Not impressed! One rider at Burghley

Oh and the other horses that were retired other than Oli T's horse that napped had all had a couple of stops/runouts. This horse jumped clear around all of the quick routes...as we all know whips and spurs can only do so much if a horse really doesn't want to do it then it won't!
 
Have just watched the rest of the round from start and have to say "eating words a little" the horse does look to be in much better form on the 1st half of the course.. I Just didnt like how scarily tired they looked in the 2nd and worrid for both parties safety hate to see falls :eek: . But hands up im no event rider and like has been previously stated her track record of bringing on young horses to this level is second to none.. i certainly couldnt do what these top event riders do most of the blooming fences are taller than me... lol. I think the bbc have been slightly mean in only showing the 2nd half of her round and i think this is maybe where people have formed there opinions from.. naughty bbc.... defo worth watching the whole round tho looks much better that first anticipated.. do like to see a good pat tho shows appreciation from rider that horse has done good..
 
In a similar vein to my post on the Oli T thread; why all the negativity?

The snapshot the BBC showed was just that, a snapshot. Having watched the full round on the link I agree with the numerous posters that she really had to ride every stride and IMO done a good job. I concur that I wish I was even a quarter as "bad" as the likes of OT & PF!

PF is one of the best producers of horses and event riders this country has had. She's notoriously hard on herself and while I doubt she has the time to read threads like this I really don't see the need.

There were some fantastic examples of riding and horsemanship at Burghley (and every other 4* competition) yet after every one there are an abundence of threads critising every little thing. There is so much that could be learnt from watching the rounds yet the focus is always on the rounds that were perceived as "bad". At the very least these riders have qualified their horses for 4* level and that's no walk in the park.

I'm more a lurker than a poster (clearly for good reason!) but from what I can gather this section of the forum used to be fortunate to receive regular postings and updates from riders in all disciplines competing at higher levels. Have seen these "bashing" threads after every major event I can see why people stopped taking the effort to post and I think the forum is poorer for it.

I don't compete and of course you don't have to have ridden at 4* level to have an opinion but it seems that it's easier to critise than to say anything positive about competitors. Several people have mentioned how good Janette Brakewell's round was yet there are no links to that or discussion on how well she done X, Y & Z. While we're not all heading to 4* (or even a pole 4" off the ground in my case!) I'm sure there are things to be learnt that can be applied at all levels.

Maybe one day CR will return to how it used to be and while opinions were always welcome they were balanced and constructive with an encouraging atmosphere. Maybe some old faces might even resurface!


Oh and, http://www.youtube.com/user/BurghleyTV?blend=15&ob=5#p/u/116/ps-u0MQNcOg :)
 
PF obviously never felt the need to retire , and she was probably in the best place to make the decision :D and neither did the officials or stewards.
I do think quite a few of the horses found the course tiring and a few riders need to address theirs and their horses fitness before their next outing
 
After watching the link, personally i didnt think it was that bad either, at around 5mins the horse was tired, but after the water he was still pulling and fighting her to all of the fences, unless your on that same horse at the same time i dont think anyone can judge anyones way of riding. Shes a 4* eventer and knows her job and horses, tbh he looks very strong and not an easy ride.
 
If we're going off the BBC coverage yesterday, they only showed about three fences of her anyway - and that was in the "near accidents" five minutes, where they'd strung together all the worst moments. In total they perhaps showed a minute of her round out of a twelve minute course.. If the whole round had been dodgy they would have shown it - basically that programme spent so long showing Mary King at home (which was lovely and interesting, but I'd tuned in to see Burghley!) and computer generated arrows of how the course routes went, that they only showed the best rounds. They only had time for the last five show jumping rounds in full, when you normally get 10-15. So how can you judge someone's round from that!!

Yes, sometimes these top riders, particularly on green horses, don't look pretty. Its their job at the end of the day. As someone said on the OP bashing thread, in an olympic run up people will take more risks to show themselves to the selectors and qualify their horses.

WFP put his horse through quite a lot at the Europeans last week. I thought that he rode awesomely. However had my own horse half drowned itself at the water jump I would have chosen to call it a day at that event. He couldn't - he had to carry on for the team. His horse later showed that being taught that they have to keep going as a youngster pays off later on - when he jumped the skinny hedge after the corner...
 
Dotilas said:
Yes the last two fences, the horse looked a little tired, but this is a 4* event we're talking about, and with not everyone following the same fitness plans, some horses are bound to be tired. She could have pulled up, but in her position, would you have done?
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TBH, that doesn't wash either. With her experience she should have known that it needed to be ultra fit, goodness, she's done it enough times and even if the plan had been not to have it fit enough because it's a hyper sort, that should have been taken into consideration anyway. There were several there doing their first 4* too, many of them still finished very well and able to have gone on.

amymay said:
Horse started to get tired at about 5 mins. But to be honest I think it was the rider who struggled ultimately. It was actually a good round up until the second water.

As for excusing the rider because it was the second ride of the day - I think we only have to look at the other riders who came in the top 3 to knock that one on the head.
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Have to agree with this.
 
Have to now agree with many posters - the BBC footage was an unfortunate snapshot and when you take it in context of the whole round you definately get a different picture. The BBC footage really made it look like horse and rider were struggling and of course the assumption would be that they had been for some time, which was actually not the case at all.
 
Crikey, I REALLY can't believe this.
Are you all watching the same video as me? Seriously?
No more hints, we are talking about Pippa Funnell on Pure Addiction, yes?
I have not been backwards in being critical on here before, and would say something now if I thought there was anything amiss, but I really cannot see what you are all going on about. The horse was NOT looking 'knackered' at all imho. He was travelling well between the fences, not losing his action at all, or wobbling (exhausted horses do, I've seen it). Maybe she got him a fraction deep/slow to the penultimate so he didn't jump across it as well as he could have, ditto the last perhaps, but that's NOT terrible horse abuse. As for her hitting him here and there - yes, because he wasn't being sharp off the leg, which he needed to be. Better to give it a wake-up smack than sitting like a prat on a horse that's switching off and going splat at the next fence... she had to sharpen him up to get him to react better at the final water, that was good reactive riding.
I've not ridden at 4* but I've ridden at Advanced and 3* and sometimes you absolutely can't just sit happily there and trust that it'll all be lovely, you HAVE to react quickly and say "Come ON, you need to try for me NOW".
She looked very tired at the end - hence, I imagine, not patting him. must admit I do like to see them make much of their horses, I'm a fluffy bunny like that ;) ;) but he was probably a exhausting horse to ride.
I'm very pernickety but if that was my horse I'd be very happy with how she'd managed to get him round clear.
 
kerilli said:
Crikey, I REALLY can't believe this.
Are you all watching the same video as me? Seriously?
No more hints, we are talking about Pippa Funnell on Pure Addiction, yes?
I have not been backwards in being critical on here before, and would say something now if I thought there was anything amiss, but I really cannot see what you are all going on about. The horse was NOT looking 'knackered' at all imho. He was travelling well between the fences, not losing his action at all, or wobbling (exhausted horses do, I've seen it). Maybe she got him a fraction deep/slow to the penultimate so he didn't jump across it as well as he could have, ditto the last perhaps, but that's NOT terrible horse abuse. As for her hitting him here and there - yes, because he wasn't being sharp off the leg, which he needed to be. Better to give it a wake-up smack than sitting like a prat on a horse that's switching off and going splat at the next fence... she had to sharpen him up to get him to react better at the final water, that was good reactive riding.
I've not ridden at 4* but I've ridden at Advanced and 3* and sometimes you absolutely can't just sit happily there and trust that it'll all be lovely, you HAVE to react quickly and say "Come ON, you need to try for me NOW".
She looked very tired at the end - hence, I imagine, not patting him. must admit I do like to see them make much of their horses, I'm a fluffy bunny like that ;) ;) but he was probably a exhausting horse to ride.
I'm very pernickety but if that was my horse I'd be very happy with how she'd managed to get him round clear.
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Thank you Kerilli! It would seem that you and I are watching the same round!

I would like the 'Pippa bashers' that are saying she should have pulled up/ been pulled up to watch the whole video and tell us EXACTLY where they think the horse was struggling and where it should have been pulled up. I'm totally intrigued by this.
 
Well said Kerilli!

Cross country is not dressage. You can't sit there and look perfectly elegant all the time. I can't think of one eventer who's ever managed to do that!
 
Looking forwards to seeing you all riding at Badminton, in the spring.

Am sure Pippa Funnell is loosing sleep over not receiving your 4* horses, for training.

Bunch of armchair critics, who couldn't ride one side of a 4* horse, the lot of you.
 
I'm also amazed that such a big thing is being made of the horse being tired. Of course the horse is tired, its galloped and jumped around a 4* eventing course on "speed and endurance' day (hint: There's a big clue in its name....it tests the endurance of the horse) . Whenever I've run a marathon I feel pretty pooped afterwards. :)

On the course walk Captain Mark Philips makes comments about how there are different questions because 'the horse will be tired'. It is expected.

I've watched this round again (3 times now) and far from bashing Pippa to me it demonstrates some great, effective and reactionary riding which resulted in a clear round. Pretty fab I think.
 
Actually can't believe what I'm reading! First it was Mark Todd at Badminton and NZB Land Vision who went on to win after supposedly beating round a tired horse...
Burghley, we've had Oli Townend now the bashing has moved on to Pippa Funnell. I think you lot need to take some time out and watch the entire video of her round on YouTube. The 2nd water wasn't tired but it was the horses first 4*, it didn't look too keen in the first water either so maybe it does tend to back off in water. Nobody knows the horse apart from Pippa and the owners, if a horse doesn't like water then pulling it up in water isn't gonna help really. Pure Addiction seemed to jump the hurdles in the arena fine and the 2nd to last was a complete wrong stride. Just like OT, but OT didn't get away with his mistake whereas Pippa did.

I'm sure the only rider to complete the Rolex Grand Slam will love all the advice from you armchair critics.

I wonder who will be next, Andrew Nicholson maybe??
 
FinnMcCoul said:
Looking forwards to seeing you all riding at Badminton, in the spring.

Am sure Pippa Funnell is loosing sleep over not receiving your 4* horses, for training.

Bunch of armchair critics, who couldn't ride one side of a 4* horse, the lot of you.
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This made me laugh out loud!! Very true!! id like to see them jumping a 4* xc course twice in one day!
 
Some people need to spend a day watching over 100 competitors going round a BE Intro course to see real examples of bad riding, knackered riders and knackered (and fat) horses before commenting on the professionals.
 
Chloe..x said:
Actually can't believe what I'm reading! First it was Mark Todd at Badminton and NZB Land Vision who went on to win after supposedly beating round a tired horse...
Burghley, we've had Oli Townend now the bashing has moved on to Pippa Funnell. I think you lot need to take some time out and watch the entire video of her round on YouTube. The 2nd water wasn't tired but it was the horses first 4*, it didn't look too keen in the first water either so maybe it does tend to back off in water. Nobody knows the horse apart from Pippa and the owners, if a horse doesn't like water then pulling it up in water isn't gonna help really. Pure Addiction seemed to jump the hurdles in the arena fine and the 2nd to last was a complete wrong stride. Just like OT, but OT didn't get away with his mistake whereas Pippa did.

I'm sure the only rider to complete the Rolex Grand Slam will love all the advice from you armchair critics.

I wonder who will be next, Andrew Nicholson maybe??
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I agree with this.

I am an admitted armchair critic, and to me there was nothing there that would make me excessivly concerned. The horse did not look easy, with times that it really wasn't listening - added to which and it was it's first time round a 4* course which even the course builder said it would be testing

At the end of the day, we mearly observers, and cannot truly say how we would react when put in the same position.
 
Custard Cream said:
Some people need to spend a day watching over 100 competitors going round a BE Intro course to see real examples of bad riding, knackered riders and knackered (and fat) horses before commenting on the professionals.
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Hahaha exactly. I've seen horrific sights up to 1* level, riders who shouldn't even be attempting to go xc yet imho, and yet nobody dares say a word (even in favour of their poor horses getting a break!) we all have to be PC... yet here we have one of the best riders in the world doing a really good job on a first-timer over one of the biggest 4* tracks seen for years, and some people feel justified in ripping her apart... ffs.

re: crit of use of whip, I'm just watching the vid of AN on Avebury, and after the Cascade fence he gives the horse a couple of good cracks because it dwelt a bit as it came off the floor to the brush, he felt the tiny hesitation and decided it needed a 'COME on' wake-up call, absolutely the right thing to do to get the horse 100% with him. I am SO glad we haven't heard any 'oh no, he smacked his poor pony' comments about that... yet. ;) ;) ;) get real guys, this isn't minimus, and also please let's not forget that the way it feels and the way it looks can be a way apart... ;) ;)
 
Like many I watched the BBC yesterday and I was a bit horrified at what I saw, however I have just watched the whole round and I take it all back, really can't see an issue. Why the BBC chose to show that bit at the end, where people like myself did not get to see the whole round is a bit off I think.
 
Rach_W said:
If you take the time to watch the rest of the round, you will see that it is only the last few fences over which the horse struggles. The rest of the time he is taking a good hold and clearly not giving the rider an easy ride. I think she did well to get them home safely.
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^^ this

the horse was fighting for the first 5 minutes, and after that started to make stupid mistakes as he had tired himself out.

She did pat him on the neck after every fence that i could see, but i do believe she should have MAYBE retired him after the water spectacle- the horse was tired enough to begin to be dangerous over those fences.

she did well to bring him home safely, but i think there was also an element of luck to that. however, she did, and she did reward him at every fence, so who am i to judge?
 
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Maybe a lot of this has to do with the BBC coverage of her round? I have to admit, when watching the short clips yesterday on BBC I immediately thought why didn't she pull up?? But I've just watched her round on Burghley TV and the only fences where he really struggled and she really had to work hard was the three they showed! (water, last couple of fences).

He just seemed to hit the wall, and get very tired. She did what she had to do to get him home. I bet it was totally knackering for her to get him home too, hence the way she finished.

I am not a huge PF fan, but I have to admit here I don't think she did a lot wrong.
 
Saratoga said:
Maybe a lot of this has to do with the BBC coverage of her round? I have to admit, when watching the short clips yesterday on BBC I immediately thought why didn't she pull up?? But I've just watched her round on Burghley TV and the only fences where he really struggled and she really had to work hard was the three they showed! (water, last couple of fences).

He just seemed to hit the wall, and get very tired. She did what she had to do to get him home. I bet it was totally knackering for her to get him home too, hence the way she finished.

I am not a huge PF fan, but I have to admit here I don't think she did a lot wrong.
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^^^^^ This. I saw them at the halfway point and they looked in fine form so was really surprised to see the BBC coverage yesterday which really shocked me. However, I've just watched the whole round and I cannot see a problem. Yes it was tired at the end but not as bad as some!
 
Chloe..x said:
Actually can't believe what I'm reading! First it was Mark Todd at Badminton and NZB Land Vision who went on to win after supposedly beating round a tired horse...
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I was just about to say the same, having re-watched those last few fences. Oh to live in the perfect HHO world where the ponies skip around a four star, ears pricked, rider grinning from ear to ear and patting it after every fence. Get real, folks. :rolleyes:

Am I imagining it or did I not read somewhere that PF said she'd done as much fitness work with these two Burghley horses as she used to do for long format, but knew now they'd need more for the next time? :confused:
 
I think she did really well to get him to finish - he looked like he was just emptying on her. I think he'll learn loads from that for next time. And don't forget, galloping through water is more tiring for horses than skipping along on the grass, hence the need to have him forward through the combination.
 
Rach_W said:
If you take the time to watch the rest of the round, you will see that it is only the last few fences over which the horse struggles. The rest of the time he is taking a good hold and clearly not giving the rider an easy ride. I think she did well to get them home safely.
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I agree with this, the horse went like the clappers out of the starting box and was strong all the way through at least the first 3/4 of the course.
 
kerilli said:
Crikey, I REALLY can't believe this.
Are you all watching the same video as me? Seriously?
No more hints, we are talking about Pippa Funnell on Pure Addiction, yes?
I have not been backwards in being critical on here before, and would say something now if I thought there was anything amiss, but I really cannot see what you are all going on about. The horse was NOT looking 'knackered' at all imho. He was travelling well between the fences, not losing his action at all, or wobbling (exhausted horses do, I've seen it). Maybe she got him a fraction deep/slow to the penultimate so he didn't jump across it as well as he could have, ditto the last perhaps, but that's NOT terrible horse abuse. As for her hitting him here and there - yes, because he wasn't being sharp off the leg, which he needed to be. Better to give it a wake-up smack than sitting like a prat on a horse that's switching off and going splat at the next fence... she had to sharpen him up to get him to react better at the final water, that was good reactive riding.
I've not ridden at 4* but I've ridden at Advanced and 3* and sometimes you absolutely can't just sit happily there and trust that it'll all be lovely, you HAVE to react quickly and say "Come ON, you need to try for me NOW".
She looked very tired at the end - hence, I imagine, not patting him. must admit I do like to see them make much of their horses, I'm a fluffy bunny like that ;) ;) but he was probably a exhausting horse to ride.
I'm very pernickety but if that was my horse I'd be very happy with how she'd managed to get him round clear.
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/\ /\ I absolutely agree with this (well, except I haven't ridden at anywhere near the level Kerilli has :p)

As for the person saying that you wouldn't send a horse to her, I'd definitely consider her. My friend rode for her husband for a while and he speaks very highly of how concerned she is with her horses' welfare, and not treating them like machines, like some pros do.

Jeez, some of the comments on this thread, and the OT bashing are ridiculous... :rolleyes:
 
Oh, and as I'm sure anyone else who saw Pure Addiction in the trot up yesterday morning will vouch he was plenty full of beans! :p
 
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