Nullarbor

Everybody has they own mind and i personally can't comment of the incident as i didn't see it and would rather wait for more news. I think we shouldn't be so hung on whose fault it was and arguing with each other.Just think about the connections of this horse that obviously are going to be distraught mourning such a great horse who had so much more to come.
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RIP Nullarbor
 
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but my opinion of her is now down below worm level particularly as her performaces in the saddle are nothing to right home about.

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what the hell has that got to do with anything ?? thats twice now you have resorted to slating MDM's riding which is below worm level also, so makes you no better then you percieve MDM to be. its crazy how unless you have ridden at the level the pro's ride at then you cant have an opinion. i better keep my gob shut when my kid makes a mistake in BSJA as i havnt (and never will be good enough ) to ride at that level... the fact i can see the mistake/problem from the ground seems to have sod all to do with it !!
 
Truly tragic - having suffered a freak accident myself that resulted in the loss of a horse I can sympathise. I cannot imagine anything worse than driving home with one less horse.

I have chatted to a friend who has competed at Samaur and she said the soil is very sandy with grass on top so does become quite unstable.
 
Good grief, talk about bandwagon-jump onto!!! MDM was just saying IF a certain situation had been the case then she WOULD SAY that was bad riding. She did not say "that is bad riding I blame Clayton". Two very different things IMHO, and something that has been blown out of all proportion by one member flying off the handle at the comment and others joining the band wagon.
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Also, how the HELL does slagging someone personal performance help in any way what so ever?!! Think there are a few people that need to grow up and wake up to reality, everyone is entitled to an opinion whether you like it or not.
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For god sake, just think of what has actually happened here, a FREAK accident has happened, regardless of whether or not something wasnt quite right running upto it, and an animal has died.

RIP Nullabor, and huge sympathies to his connections.
 
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but my opinion of her is now down below worm level particularly as her performaces in the saddle are nothing to right home about.

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what the hell has that got to do with anything ?? thats twice now you have resorted to slating MDM's riding which is below worm level also, so makes you no better then you percieve MDM to be. its crazy how unless you have ridden at the level the pro's ride at then you cant have an opinion.

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I totally agree with this.
even if someone does not agree with what MDM wrote (and i think she's one of the very few who saw the horse fall on the live feed, so is more entitled to comment than most), there is no need for such a totally nasty comment about her, imho.
 
Just to put my two cents in...

I may not be a 4* event rider, i don't have or have ever ridden a 4* horse.

But i thnk MDM made a valid comment, it may have been the riders fault. We don't know yet? But for Lucretia to jump on her and slag MDM's riding and skills off is not on, from what i can gather MDM is a very competent rider.

Lets not attack each other personally, theres absolutely no need.
 
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Lets not attack each other personally, theres absolutely no need.

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agreed , no need whatsoever
 
fwiw, i found this comment on another forum:
"I watched nullabor break his neck. So sad and so horrible to see. Wasn't even jump related (was on the wrong leg going around a sharp corner, horse stumbled and fell awkwardly) only jump 3 so fatigue wasn't an issue."

horses as experienced as that usually do flying changes totally automatically when jumping, i think.
from reading that, i really do believe that it was a freak accident. perhaps the corner was sharper than he expected, or the sandy going shifted suddenly under the horse's feet (as happened to my mare when i had the same thing happen.)
 
One of the most questionable pieces of riding I saw from watching Badminton (on tv) was the rider who gave his horse two hefty smacks quite far from the approach to an open ditch. No doubt the horse was a bit iffy about the ditch, because he prompty put in a stop, dropped his head and deposited the rider. But at that level, surely if you have to go around whacking the horse to keep it going forwards, theres an awful lot of work you should be doing at home, including building up a relationship with your horse and being sure what approach works best.

Can anyone enlighten me as to who that particular rider was?
 
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One of the most questionable pieces of riding I saw from watching Badminton (on tv) was the rider who gave his horse two hefty smacks quite far from the approach to an open ditch. No doubt the horse was a bit iffy about the ditch, because he prompty put in a stop, dropped his head and deposited the rider. But at that level, surely if you have to go around whacking the horse to keep it going forwards, theres an awful lot of work you should be doing at home, including building up a relationship with your horse and being sure what approach works best.

Can anyone enlighten me as to who that particular rider was?

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It was CF.

I seem to remember that MK also gave one of her rides a smack with the whip coming up to that ditch. Not that uncommon for riders coming up to that part of the course to do so
 
i hate to tell you, but it was Clayton Fredericks, on the horse we're all talking about, i believe.
according to a comment on here by Lucretia, the horse had "pulled off a shoe and half his foot" at the preceding fence, and that's why it happened.
to me, it looked as if he knew the horse was going to be a bit ditchy, and was trying to get it totally in front of the leg (and the whip)... unfortunately didn't work though.
 
Through a friend have heard that he over jumped into pond and the reminders to be in front of leg were to say keep going and do not dwell on that last fence.
 
Well it can't have "pulled off half its foot" at the previous fence because that was only two weeks ago and if it had done something bad like that he would hardly have been running at Saumur would he?
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I didn't think it was bad riding particularly, he clearly knew the horse wasn't that keen on ditches and/or felt it backing off a long way out and as kerilli said, was trying to get it infront of the leg - just didn't work, horse had obviously decided it wasn't going to do it.
 
Thats actually what I thought but I didn't like to say in case I was wrong. It just stuck in my mind, perhaps because I have a horse that you have to keep cheerful and reasured and she will jump anything for you. If I smacked her she would definately refuse, she would gradually become more and more reluctant and behind the leg and not be with me any more. And there must be quite a few horses like that. Not ideal to have to go xc round courses that size with a horse that you can't keep going forward with your legs, makes for an unbalanced horse and perhaps that explains the fall on the flat? Accidents will happen of course and certain factors that increase the risk slightly are often just enough to swing the balance. What a shame.
 
yes, but sometimes a well-timed smack will keep the horse thinking forwards, get its mind back on the job, keep it in front of the leg, and mean that it'll jump the next one fine and get over the blip at the previous fence, for example.
i can see why he did it, and have done the same myself on certain horses. i agree that there are certain horses that don't respond well to the whip though.
 
I'm not sure its fair to blame it on that.

I've ridden horses that need gentle encouragement, and I've ridden others that need to be told firmly to get on with it. Smacking a horse on an approach to one fence doesn't indicate that he can't keep the horse going without a whip, or that he's not balanced.
 
Oh I know, and at that level, going round a huge course, you don't have time to be fiddling around (I imagine; I only do county level WH and BJSA). But it didn't seem to work well at Badminton and I was just a bit surprised to see it. Perhaps it was a sign of something else? Who knows.
 
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But at that level, surely if you have to go around whacking the horse to keep it going forwards, theres an awful lot of work you should be doing at home, including building up a relationship with your horse and being sure what approach works best.

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In principle you have a point, but we are talking about quite possibly one of the hardest fences in the world. I doubt there were many riders that didnt give their horse a bit of a reminder going into that fence!
 
I didn't want to get involved in this thread but I remember the commentator at Badminton on BBC1 saying that he'd had problem with that fence or one like it before and wanted the horse to be sure to do it and then it stopped anyway. Nothing to do with what happened today. Just something I remembered.
 
Unbelievably tragic, have not seen the fall so can't comment! like HH After i heard about it I thought about how his groom must be feeling right now going back to an empty stable its along way home for all of them.
Such a sad loss for all that knew him and for Eventing
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R.I.P Nullabor
 
At badminton clayton was only giving a reminder. Especially in that part of the course the horse needs full concentration and working with the rider. Sometimes horses become a bit laxy-daisy just like us.
 
Nullarbor's death is a tragedy..no question. But it will be even more of a tragedy if people cannot get beyond the emotional reaction and think about the implications for their own riding. If Clayton was a bit 'complacent' winging it round a corner, then let it be a lesson to us all to ride ALL the time and keep our horses balanced. Miss de Meena has come in for a lot of stick, but sentimentality won't get us anywhere and she has a valid point of view. We are the pilots and it's up to us to get horses to and from fences in such a way as to enable them to jump them safely. the in between bit is just as important and totally the jockey's responsibility. Of course, if it had a heart attack, that is another matter ...
 
Clayton has Poilou in the CIC ** in 6th place. Surely he will do show jumping with him tomorrow and not come home right away.

Also the student Alex Hua Tian finished the *** and will jump Magenta on Sunday. I cannot imagine the Fredericks leaving without him. He is doing so well.

It is probably a bad night all around with these Saumur eventers. Everyone there must feel badly for the Fredericks.

I am in Texas. Its only 7:00 pm here. I saw Nullabar fall early this morning and it has upset me all day. Thank goodness there were no injuries announced or deaths on track today in the American 3 Yr old race at the Preakness, follow-up race after the Kentucky Derby.
 
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One of the most questionable pieces of riding I saw from watching Badminton (on tv) was the rider who gave his horse two hefty smacks quite far from the approach to an open ditch. No doubt the horse was a bit iffy about the ditch, because he prompty put in a stop, dropped his head and deposited the rider. But at that level, surely if you have to go around whacking the horse to keep it going forwards, theres an awful lot of work you should be doing at home, including building up a relationship with your horse and being sure what approach works best.

Can anyone enlighten me as to who that particular rider was?

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Sorry, I HAVE to disagree about this, there are several reasons why horses get "reminders" on the neck AND behind the saddle. I have always been taught that if your horse has jumped a fence or a couple of fences "sticky" to give them a couple of smacks to sharpen them up. I remember coming out of the start box one year and climbing over the first fence of a novice track, so my horse got a couple of smacks, just like C did to N at Badminton, and after that he had woken up and got on with it.

C obviously felt that after the way N had jumped the Colt pond, he needed sharpening up as there was a hefty ditch coming. It is also known his horse can be ditchy. And of course, they already have a partnership, he has ridden this horse right through from PN. Check out his results

http://www.britisheventing.com/asp-net/Events/Results.aspx?HorseId=50769&section=000100010002

It IS allowed to smack the horse, it is NOT allowed to beat them.
 
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