Olympia jean francois pignon (sp???)

I was generalising, as there have been probably 10 threads since Olympia started, taking away from a wonderful show which we were lucky was televised on two channels (particularly the BBC).

Living on the other side of the world for a few years I realised how lucky the UK is to get such good coverage of equestrian events. Did you know said TV coverage is actually sold on DVD for silly amounts of money elsewhere?

People complain that we don't get enough coverage here but to be fair we are able to see all of the major equestrian events held in this country, and many of those abroad also.

Over the past few days there have been posts complaining about things ranging from horse abuse to long manes and untidy tails; accusing professionals of having ill fitting tack, being unable to ride correct bends, using harsh bits, sending immoral messages to children by removing their hats when leaving the ring... I could go on.

There are not many people who want to watch equestrianism on TV, and it seems the people who are supposed to be enjoying it can do nothing but complain about what they are seeing - TV companies must wonder why they bother to show it at all.

Meanwhile, I will sit back and appreciate the amount of coverage we are treated to, and continue to - on the most part - admire these professionals and what they do.

So kizzywiz I apologise as yes, it was a generalisation, but there is a very large group of people on this forum who honestly seem to believe that they have the right to judge every other member of the equestrian community based on their superior knowledge and experience, and I don't think I'm the only person who wishes they'd step down off their high horses (pun intended
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) every once in a while. This thread was perhaps just the straw that broke the camel's back after 5 days of nothing but complaining about Olympia.
 
I thought JFP was incredibly good entertainment, and I was in awe of how well trained his horses were. I pondered on the "ears back" that most of his horses had, but IMHO it's a herd thing, and probably not as the result of bad practice on his part. In any case, I enjoyed watching him.

I also loved Albert Zoers sense of humour by coming in to the prize giving with a santa hat on, and no, I don't think he's "setting a bad example" to kids, as most kids I know do their own thing without being overly influenced by what "adults" or "role models" are doing.

Bravo Olympia, another great show.
 
Well said Munchkin, some of the posts on here make me die & the Olympia ones have been especially hilarious, the bit about poor canter & incorrect bend springs to mind, as I am sure the poster in question has vast experience jumping 1.60m tracks!! I hugely enjoyed Olympia, as did my non horsey OH & thought the tv coverage was fab. I was of course traumatised by the pro's removing their hats, even though this is traditional & they are all adults, & did immediately rush home to jump 1.60m without one whilst in incorrect bend & wearing draw reins as all show jumpers do of course
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Well said Munchkin, some of the posts on here make me die & the Olympia ones have been especially hilarious, the bit about poor canter & incorrect bend springs to mind, as I am sure the poster in question has vast experience jumping 1.60m tracks!! I hugely enjoyed Olympia, as did my non horsey OH & thought the tv coverage was fab. I was of course traumatised by the pro's removing their hats, even though this is traditional & they are all adults, & did immediately rush home to jump 1.60m without one whilst in incorrect bend & wearing draw reins as all show jumpers do of course
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I hope you were wearing your Tretorn boots and lycra showjumping jacket, whilst jumping 1.60m on your Dutch stallion, Insultech Overbitted Van Der Plonker, otherwise the influence of the "stars" has obviously not affected you at all.....

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I thought his show was great actually and I don't think because a horse has its ears back shows it is not happy. It can be a sign of many things - often a submissive action so that would follow if they saw him as the herd leader.

I don't imagine they would be treated any worse than the showjumpers/dressage horses etc etc. They looked happy to me and healthy and to have a shetland pony responding like that cannot be easy!! Lol

I am a believer that you cannot force a horse to do something it does not want to do and I thought it showed a lot of trust between him and the horse. Not once did I see him smack the horse hard with that whip - it was taps. No more than used by people driving horses.

As for the comments I have heard about re the jumpers and incorrect bend etc - WTF!!!? My sister mentioned it - how hilarious. I would like to see those who criticised jump a course of that height on a keen, strong horse in that enclosed arena. Honestly, laughable to comment about it!!
 
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i missed it
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il have to you tube it in a couple of days

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i just watched it there is a brilliant quality vid and of all the other stuff if you go onto the official olympia website
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could u send me a link
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What amazes me about Olympia is the way the horses are made to perform in such a 'bear pit' atmosphere. The small arena, close crowd, loud music, flashing lights etc
 
Ears back is a sign of submission - if you watch a herd of horses just in a field, when the dominant mare/gelding/stallion approaches another horse the horse will lower its ears and do all sorts of other stuff.

Ears back doesnt just mean unhappy horse, just as tail up doesn't mean happy dog (it could mean aggressive, alert, etc).
 
ok everyone entitled to their own opinion. but i think to have that many horses loose and under control is amazing.

There might have been ears back and tails swishing but they could have quite easily trotted off on their own down the menage.

They did not flinch when he was waving his hands around near their face and then stroking them. unlike some of the showjumpers that were coming out of the ring grooms going to take hold of thier bridle and them shying away,
 
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unlike some of the showjumpers that were coming out of the ring grooms going to take hold of thier bridle and them shying away,

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How true!!

I think the ears back thing was a reaction to each other rather than to him. At the end when he had them all lying down pretending to sleep, he smacked his whip really hard on the floor next to one horse and it didn't move - no way he could do that if they didn't trust him.

I thought it was amazing!
 
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