Olli's comment

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severnmiles

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'If he were higher up then yes we'd run him, because we're not in with a chance of much prize money I'll have to talk it over with Yogi'

So are the eventers becoming spoilt and only running horses when they think they can win?
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hmmmm! I can understand not running because they're worried about the health of the horse, but sounds in this case like he's not running because there's not a lot of chance of winning?! Not very sportsmanlike is it?

Isn't that what WFP did last year or sometime when he was in 9th and withdrew because he didn't think he was in a good enough position?

IMO if the ground is okay enough to risk your horse when you're in a good position, it should surely be good enough to risk your horse when you're lower down? I mean prize money shouldn't affect whether you'd take a chance on your horse's soundness should it?
 
isn't that what WFP said last year after Tam's dressage test?

First withdrawl after dressage at Badminton is up - Samantha Albert
 
WFP did do that last year, but TBH you can never predict what happens xc, we have all seen so many horses jump clear after a poor dressage at badminton and shoot up the placings.
 
So it's worth risking the horse over the ground if you have a chance of winning but otherwise why bother? Great attitude. Either they are withdrawing over concerns for the horses or not, their placing after dressage should make no difference. After all, given the way the cross country went last year didn't it wirk out the W F-P would have been in with a chance on Tamarillo if he had run XC and gone clear?
 
That was my other thought. It's £20 entry on the Saturday which is expensive but as it's Badminton we pay it to see the top horses and riders in one of the biggest events in the country. If they have genuine concerns about the welfare of the animals then fair enough but I think they should be penalised for withdrawing because they are not placed highly enough after dressage.
 
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So it's worth risking the horse over the ground if you have a chance of winning but otherwise why bother? Great attitude.

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My thoughts exactly!
 
Wasn't Hugh Thomas furious when WFP pulled out last year, saying it was unacceptable or something?

If it wasn't him, someone definately didnt agree with the reason for withdrawing him
 
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And what about the public who pay the entry fees to allow such a god purse of prize money
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Yep, for those of us way out its about £60.00 in fuel plus £40.00 entry and £10.00 car park before we've even bought food or gone crazy in the shops! Thats not cheap!
 
I can understand riders not wanting to put too many miles on the horses clock , should they feel they are not in with a chance , but some horses barely seem to run at all !

I would hesitate to run on very hard ground - but it strikes me that a few riders ( not thinking of anyone in particular , honestly ) are getting a little bit ' precious.'

Pet Hate - Fence judging in March & waiting for a rider who has already gone home without telling anyone
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I agree with that - looks like we have a few divas amongst the eventing community now!
 
Well WFP has already gone home today so guess HT won't be his biggest fan... Again!

Not trying to justify it, but this is business for these people - when deciding on level of risk, they have to weigh up the potential rewards...
 
Few more than a few IMO!

Poor little diddums, don't like being beaten, won't try if it's not in with a chance, etc; think they should be seriously fined, penalised in some way that makes them think twice. I have no problems with it if it's for a genuine reason but for anyone to withdraw simply because they don't think 'it's worth it' is unacceptable.
Where's the Dunkirk spirit gone just because more money has crept into the game, can't they nurse their horses round, have they forgotten how to be proper horsemen and not just prima donna's? Sorry, off my soapbox now!
 
Maybe they're getting paid too much if they can afford to just dismiss events because they probably won't win...
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I guess there are other factors to consider too, such as qualification for teams or championships later in the year
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Why risk your horse further for the outside chance of a low placing when you can save them for another important comp later in the year ?

It's not very fair on the paying public but these guys reputations and thus careers can be made or broken by decisions like these.
 
QR.
Maybe everyone is being a bit harsh?
To the riders at the top end of the scale it is very much a business, very much like racing even at the lowest levels.
To win is important when money/reputaion is at stake, you cant expect it not to have an influence on important decisions.
From someone who is involved with these decisions weekly, im not saying that people will bust a horse if there is more chance of winning. Simply that there is always a risk, and sometimes you have to gauge those risks and make a decidion based on the benefits if everything goes right.
 
The reason Badminton can offer a big purse is because of the amount of spectators they have. Whilst I totally agree that it IS a business and one should not risk their horse, these professionals MUST realise that if they *no show* then the public will also start to *no show* and the pros will get hurt in the pocket.
 
Weezy,
It is very similar to point to pointing. The entries are available a week before, but you dont really know whats running until 40 mins before the race. The courses lie about the going to get the horses and the crowds there. If the going is hard the horses stay on the lorry, and the entry fees have already been banked at no loss.
The main difference is that most of the spectators dont necessarily care about the racing, and once they are through the gate they have already paid, even if there are only 20 runners in total.
It does tend to have a knck on effect for the year after, the people that matter have long memories and dont enter/spectate.
Of course, events like Badminton are more specialist - the spectators care. Id also think that their turn over would be a lot more than your average point to point.
IMO the responsibility lies totally with the organisers. If they want the runners and the people to watch them, then they have to dip into their profits and guarantee safe ground.
 
Talking of being ' precious' - I read a comment in Eventing's guide to the season .
The event was not criticised for anything , except poor catering ( only bacon rolls or burgers available . )

The riders adding the comments all had luxury horseboxes - couldn't they or one of their minions cook up something in their kitchens ????

Maybe that could be a new job - Head Chef required for discerning rider
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ok i guess u guys saying that these riders are divas not running there horses on hard ground are the same people who were slagging of amy tyron over the recent incident in rolex. U were quite right to condem her but then to slag riders of for looking after there horses sums up un educated amateur and spoilt little children!! i guess no one here has sat in the horsebox park at badminton with a horse worth hundreds of thousands of pounds in the stable and a place on the british team at stake!!! Wot wud u do if the ground was like a road, wud u run to keep plebs like u lot happy?
 
Absolutely NOT - the prob isn't with riders not running because of the ground, it is riders wthdrawing because their dressage was crap! Also talking about the fact this shouldn't have been allowed to happen.

And quit with the insults, only reflects badly on you.
 
guessin uve never ridden at badders so therfore u have no idea wot actually goes on behind the scenes. wud u run ure precious little donkey on going like the M6?
 
Maybe you could type in English so we could understand what you're saying?
 
Actually I am not criticising anyone for choosing not to run their horse if they feel the ground is too hard and poses a risk to the welfare of the horse. What I am criticising is them choosing not to run horse because they are not placed highly enough after the dressage or are not in with a chance of winning enough prize money.
 
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