oldie48
Well-Known Member
This. Several riders said when interviewed that you don't know how a horse will react to the atmosphere at a big show and these, will be, in the main very hot competition horses. i'm not surprised riders want a running martingale and for horses that can get very strong, a double bridle. I always hack in a running martingale and a slightly stronger bit, I don't expect to need either but I'm not in control of the situations i might meet when hacking out. my horse is a big strong sensitive chap, who is usually well mannered but he's a horse not a saint so having a martingale to grab hold of and a stronger bit to say, hey just wait for me, is a sensible precaution not an admission that he's poorly educated or that I'm a useless rider!
I think until you are the rider jumping a Grand Prix track on each individual horse in question - then I think it can be very unfair to comment on the choice of bit/tack. I just seriously doubt these top level riders make these decisions on a whim - I know everyone is talking about training/management etc but I think of everyone they have the money/backing and experience to make the right decisions for their horses - they have probably tried various things before arriving at the thing that works for that horse. The OP said its a shame its not the norm rather than the exception but dont forget these horses are not the norm - they are the exception, not every horse has the talent or scope to jump a track that big in that atmosphere & behave the way these exceptional horses do.
I think its all well and good to criticise from the sidelines & talk about experiences we have with our horses but every horse, every rider and every skillset is completely different.