Oliver Townend fined by BE for threatening another rider

re: what he said about Daisy Crazy
well, i haven't got the relevant H&H and Eventing to hand, but to paraphrase... he had just run the mare very very hard to win the Intermediate champs (on time penalties), someone from HHO was there and said the mare looked absolutely cooked. when interviewed, he said something along the lines of "she'll have got a shock today... but it'll do her good... it's good for them to stretch their lungs like that, she'll be a better horse for it" iirc.
okay, could have been a lot worse, i suppose, but not the role model we need for kids etc... when we were always told to keep some petrol in the tank, nurture them round if they're tiring etc etc.
let's not forget that it isn't so many years ago that another top rider rode a top horse hard till it dropped dead at Gatcombe, those hills really take it out of horses. on that occasion, a very good friend of mine was walking the course and saw the horse and rider in question about 30 secs before it died, and said it was reeling in the canter, obviously exhausted... but the stewards didn't stop the rider, and he was not disciplined or fined.
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sounds like someones ego has landed!!!! lest he forget horses are the greatest leveller, and he might be kicking arxx on the way up, but who knows what will be on the way down!!! i wish they wouldnt get like this, gives such a bad vibe for the sport!! shame on him!!!!
 
Ooh I thought it was just me that got a really unpleasant impression of him. Interesting to read all this. Only MHO but he often seems to take silly risks and chances - never the safe option that uses up a few seconds, I reckon that must be why he either wins or crashes out. The commentators on the TV always say "such a competitive young man" and sometimes this competitiveness seems to make him lose his judgement and comes at the expense of the safety of his horses. I hope he does get the attitude in check because he is a really talented jockey.
 
I sold Daisy Crazy to Oliver last year and although I witnessed his behaviour in the collecting ring at Osberton last year (not good) and he also failed to tell me that he has just sold her on, despite it being in the contract, I do have to respond in his defence with regard to Gatcombe.

First - background on Daisy. Daisy Crazy is not a typical eventer and at one point before I bought her had completely and utterly stopped jumping - not even a cross pole. She was a seriously stressy TB when I bought her as a 7yo. I produced her painstakingly and she started to do very well in the dr and sj but started putting in a stop XC. I had never been intermediate before but I'm a good XC rider and I tried everything. I finally sent her to Oliver for a week and the two of them clicked. She adores him, he is thrilled with her. She goes XC for him - and I don't think she would for anyone else, even now. I sent her to other yards on livery when I went on holiday, for example, and she fretted terribly and lost weight. At Oliver's she seems completely happy.

Gatcombe: Even when I had this mare super fit she made a real thing about long hills on XC courses - she always kept going and jumping easily enough but she looks like she's really tired. I won Salperton on her and that has a long hill near the end - she made a big thing of it but I just kept riding her and she kept going easily enough and recovered quickly afterwards. She was able to help me out when I completely fluffed my line at the angled squirrels, twisting back in to the second fence when I'd all but missed it - she couldn't/wouldn't have done that if she'd actually been exhausted. She was the same when leading teamchasing - dropped off near the end - but it's funny how we never had that problem hunting or following teamchasing! If you were watching her at Gatcombe you would have seen that she was still jumping easily right to the end. She's an incredibly tough horse physically, but a bit girly mentally! Which is why she needs Oliver to make up for it! I saw her in the lorry park afterwards and at the prizegiving and she was very happy - tired as you would expect, but not exhausted, and still incapable of standing still!!

The only thing I thought about Oliver's comments is that he thought she would learn from the experience. I hate to break it to him but I think she'll always be like that!!
 
Hi Daisy Crazy, i met you out with the Readyfield just before you sold her I think
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Re. Oli, I have never made a secret of the fact I dislike the bloke, but we all make mistakes. Just hope he learns from this one and beomes a better role model, even if he doesnt become more sympathetic to his horses.
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IMHO it appears that Oli is a typical Yorkshireman and says what he's thinking.

I'm married to one and I love the honesty of it, so I hope nobody take offence at this comment!!

I think saying 'I rode her hard' does make him sound a bit of a git. but then if he had ridden her into the ground the stewards would have been on his back and he'd have been in trouble for it!! ....and from what Daisycrazy said about her old horse I think he needed to ride her hard.

There have been times when I could descride my ride round a XC course as having to ride hard, but I don't mean I rode the horse into the ground, I mean I had to really ride positively, some horses you do have to push to get the best out of them!!
I would say that Lucinda Fredricks rides Headly Britania like that, she just might have a better way of describing it when interviewed!! Also one of Lesley Law's greys (Can't remember which one) needed to be ridden very positivley round XC... I vaguely recall him talking about it in an interview too.

I think Oli (and my husband) sometimes need to think about what they are saying and how it will come across before they say it!!
 
Hi, yes I remember meeting you - flaming creature went advanced within a couple of months of that! Talk about gutting! I think the two runs she had with the Readyfield and the open teamchasing helped though. She still wouldn't have done it with me but I knew she was ready for advanced. I am delighted to see her do so well with Oliver, particularly since she seems very happy. Whatever else you can say about him, he certainly understands that mare!
 
Yeah i know, i heard on the grapevine that oli had brought her, but had remembered what you said about him liking her. Pleased she is going well, the main thing is the horses are happy
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I think Oli (and my husband) sometimes need to think about what they are saying and how it will come across before they say it!!

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I think you've hit the nail on the head there, I knew him quite well when we were kids and I really don't think he's a bad guy, probably just doesn't come across that well and says the wrong thing!
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i think this is very unfair, unless you know him and were there and new the full circumstances i think it is not right to be spitefull, as this forum sounds.
i think he is one of the smilest professional riders at the shows, he always smiles at people, and several times has asked me how my horse went when passing even though i am just a random one horse rider.
i would like to dislike him and say he just has good horses because i am jelous of his results as i think anyone would, but to get results like he does; One he has to be good and Two he's obviously nice to his horses as A its easy to see they are all happy horses and B they jump for him.
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Dont mean to come across rude tis just my/an opinion :-)
 
You are quite right - he is an outstanding rider, the horses all seem very happy and content and they really perform for him. Which is why I sold him my horse!

He's also very pleasant and approachable most of the time - he also once asked me how my round had gone, before I sold him DC. Alas, he picked the first round in which I'd ever been eliminated and I wasn't in the best of moods!

Unfortunately when he's not in a good mood you tend to know about it! I am the same and I think it's basically down to being extremely competitive, a bit hot headed and also proud - I can really understand that after Badminton last year he was feeling pretty sensitive. It's easy to forget that he has only been round Badminton a handful of times. He'd had a bad fall in Ireland before Badminton and then came off again at Osberton the day after Badminton. So he was in pain and fed up. Don't think I'd be any better in the circumstances.

It still didn't make it any more pleasant when he had a go at me in the SJ collecting ring for daring to suggest how he might warm up DC (she's quite particular about such things!), but it did make it understandable. Probably bad timing on my part but I did very well with her in the SJ and simply wanted to help. Won't do that again! And I'm sure that so long as I don't have the audacity to put forward my opinion again he'll be perfectly pleasant to me!
 
Oli isnt stupid. He knows if he comes across as an a**e people arent going to want to know him, and he wont be given horses. Just alot of people have witnesses his not so pleasant side. I just wander which is the truer person.

Re Being nice to horses, there are alot pro's which are FAR from nice to their horses, but the horses still come out an dlook happy and perform......
 
Its worth noting that in other jobs (and it is his work isn't it), people can't behave like that. Bad moods, tiredness and anger have to be managed! Customers, potential customers and competitors don't get there heads chewed off because its a bad day. Being unable to control your emotions to that extent is a sign of serious immaturity - sadly some people (sorry some men) never grow up!
 
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Its worth noting that in other jobs (and it is his work isn't it), people can't behave like that. Bad moods, tiredness and anger have to be managed!

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I wish the people in my office worked by those rules
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Unfortunately we've got some right moody gits, and if they make a mistake, and you happen to try to correct it then well you might as well have stood on a land mine!!
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The fact that Oli is a professional, and a high profile one at that, means that there is a whole world of difference between him losing his temper/being unpleasant and a one horse amateur doing so. For starters, everyone remembers it! Even at my most frustrated (and DC tried me to my limits) I would never vent it on other people (except maybe my long suffering mum!). It is imperative to be polite at all times, as a minimum, whoever you are, but never more so than if you're a high profile pro. So though I understand, for example, why he was touchy at Osberton, I still think it was unforgiveable behaviour and I wouldn't sell him another horse as a result.

The problem for Oliver is that somebody always sees when he isn't on charming form and therefore he must always be seen to be nice, even when it's the last thing he feels like being.

On the subject of pro's horses, I have heard that can be the case. My judgement on that is based on the fact that DC is totally neurotic if she's not completely happy - and she has been completely calm every time I've seen her at his yard or at a competition, for her a sure sign that she's content. And if he can keep her happy I imagine that the other horses must be okay too. Could be wrong!
 
I agree, interestingly my trainer's daughter is a professional dressage rider. She is an exceptional talent, everyone tells her so, she has beautiful horses and she is only 20. Given all of that, she could of course be a right little madam. Yet, even when harrassed with something, she is always courteous and manages a 'hello' with a smile. Most days she takes the time to show an interest an the riding of other lesser mortals, including me and my wonderful, but far from top class horse, and and the kids riding ponys at her mum's riding school! She is an example of how it should be done
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Have to say as a SJ I find this actually quite funny, if I am to gather the incident regards the fine then most SJ's would be very poor indeed!!

As for dissing a rider such as Oli T, how many of you have actually made it to his position in eventing? From an outsiders point I have assumed he was in the top of British riders, and as the previous owner of the horse mentioned on here has pointed out unless you have knowledge or have ridden the horse in question you do not know about the individual horse and how it needs to be ridden, personal opinions are fine but defaming someone is dangerous!
 
I agree up to a point about the riding of a horse, but there is no excuse for having a go at someone. If you went to see a doctor or lawyer and they chewed your head off, you wouldn't think that you shouldn't be offended or say that there behaviour was entirely inappropriate, simply because you couldn't do their job would you? Maybe you would, but most people expect a certain standard from others whether they can do what they do, or not!
 
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As for dissing a rider such as Oli T, how many of you have actually made it to his position in eventing?

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I don't see how that is relevant whatsoever. Being a talented rider doesn't give you the right to be rude and unpleasant - manners cost nothing!
 
I think alot of people forget that Oli is still quite young in comparison to many other riders of the same level. He literally did start with nothing and has worked to where he is himself.

I think we all spit the dummy out at times, be it to our spouses or close friends.. as someone else said, when you're in the public eye these spats become oh-so more blown up.


I also found it amusing how 'one' forum member commented on something they'd apparently 'seen', (DC being exhausted) and came onto a public forum and posted about it... winding other members up into being 'disgusted'. Oli was slated on here for what that forum member claims they saw.


Who are we to believe? a random joe public forum member or the horses old owner (who knows the mare well). hmmm.....
 
Can someone inform me what the crack with Daisy Crazy has to do with OT being fined for threatning James Adams? I dont see the relivance...
 
Because apparently (don't take this as gospel as it's what I've read into it) the way OT rode the mare at an event and the comments made by him afterwards regarding the way he rode the mare (apparently reported by a forum member who apparently was there) reflects his personality, his riding abilities and what colour underpants he wears....
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Other than that your guess is as good as mine
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