Kauto

buzzybef said:
so her riding is good? I'm an awful rider, but jeez...
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Yes she is a fantastic rider but everyone has their off days and that was clearly hers! She events to 4* and as a kid backed and produced a wee welsh A called Penwynn Ryan to win the HOYS WHP and go on to be Supreme Pony of the show!
 
I feel for LC. Sat at our laptops we can only imagine the pressure of taking on such a publicly adored horse, having the world at large follow your progress as you re train him, have thousands of folk watching your display at a venue such as Olympia and realising it's all gone horribly wrong. I'm sure she wishes she'd reacted differently and bitterly regrets that she didn't given the public backlash .... poor girl. I haven't watched the video as it would make me sad to be honest - Kauto is 1 in a million and my favourite race horse ever. Watching replays of King George wins over the years just confirms his status as the best there's been - breathtaking

What I hate about all of this is not LC's general handling of the horse, I'm sure he has a lovely life on the whole, but why must he do a 'job' after what he's given everyone? There aren't just 2 choices - field or compete. My ex racehorse is a tit and despite trying most things over the years he's either been too hot or hasn't enjoyed it ... so we stopped doing it. Happy hacker is used so dismissively, but guess what, that's just what he is. He's ridden every day, has the odd whiz up the gallop or loose jumping session with my team chaser and is fit and happy. At 18 still a complete monkey and loves life. Not too shabby an existence .....
 
This was undoubtedly very uncomfortable to watch & KS looked very out of sorts, very 'disconnected' & completely 'out of it', not the mention the treatment from the rider. I love racing & clearly remember of course his great spirit & running battles with Denman. What I saw was reminiscent of a great beast put onto public display with it's spirit broken, purely for entertainment - very sad. My all time favourite race horse was Desert Orchid, who I saw many times after his retirement & I am drawn to make comparisons for in his latter years each time we saw him at his Open Days, if the horse was not right, he didn't come out,he didn't gallop or he didn't parade - end of, horse came first, despite it being disappointing for the Public, but we understood - that's horses for you.....I don't feel this is the case with Kauto Star & it should be, it is what all horses deserve (not just the champs).
 
GMW what an appallingly rude thing to say. Not only does she event a wide variety of horses extremely successfully (take a look at her BE record if you don't believe me), she has also come back from a terrible injury that nearly killed her. She virtually died at the scene and there weren't many people at the event that day that ever thought she would be back on a horse, let along competing at such a high level, so soon. This internet bullying is sickening.
 
Out of interest, how do these types of demo work? People are saying the owner is greedy hawking Kauto around doing demo's etc. So would he be paid for doing the dressage display at Olympia? Are famous racehorses paid for appearing at racecourse parades? I never really thought about it before, just assumed they did it for nothing, or for expenses.....
 
stormox said:
Out of interest, how do these types of demo work? People are saying the owner is greedy hawking Kauto around doing demo's etc. So would he be paid for doing the dressage display at Olympia? Are famous racehorses paid for appearing at racecourse parades? I never really thought about it before, just assumed they did it for nothing, or for expenses.....
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I think it might be more of a glory hound than cash incentive accusation.
 
That article is very good - not too damning of LC but equally not shying away from saying that it was wrong. Her riding did make me cringe, which shocked me as obviously she is a very capable rider. It actually says a lot about how much he backed off that she felt she had to do that to keep him moving. The article makes a good point when it says that a 4* rider could barely make him move - that's quite worrying in itself. The only remark I disagree with is about ex racers rarely tying up/backing off when nervous - I know a few who do just that when stressed or nervous, but equally they weren't champions and that reflex was one of the reasons they weren't.

I hope his career is now reassessed. As long as he is healthy and happy (and it has to be said he looked fantastic apart from his way of going) then I don't mind what he does, although it is fantastic to see Denman out hunting and team chasing. However, I'm not entirely sure that Kauto is happy, although I hope I see a different display where I am proved wrong. And it has to be said - what is the point of his new career? And what is the point of him being with an event rider who completely understandably will not have the time nor desire to focus on him?
 
LCH611 said:
GMW what an appallingly rude thing to say. Not only does she event a wide variety of horses extremely successfully (take a look at her BE record if you don't believe me), she has also come back from a terrible injury that nearly killed her. She virtually died at the scene and there weren't many people at the event that day that ever thought she would be back on a horse, let along competing at such a high level, so soon. This internet bullying is sickening.
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There is very little internet bullying . People just find it strange that a rider with her talent and ability did not seem to realise what an idiot they were making themselves look by persevering with a horse that so obviously had a problem when the brave thing to do was stop the agony for her and the horse! To go back to his racing days ,if a jockey had pushed him like that when he clearly was out of it they would have received a lengthy ban.
I dont think her BE record or her injuries have any thing to do with it or are you trying to use them as an excuse for the apalling display of riding on Weds. YB should shoulder as much of the blame but I suspect both of them were trying their hardest to please a man who is very difficult to please, as he funds a huge part of the eventing operation now.
I really hope that next time they appear at a racecourse some of this will have been forgotten as this so called witch hunt on here is nothing compared to how racing fans view it .
 
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I don't really have a problem with him parading- Kempton is his old stomping ground, a very familiar environment for him and a chance for his fans to say hello. That display on the other hand was just awful.
 
well, I hope they get him checked by a vet first, in case there was something wrong with him. Desert Orchid ran away with his jockey the last parade I saw him do- he LOVED his retirement, and I hope they now let Kauto enjoy his.
 
He won't get a vet check for being on parade, just his passport checked for up to date vaccinations. I honestly hate to imagine what Nichol's staff are going to say to her when she appears. I expect she is now dreading it.
 
No, I didn't mean at the racecourse, I meant I hope they had the vet after that awful Olympia performance, before taking him out again. Just to make sure he wasn't sick or drugged....
 
A rider of her calibre should be able to get on anything and get a reasonable tune out of it. She wasn't riding him for the first time so why did it look so awful? I don't buy the atmosphere story..and hate the idea that he was drugged...her interview afterwards was not conciliatory. Why, oh why didn't she have the sensitivity to stop the display and hold her hand up afterwards and say something was not right, instead she compounded her error with an awful display of riding and a cringe making interview. Poor, poor KT, he deserves better having earned so much for his owners, and given so much pleasure during his racing career. My opinion of the racing industry has plummeted even further - I have an ex-racer in blissful hacking heaven retirement.
 
Popsdosh has hit on something very valid....if people think the LC/KS situation is being harshly discussed here you don't want to hear what I've heard people from the racing community are saying!!
 
stormox said:
No, I didn't mean at the racecourse, I meant I hope they had the vet after that awful Olympia performance, before taking him out again. Just to make sure he wasn't sick or drugged....
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Why? He wasn't competing, there is no rules or regulations to stop you giving the horse a sedative to ride in a non competitive demo.
I still maintain there is nothing wrong with him and there is nothing wrong with the way she usually rides/produces him, he was just given something, whether it be sedaline or something similar to keep the lid on him for his, hers and everyone's else's safety and once his adreline kicked in it had a huge reaction on him and did its job a bit too well! I have ridden horses on sedaline and once it kicks in, its like running through treacle.
 
glamourpuss said:
Popsdosh has hit on something very valid....if people think the LC/KS situation is being harshly discussed here you don't want to hear what I've heard people from the racing community are saying!!
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Though most people in racing wouldn't have a clue how to actually ride a hors. Most just know how to sit on one, point it in a straight line and gallop it. I know - I work with enough of them!
 
Charlie76- just to make sure there wasn't something physically wrong with the poor horse - there are knowledgeable people saying he 'wasn't right behind' 'lame' 'tied-up' anything could have been wrong. And if I was the owner or keeper I would want to make sure he was OK before he went out again.
 
charlie76 said:
Why? He wasn't competing, there is no rules or regulations to stop you giving the horse a sedative to ride in a non competitive demo.
I still maintain there is nothing wrong with him and there is nothing wrong with the way she usually rides/produces him, he was just given something, whether it be sedaline or something similar to keep the lid on him for his, hers and everyone's else's safety and once his adreline kicked in it had a huge reaction on him and did its job a bit too well! I have ridden horses on sedaline and once it kicks in, its like running through treacle.
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There is in my mind no legitimate reason to ride a horse on sedalin. It is dangerous for the horse and rider. Certainly if it was that the other night he should not have been there in the first place ! end of.
 
popsdosh said:
There is in my mind no legitimate reason to ride a horse on sedalin. It is dangerous for the horse and rider. Certainly if it was that the other night he should not have been there in the first place ! end of.
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Never said there was but there is no reason for it to be drug tested
 
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