Oli Townend....horse falls

[bexwarren24]

Yes I have, I have refrained from commenting on this and the other thread re Pippa so far but I have to say there are some people on here who are spouting opinions they no nothing about. To produce and ride at this level takes a lot of skill.
No one is perfect and we all make mistakes - except maybe the HHO's who sit in judgement ontheir sofas.
Have an opinion, yes but educate yourself first so you have some idea of what your talking about before airing those views on a public forum.
I love F1 and have lots of opinions about what goes on, but am I qualified to judge their decisions in public, no I am not I drive a road car not a racing car and the difference between normal and top level horses is probably the same.

Well said!

I know a top showjumper who's a well known name who is the lovliest guy you could wish to meet. Charm personified in fact. He also happens to beat the living bejesus out of his horses, training at home, if they don't perform.

Obviously not a nice guy and I hope this is not some kind of comparison to DS. I can vouch that he does not "beat the living bejesus" out of his horses and he would be mortified if he read this.

 

[kerilli]

Oh dear.
Please may I just point out, before I get any more incensed and offended ranty pm's, that my 'phone call to Oli' comment was absolutely NOT aimed at any one HHOer, that it was supposed to be funny, that okay it was a bit of a dig at the 4*-sofa-riders on here, but it was not personal, as one person has taken it to be.
Jeeez.

 

[OneInAMillion]

Oh dear.
Please may I just point out, before I get any more incensed and offended ranty pm's, that my 'phone call to Oli' comment was absolutely NOT aimed at any one HHOer, that it was supposed to be funny, that okay it was a bit of a dig at the 4*-sofa-riders on here, but it was not personal, as one person has taken it to be.
Jeeez.

I thought it was funny K

 

[kerilli]

I thought it was funny K

I'm glad someone saw that side of it! I mean, I'm not setting up as a comedienne here, but if I wanted to be an arch-bitch I wouldn't do it like that, on such a silly topic, I'd get stuck into some of the people I see doing truly nasty things to horses!

 

[Dovorian]

Perhaps we could have 'Fantasy Eventing', pick your horses, riders and courses..

 

[AandK]

I thought it was funny K

Ditto!

I won't add any comments re the rest of the thread as it is getting a bit rediculous..

I went to Burghley and had a great time watching some fantastic riders on some amazing horses, jumping some bl00dy massive fences! I have nothing but admiration for anyone who can produce and ride a horse at 4* level.

 

[Marydoll]

Yes I have, I have refrained from commenting on this and the other thread re Pippa so far but I have to say there are some people on here who are spouting opinions they no nothing about. To produce and ride at this level takes a lot of skill.
No one is perfect and we all make mistakes - except maybe the HHO's who sit in judgement ontheir sofas.
Have an opinion, yes but educate yourself first so you have some idea of what your talking about before airing those views on a public forum.
I love F1 and have lots of opinions about what goes on, but am I qualified to judge their decisions in public, no I am not I drive a road car not a racing car and the difference between normal and top level horses is probably the same.

Probably one of the most balanced comments on this thread,

 

[Molly'sMama]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Molly'sMama
Nobody seems to be commenting on the fact Daniel Sibley got up and smacked his whip or whatever around like a little child.That shocked me.

I'm sorry but if I had been riding one of the best rounds of my life and was 2 fences from home I would be more than pis*ed off, wouldn't you? The adrenalin also makes all your emotion come out at once and I think I would have laid on the floor and cried on frustration.
What would your perfect reaction have been?

I didnt say his reaction was unjust. I meant that all this fuss about Oli, when I saw nothing wrong with his round/fall, when Daniel did get a bit frustrated, much more so than Oli, and that was fine apparently.

Totally agree with this, the way the 'armchair experts' on here are going on you would think he had beaten his horse, and he did NOT throw his whip in the direction of his horse - how ridiculous! He also patted the horse but the footage does not show that.

Poor guy, he had spent months preparing, rode a very good round and fell at the last - I would have been disappointed too.

I'm not an armchair expert . Lol, I'm just comparing the rounds and thought Oli deserved none of this when there were other riders who acted in a way slightly less PC , in a way ( IMO)
I too thought he did well.
X

 

[Lace57]

Havent read all the posts. In my opinion and quite a few other well known riders around me... Ollie carries his horses round each course and does everything for him therefore when they are in the **** (lets face it no1 is perfect to every fence xc) they dont know how to look after themselves and him. Thy are too used to him doing everything for them. I think hes a very hard rider and pushes them quite often when they are too tired

 

[oldvic]

Having spoken to someone who would know, an interesting point came to light. The fence walked on a holding 5 but, because the horses were landing flatter than expected and with less power after the steps/bounce, it in fact rode on a moving 5. This meant that the line that the early riders took gave the horses a lot to do. After a handful of riders had been, riders started taking a tighter line to shorten the distance. Oli was one of the handful.

 

[Bubblegum]

Having spoken to someone who would know, an interesting point came to light. The fence walked on a holding 5 but, because the horses were landing flatter than expected and with less power after the steps/bounce, it in fact rode on a moving 5. This meant that the line that the early riders took gave the horses a lot to do. After a handful of riders had been, riders started taking a tighter line to shorten the distance. Oli was one of the handful.

I really wish there was a 'like' button on HHO. This is one post that I would 'like' and I know my daughter would too.
Thank you oldvic...a voice of common sense,reason, informed etc etc... much appreciated.

 

[lannerch]

Yup I'm pressing that like button too

 

[diggerbez]

Well, how very dare you! I'll have you know that in my 15 years of 4* competition, during which I've been to all the major championships, I've never made a mistake, missed a stride or rolled a pole whilst riding my faithful stead 'Sofa'. So stick that in your pipe and schmoke it! ;-)

hahahahahaha