Last Night's Olympia

[Worried1]

I missed the Europeans so was itching to see Tolitas in the flesh.

It was a great evening and definitely the best atmosphere for a while.

So a little Worried round up!

It was great to see Mr President back in action - I swear that horse goes round smiling, Stephanie looks much trimmer than when I last saw her - hope she will share her secret for losing post baby flesh with me

however it looked a cautious test, and it looked like they never really 'let go'

It was great to see Henriette making her debut - we often see her when we go to Emile's and I usually try and watch her ride so thoroughly enjoyed her making her first appearance at Olympia and I think she will be a serious contender for a team place.

I loved Cadillac - he was really expressive and although occasionally lost balance they were a very 'happy' partnership and was probably the horse I would have most liked to take home as he looked 'easy'.

Artemis has to be the coolest dude on the planet - his has matured a lot since I saw him last year and was more polished. He is still so young and I think he will keep getting better and better - Richard sits beautifully and it was a pleasure to watch him. In the prize giving he plodded in on a long rein and just watched the world go by.

Andretti is a very elegant horse, almost eventer like in stature but with a bit more weight

but for me he was fussy in his mouth which spoilt some of the work.

I have never been a huge fan of Liebling - but Carl has done a fantastic job and this year he was far more settled and very workmanlike, last year he looked ready to throw in the towel and seemed very meggy. This year he was focused and very polished was got the marks he deserved.

Parzival is lovely and I really enjoyed his test last year but I am afraid this year's test was marred by mistakes in the tempis and spooking. There were still lovely moments and I so wanted him to do well but I feel he was generously marked and Carl deserved 2nd place.

Tolitas... OMFG! I swear the audience stopped breathing when her went up the centre line! It was awesome,

I know some have said he was not as balanced as at Windsor but for me he was incredible. He is stunning and the music was fab - loved the bell tolling in the canter pirouettes!

Had a great evening and so glad I went

 

[Halfstep]

Glad you enjoyed it! I watched it on tv. For me Totilas was even better than he was at Windsor, the changes were through and the extended trot much improved. It was a shame that Adelinde had trouble with Parzival, but I really don't think Olympia suites him, he is so electric and spooky. He needs a big arena like he had at Windsor. Her gold medal winning Special there is still the best dressage test I've ever seen in my life.
I agree with you about Liebling, never really liked him and Carl is probably one of the only riders in the world who could produce such work from him - kudos to Carl! And t'will be very interesting to see Artemis progress, he has a textbook piaffe and my god didn't Richard ride bloody well!

 

[Worried1]

So glad we went

His extensions were just so regular and his canter is one of the most correct I have seen.

 

[Bug]

Wow - I agree with everything your report said!
Shame about Parzival but Totilas was awesome yet again.

 

[LEC]

Judy Herbert's Fitzcerraldo - it looked terrible last night yet this horse has won nationals at Inter II?
Is the work from Inter II to GP very different? Was this horse just not its normal self? Everything I have read in reports and from forums where they have been pupils is how the horse is lazy off the leg and slow behind and it really showed up yesterday.
I understand she has given up being a selector to be considered for national teams but is this horse really a team contender?

 

[amandaco2]

i am damn jealous of richards riding ability. very neat and understated, unlike some of the riders who seemed to cause alot of swinging in the tempi changes...
totilas- what a score at such an age... what more can one say. horse is an incredible and gorgeous freak! and i think the partnership is lovely and relaxed between them. he is so strong on his topline its almost like only his legs are moving!

 

[icestationzebra]

I really enjoyed it! The tests that stood out for me were Carl's and Edwards - obviously! I actually thought that Lieblings test should have put him second - I thought the chestnut's test was very tight. I'd never seen Totilas in action and was prepared not to like what I saw - but I loved it. I thought he looked so soft and that high outline looks very much where he is happy at and not forced. He walked out the arena as though he was off hacking and he looks very happy in his work. A true partnership and I hope that the horse stays with Edward.
I've always admired Carl's riding, but I do so even more after last night. He has a true connection through his seat and his hands are amazing.
I quite liked the little Spanish (?) horse - thought he was really expressive and I thought the first horse - french looked really smart. Richard's test was lovely too and he was clearly pretty pleased with the horse. Nice to hear that he is giving the horse another year to mature though before pushing on.

However, was anyone else screaming at the TV at some of the scraggy looking tails on show?

Beautiful beautiful horses, immaculately turned out and then these horrible tails!! Also, did anyone think that Henriette's horse was carrying far too much weight?

 

[dressagecrazy]

I enjoyed last night really enjoyed the last 4 riders, however i did enjoy Richards test.

I did enjoy Jeroen Devroe test, i did like his horse & expected him to get a higher score he rode very nicely just let the Piaffe travel. But it was a nice test.

Carl, well he just looked a great partnership last night, very pleased for him.

Totilas is just amazing i thought he looked better than Windsor. He's a horse in a million can't say anything more than WOW.

 

[Daffodil]

" Also, did anyone think that Henriette's horse was carrying far too much weight? "

Yes, I did. I thought he looked positively porky!

 

[carthorse]

Loved both nights and thought most horses were better on the second day.
Just thought the par de deux was a farce and a mockery [don't know what others thought ] and what a waste of great facilities on Tuesday , surely they could have put more on and got a bigger audience. Just a tiny video, [thought many people were thoughtless using flash photography in the tests] and a couple of pics [ without flash] would have recorded the test but just wanted to enjoy

 

[Joss]

I agree thoroughly enjoyed the coverage last night. I was surprised by how bad Judy Harvey's horse was - it pretty much looked like it couldnt do the Piaffe. Was it just stage-struck?

Totillas certainly is ultra amazing. I think the main thing I noticed about him is how well behaved he is. When the crowd go mad he just walks out on a loose rein. I would love to see him in real life.

 

[maestro]

I agree with Carthorse about the par de deux it was very irritating whereas I could have listened to Edward Gal all day. When will they wake up to the fact that an informed crowd goes to these evenings and most of them I suspect not that interested in the celebraty (delibrate spelling) gravy train.

 

[Alibear]

I like Carl and I liked his test, and perhaps this is just me but it seemed like he was moving a lot throug his body and head, I know these horses take some sitting to but he was nearly head bobbing, I've never seen him do it before.
Perhaps he was working so hard it had to show somewhere?
Did anyone else notice it?

 

[Twiglet]

Agree with the report, and especially about the porky horse!
Totilas was immense, the atmosphere was electric as soon as they entered the arena and they more than lived up to the hype. Certainly the best dressage I've ever seen, a goosebumps moment.

Thought Carl's test was superb, and his music far more interesting than most of the panpipe-lift music-cr@p that some of the others used.

Cadillac was just gorgeous, so much to like!

The pas de deux was a total farce, blatantly funded by John Terry so his wife could get to play at Olympia. I for one didn't pay for a ticket so I could watch an amateur be a passenger on a schoolmaster and be expected to applaud her skill. And the rubbish that she's been riding 11 months - just not true. Her family have had horses for years and she rode regularly before becoming a client of Oldencraig. Not impressed (would actually rather have watched her husband play football, at least he's an expert in his game....). Rant over

 

[Ludi-doodi]

I didn't see much except the last 4 or 5. In those last few there was a huge chestnut (leibling?) with girl riding. Did she have cronic curviture of the spine, an enormous chest (I'm trying to find a suitable reason here

) or was she totally braced against every movement

Being prepared to be shot down now as I'm not an dressage expert but it just didn't look right to me. Granted it looked like a big strong horse and would be difficult to hold together, but the others I saw looked like they rode in a lovely upright position and not leaning back at the shoulders at all.

*Scuttles off back to dark cave in readiness for stones being thrown

!*

 

[Jo C]

Now I am going to go against the grain here and say I didn't like Carls test at all, he looked uncomfortable riding and I agree with the earlier comments about the head nodding. I also didn't like his music. Sorry Twigs lol
But Totilas wow amazing horse I swear his feet just weren't touching the ground in places and those pirouettes were breath taking, such a wonderful atmosphere there last night too.
Edited cos it didn't make sense!

 

[Attila_the_Hungry]

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't see much except the last 4 or 5. In those last few there was a huge chestnut (leibling?) with girl riding. Did she have cronic curviture of the spine, an enormous chest (I'm trying to find a suitable reason here

) or was she totally braced against every movement

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't see it, but as Liebling was ridden by Carl Hester I'm pretty sure it wasn't him!

 

[Halfstep]

Fitzcerraldo (Judy Harvey's horse) can be super, but has problems in the piaffe and is slow behind, and this obviously came against her yesterday. He was very sucessful as a young horse and has a lot of highlights, but has definitely struggled with the step up to GP from Inter II (piaffe on the spot and more steps required).

 

[Twiglet]

[ QUOTE ]
I also didn't like his music. Sorry Twigs lol


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not talking to you now

I can't help it if I'm a philistine with a secret penchant for Tom Jones tracks can I!?

 

[carthorse]

Funny how we all have different opinions on the music. I didn't think Laura's suited her horse at all, much too busy , liked Carl's it is beautifully mixed and makes me smile and then there is Totilas...............WOW

 

[Jo C]

Carl's to me had no theme and just seemed to jump around a bit, I also thought the beat/bass was too strong and distracted from the horse if that makes sense.
But didn't really like Laura's either to be honest. Maybe I am just hard to please and everyone should use the Jungle Book!!!

 

[Ludi-doodi]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I didn't see much except the last 4 or 5. In those last few there was a huge chestnut (leibling?) with girl riding. Did she have cronic curviture of the spine, an enormous chest (I'm trying to find a suitable reason here

) or was she totally braced against every movement

[/ QUOTE ]


I didn't see it, but as Liebling was ridden by Carl Hester I'm pretty sure it wasn't him!

[/ QUOTE ]

You right it wouldn't be him then!! It *think* it was Parcival - have stopped being lazy and looked up the results.

 

[SpottedCat]

[ QUOTE ]
Carl's to me had no theme and just seemed to jump around a bit, I also thought the beat/bass was too strong and distracted from the horse if that makes sense.
But didn't really like Laura's either to be honest. Maybe I am just hard to please and everyone should use the Jungle Book!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

See I love the ones with a really strong beat - it makes it so much clearer that it is dressage TO music not dressage WITH music if you see what I mean! I thought Carl's music was great, Tortillas is a horse I have made it my mission to see 'in the flesh' in 2010 as it was so so amazing to watch last night - I want to be able to say I saw him compete (but I have a horrid suspicion that we will soon discover he was in fact sold

). Judy Harvey's horse looked utterly miserable and out of its depth, it cannot be considered to be a team prospect at this stage surely?

 

[Jo C]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Carl's to me had no theme and just seemed to jump around a bit, I also thought the beat/bass was too strong and distracted from the horse if that makes sense.
But didn't really like Laura's either to be honest. Maybe I am just hard to please and everyone should use the Jungle Book!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

See I love the ones with a really strong beat - it makes it so much clearer that it is dressage TO music not dressage WITH music if you see what I mean! I thought Carl's music was great

[/ QUOTE ]

Now usually I would agree with you I can't stand music that just kind of bumbles along in the back ground either. I just thought Carl's was too much the other way, it does seem as though I am in minority though! lol

 

[TableDancer]

Sat and watched the whole show - really enjoyed it

Thought Artemis was streets better than last year and looks like the real deal, actually like the one that came last, Danish horse - not saying it was a good test but like the horse (cute face

) Also the other Dutch horse - Apollo van something or other - really really like him and think he's going to be a bit special

Loved Carl's test and music (another closet TJ fan here, and just feel it is put together with wit and humour which aren't words always closely linked to dressage

) I was a bit disappointed by Parzival but I thought Tortilas was delightful in every way

I guess I watched extra carefully given all the debate that has raged on here, and I am coming off the fence, I saw lightness, harmony, athleticism and sheer natural talent. The horse was completely relaxed and unforced, which was abundantly clear in his walk both during the test and afterwards. I'm sorry but, if that horse has been trained with judicious and expert use of Rolkur from time to time, then he's an excellent advertisement for it!!!

 

[kit279]

*passes TableDancer some Kevlar*

Thought Totilas looked wonderful - he's not my personal favourite stamp of a horse, I have a very soft spot for Parzival but he makes the average lay person go WOW and that speaks volumes about how incredible he is. It must be rather depressing to go out there against him, like running against Usain Bolt...!

 

[TableDancer]

[ QUOTE ]
*passes TableDancer some Kevlar*

Thought Totilas looked wonderful - he's not my personal favourite stamp of a horse, I have a very soft spot for Parzival but he makes the average lay person go WOW and that speaks volumes about how incredible he is. It must be rather depressing to go out there against him, like running against Usain Bolt...!

[/ QUOTE ]

You calling me an average lay person?!

 

[vallin]

I loved Richard and Artemis, stunning horse and superb rider, loved the music too. I love Carl too and think he's a superb rider. I don't know why but *prepares to be shot* totilas just doesn't do it for me. I can appreciate him and his talent, he just doesn't have the character and he always seems a little artificial to me.

*runs away and hides...*

 

[Worried1]

Leave the forum immediately!!!!!!

I do know what you mean as Lienbling does nothing for me yet some people rave about him.

 

[Paint it Lucky]

I watched it all on tv (thanks BBC, very impressed with coverage!

, liked commentary to

) I thought Carl and Leibling had improved a lot since windsor, didn't think much of Leibling then, thought he was quite lazy and unexpressive, certainly didn't think that yesterday, much better movement and really with Carl the whole time, lovely to see. Plus I also like Carl's music, especially when it says 'I think I'd better dance now' and Leibling starts passaging! lol

Very witty and entertaining, not like some of the musics which you either don't really notice or are either dull or annoying.

Thought Totilas was amazing, even better than windsor and he looked so relaxed and happy throughout was just lovely to watch.