old or new?

[LittleTero]

So the eventing season is upon us and everyone always talks about how things have changed so i though i'd start a thread about it.
This is a general thread to say what new things we think are good or old things that have disappeared which we think should come back.

I personally am quite a traditionalist and find it quite sad how our attitudes to our horses seem to have got so serious as time goes on. What happened to being able to go to a busy riding club event? Now everyone wants to register for BE or BSJA or dressage and it's all so expensive. I wish you could still sign up to a local riding club and there be teams and a busy show schedule. I dont know about other areas but my riding club has very little to offer and few members!

I've also been watching old showjumping videos and olympia in the 70's and 80's was so exciting because all the riders had very different styles and there seems to be a high level excitment that i can't seem to feel in it now.

Anyway those are just a couple of things ive been thinking about recently and i wanted to know how everyone else felt.
If you have any comments on anything to do with old vs new or on my comments above please write now!!!!

 

[Nollaig Shona]

I prefer the "good old" days. Today's horses all look the same and the riders all ride the same - especially in showjumping. It's getting to the point where you can't tell one competitor from another.

I don't like the cross country phase [of a three day event] these days, it seems to be all about pulling and turning and scrambling over combinations instead of galloping and jumping. Although I do prefer the short format (minus the roads and tracks and steeplechase).

 

[LittleTero]

I totally agree! The showjumpers used to be gunho and you could always tell who was riding by their style. The horses were all very different too so you could tell them all apart, now they all seem very much the same and all jump and move in a very similar fashion. I would love nothing more than for someone to come into the ring on a big irish looking horse. The horses used to be characters and endear themselves to the public which made the sport enjoyable for all the public! Trouble is i dont think there is really any way of getting back to it. Every round of jumping you see on the tv all look exactly the same, and to put croud pleasing classes like the puissance on a time limit and stopping at a certain height i always think is a total disapointment. As for the xc eventing i also agree, what made it so great to watch was the sheer height of the jumps to be taken at the gallop. Xc should be more about rider frightening fences. In old horse books you always see black and white photos of massive jumps with terrfying drops and i think we really need to try and bring back that sort of fence. I also think the cost of tickets for these sort of events needs a rethink so that everyone can go. Even the international dressage comps have extremly pricey tickets these days!