Lanfranco to Oliver Townend

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Didn't realise that was where he was going - rather Oliver than me, Lanfranco always struck me as very challenging to ride!
 
Exciting news! I wouldn't be surprised to see Oli achieve success here and I very much hope he does, Lanfranco is an absolute beauty.
 
I think if anyone can it's Oliver - very good with a tricky horse - however after seeing Lanfranco at Badminton I wish Oliver very good luck :)
 
He certainly gelled with Fenya's Elegance very quick and she is not a simple mare. No reason why he shouldn't get a tune out of Lanfranco. He certainly seems to be good at adapting well to established horses and they do seem to go well for him in general
 
Gorgeous quirky horse. Likes to wave to the crowd. Really hope Oli gets on with him as horse is hugely talented and could be so successful. With 51 horses in, I don't envy him his workload!
 
I'm surprised as when i saw an interview with andrew hoy it sounded like he was being given to a less prominent rider as he couldn't cope with the high level competition & atmosphere that went with it

Good luck to oliver though he seems to be doing well with the difficult 1s so hopefully it will work out for him!
 
And I remember Bettina Hoy numerous times stating how time consuming working with Lanfranco is and that he could never deal with being just one horse of many...hm...
 
Beautiful horse , perhaps a complete change of approach will do the trick .
I agree he would not appear to be a obvious horse for a large yard but it will be fun seeing how it goes .

Sometimes it's easier with a tricky horse when they are one of many you don't have time to overthink it you just have to do it .
OT is a great a reading horses temperaments that's why he's good with older tricky rides he's also very very very brave and strong in his balance I think he's a good choice .
 
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Well should be interesting!!!
He really is building an interesting string!

Oliver doesn't try and over manage them and lafranco likes to be in charge so be interesting!
 
Should be interesting to watch! I really enjoyed watching Lanfranco round badminton, until poor Andrew Hoy got dumped in the water

Interesting the reasoning behind AH losing the ride though - weren't similar things said about Fenyas Elegance before Oli got given the ride?
 
Very much looking forward to seeing how this pairing progress, the thought of 51 horses in to work with does sound a little daunting though!
 
dianchi said:
Silly question, how do we know? I havent seen anything?
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I follow Nico Morgan photographer on FB and he posted a link to BDWP showing Ollie's entries with Lanfranco - I wish I could think of something more interesting than that, so I could be classified as someone 'in the know' but sadly not :D :D

I didn't think Andrew Hoy lost the ride, more a matter than he didn't want the hassle? It's like I said originally, I am sure Lanfranco is tremendously talented but having seen him rearing at Badminton with Bettina and with Andrew I don't envy anyone the ride.... I am clearly a middle aged wimp now :(
 
I feel sorry for Bettina Hoy, I very much get the feeling she adored Lanfranco but her hand was forced to give him to Andrew as part of the divorce settlement. Whilst it will be interesting to see how he goes for Oli T, all credit due to Bettina for getting Lanfranco as far as she did.
 
Not sure what went down with Andrew and Bettina. Not really interested and it's none of my business.

I like Lanfranco. He has a nice gallop, a great jump and is an immensely talented horse. I wish Oliver all the best with him and I hope they do really well. He has done great work with Armada, although with 51 horses, I don't know how the man manages to eat or sleep!! I find it hard managing a job and having 2 in work. :)

I can't wait to see how they do in the future.
 
How do we know he has 51 horses in work? He doesn't list 51 on his website, though I am sure he has some youngsters etc not yet competing who don't have a write up.

His horses always look immaculately turned out and fit and well prepared, so he must find time somehow, with of course the help of a groom or two!
 
Cragrat said:
How do we know he has 51 horses in work? He doesn't list 51 on his website, though I am sure he has some youngsters etc not yet competing who don't have a write up.

His horses always look immaculately turned out and fit and well prepared, so he must find time somehow, with of course the help of a groom or two!
Click to expand...

I am sure that figure is right ,Ollie works really hard but also has an excellent team of people around him. Of course he cant ride 50 everyday but he does not need too.
 
Whatever, he has many, too many for Lanfranco. I'll put money on him and Ollie winning their Advanced tomorrow though. But does Ollie consider himself being wiser than 65 years of experience in international Eventing? Best of luck to him and Lanfranco anyway, in the interest of the horse, which I hope has been considered by some in the last 15 months or so, hm.
 
I don't think it is always to do with wisdom. Sometimes it's something abstract like a feel or connection, or simply the feel the rider gives the horse, as well as the other way round.

Maybe OT will get on with Lanfranco, maybe not- time will tell- but I hope for the horses sake that he does, so the poor horse can settle in one yard for a while!
 
I was fortunate enough to own for twenty years a brilliant horse but only got him because I was the only person he did not want to buck off. he had ditched 13 professional show jumpers prior to me trying him , I was 16. he was dangerously nervous impossible to shoe ( fell on farriers) but the most brave and honest horse that ever walked. Sometimes a different approach clicks, I fell off him once in twenty years showjumped him to Grade A , evented, team chased and hunted. he even won workers and dressage tests, lasted two lifetimes and was the best horse I have ever ridden. he was classed as dangerous and was saved from the meat man by the man I bought him off. It might just work, I will watch with interest.
 
Wow, that geezer is one hell of a worker! At least 8 horses entered in a one day event, he must be superman!
 
26.3 dressage...! Wow. Will watch the rest with interest.

Like him or loathe him Ollie can get a tune out of just about everything he sits on, maybe his approach will be ideal for the horse?
 
Andrew and Bettina never had a problem getting a brilliant test out of him. At 1 days at least!
 
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