the difference between disciplines, and since we do not trust the press we will treat the quote from Breisner with equal scepticism, in the interests of consistency. Dressage or eventing is irrelevant to my view, so people may infer either with reference to my opinion
 
There is no reason why, after assessment that KS cannot be re homed to do some low level dressage, hacking etc. I doubt his owner is expecting him to be the next Valegro, just wants him to have another job with no pressure.
 
The trouble is that the riders who want to do low level dressage and hack would find him quite a challenge. He has been known to keep his riders on their toes all his life and, with a horse of that class, things happen very quickly. To me it is interesting that Laura has said she is leading him at Kempton.
 
Not sure the choice of who is leading Kauto at Kempton will go down very well with racing fans when you remember who had the honour of leading the likes of Dessie...or riding him, remember well Richard Dunwoody getting carted by Dessie during 1 parade and many people roaring with laughter at the old boy having fun, while taking the pi..
 
oldvic said:
The trouble is that the riders who want to do low level dressage and hack would find him quite a challenge. He has been known to keep his riders on their toes all his life and, with a horse of that class, things happen very quickly. To me it is interesting that Laura has said she is leading him at Kempton.
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You're kidding right?
So someone who has known the horse, for what five minutes will be leading him for what will probably be his last National Hunt parade at a track where he won 5 King George's and they are not even connected with racing at all........ shameful :(
It would be interesting who made this decision?
 
Fantasy_World said:
You're kidding right?
So someone who has known the horse, for what five minutes will be leading him for what will probably be his last National Hunt parade at a track where he won 5 King George's and they are not even connected with racing at all........ shameful :(
It would be interesting who made this decision?
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I agree with you Fantasy_World. But I can't imagine PN letting his lad lead the horse. But it sure is one interesting (and let's hope, not disastrous) decision.
 
Fantasy_World said:
You're kidding right?
So someone who has known the horse, for what five minutes will be leading him for what will probably be his last National Hunt parade at a track where he won 5 King George's and they are not even connected with racing at all........ shameful :(
It would be interesting who made this decision?
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With all that has gone on between trainer, owner and staff I am sure that all would be quite happy for the usual proceedings to take place where his lass leads him up BUT it would seem too awkward for that to happen.

Either which way it will be interesting.
 
christine48 said:
There is no reason why, after assessment that KS cannot be re homed to do some low level dressage, hacking etc. I doubt his owner is expecting him to be the next Valegro, just wants him to have another job with no pressure.
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Just as longs as it's still in the limelight so he can get his (owner's) recognition. :rolleyes:

silu said:
Not sure the choice of who is leading Kauto at Kempton will go down very well with racing fans when you remember who had the honour of leading the likes of Dessie...or riding him, remember well Richard Dunwoody getting carted by Dessie during 1 parade and many people roaring with laughter at the old boy having fun, while taking the pi..
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Very well remembered, in fact what I probably remember most of Dessie; would be a great shame if the last memory they have of Kauto is a tame lead past the stands when there are those fully capable of riding him - and possibly showing off his new dressage style but it doesn't sound as if LC thinks she can cope with him under saddle which doesn't fill me with the greatest confidence for the horse.

I can't help but totally agree with a friend who is very well connected with racing and wrote in her recent blog -

I do sympathise with champion trainer Paul Nicholls and his team as they must be gutted to lose such a stable star and friend and must feel that they have let the old horse down. If KS is not happy in his new career then hopefully the highly respected persons that are entrusted with his new career wiill quickly realise this and another plan will be made.

Where KS's owner fits into this I am not sure, as although he has paid all the bills and received a huge amount of prize money and pleasure in return - he would be the least likely to know what the horse would or would not enjoy and that is the problem!

Fantasy_World said:
You're kidding right?
So someone who has known the horse, for what five minutes will be leading him for what will probably be his last National Hunt parade at a track where he won 5 King George's and they are not even connected with racing at all........ shameful :(
It would be interesting who made this decision?
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Couldn't agree more. I just hope KS stays safe in what will be an electric charged atmosphere.
 
Completely agree with recent posts. Clifford Baker rode the horse at Haydock, and he is part and parcel of the Kauto Star story. He fits. I know that I will have very mixed emotions watching someone else lead him up.
 
Fantasy_World said:
You're kidding right?
So someone who has known the horse, for what five minutes will be leading him for what will probably be his last National Hunt parade at a track where he won 5 King George's and they are not even connected with racing at all........ shameful :(
It would be interesting who made this decision?
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Shameful? Sigh.

As for LC not being connected with racing at all - doesn't she ride out for a reasonably successful trainer (name escapes me at the moment) which is why YB chose her continue Kauto Star's education.

Isn't it just possible that connections felt that it wouldn't it be all that good for the horse's brain to be ridden at the track while they're trying to assess him for another job/career? He's not been gone from PN's yard very long - I'd have thought being ridden at Kempton may blow his brain a little . . . and for what?

Personally, I think LC has been very gracious to agree to the horse taking part in the parade at all . . .

. . . all this feather spitting is most unedifying.

P
 
Louise12 said:
Completely agree with recent posts. Clifford Baker rode the horse at Haydock, and he is part and parcel of the Kauto Star story. He fits. I know that I will have very mixed emotions watching someone else lead him up.
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Clifford Baker works for Paul Nichols, not Laura Collett. Kauto Star's story has moved on . . . that's life with horses. Are you suggesting that Edward Gal should continue to ride Totilas since he's been sold? It amounts to the same thing.

Horses - ALL types of horses . . . top racehorses, eventers, SJers and much-loved family pets - change hands and move yards all the time. All that has happened here is that Kauto Star's owner has decided to move his horse from one yard to another . . . nothing more and nothing less. It is his prerogative to do so. Change of yard means change of carers. End of.

P
 
Sorry Polar Express but your comparison to Tortilas/Edward Gal, are you having a laugh!!!??? Kauto isn't being competed on Boxing Day, he is being paraded for the pleasure or all the millions of racing fans who know and love him. Just how many racing fans will have even heard of Laura Collett or Yogi for that matter? He only began to get mentioned by the media and therefore got "known" to Jo public through his attempts to help Long Run's jumping.

Yet more publicity seeking and if I'd had anything personally to do with Kauto I'd be spitting feathers that a 22/23 year old kid with no real or long term connection with racing was getting the honour of leading Kauto for perhaps the last time in front of the massive crowds of racing fans.It's WORSE than say the likes of Tom Daly getting the honour of lighting the Olympic flame before Steve Redgrave.
 
PolarExpress said:
Horses - ALL types of horses . . . top racehorses, eventers, SJers and much-loved family pets - change hands and move yards all the time. All that has happened here is that Kauto Star's owner has decided to move his horse from one yard to another . . . nothing more and nothing less. It is his prerogative to do so. Change of yard means change of carers. End of.

P
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You clearly have no comprehension of what this horse is.
 
Caledonia said:
You clearly have no comprehension of what this horse is.
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He is an unwitting pawn in a multi-million pound industry to generate revenues and taxes from betting, to which end his life was risked far and above the risks incurred in any other horse sport in this country. Thankfully, he came through, many don't.

If he'd failed, no-one would be making this fuss about whether he was right to be moved or not. He'd either have been retrained or shot.

He's exactly the same horse as he would have been if he had been a few seconds slower on the racecourse.
 
ChristmasPTrees said:
He is an unwitting pawn in a multi-million pound industry to generate revenues and taxes from betting, to which end his life was risked far and above the risks incurred in any other horse sport in this country. Thankfully, he came through, many don't.

If he'd failed, no-one would be making this fuss about whether he was right to be moved or not. He'd either have been retrained or shot.

He's exactly the same horse as he would have been if he had been a few seconds slower on the racecourse.
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No, he's a hugely adored racehorse, who is a living legend. And what a ridiculous thing to say - of course he's not the same horse as he would have been if he was slower. Horses know when they win, they know when people adore them, they know when they're special.

I get you don't like racing. But don't be so petty as to demean him because of your bias.

I believe in integrity, fair play and loyalty. I'm sickened that the lack of those qualities in the owner has made this horse leave everything he knows.
 
Good god, you'd think the horse had been sent to Beeston market & was about to end up in a tin of Chappie. Some of the comments on here are quite unbelievable. He has a lovely new home with superb facilities & is being assessed by top professionals. Who knows, he may be enjoying himself learning something new & being in a different environment. And the only person who has denied the racing public of seeing Kauto parade for the last time with the Ditcheat Team is Paul Nicholls by his fit of pique in having the horse removed from his yard before Boxing Day.
 
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