Open Corners !?!?!

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samiracle

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I thought these were banned on XC courses because they were dangerous, but I see from the Badminton coverage that they are back and just the sort of accident which the closed corners prevented happened at the farmyard, where a horse veered v slightly off line and landed on the backrail of the corner and damaged his stifle. Does anyone know why on earth BE has allowed them to be brought back ??
 
The back rails are really short, so generally if you veer off line you just jump the front rail and it counts as a run out.
 
I believe the original plan was to stop riders getting away with inaccuracy as happened with the filled in corners. Open corners are a very 80s 90s thing and Ian Stark and a few other names believe they are a good thing to bring back. For me....erughh, but you just gotto get on with it.
 
There is nothing wrong with open corners but the ones at Badminton have a short back rail so when the horse drifted right he caught his stifle on the post supporting the rail. Having everything filled in has contributed to riders becoming casual in their approach to fences, lowering the standard of xc riding.
 
agree with Oldvic- nothing wrong with open corners and there was an alternative for riders who thuoght their horses weren't up to the direct route.

Most took the alternative and jumped the first part (open corner) absolutely fine.
 
re: who jumped the direct line over the corners in the Farmyard, I thought I heard over the tannoy that Emily Llewelyn did, but not sure....? hopefully someone will confirm :):)
 
Yes actually anyone I saw who jumped them had not bother at all - they were well strided and a horse who locked on to the second one popped them no problem.
I think many decided on the alternative simply because it didn't take that much longer and a run out at that part of the course would be very expensive with so many bigger tests to come!
 
i believe Toddy jumped them on his first horse, a few others did too, without problems. Unfortunately Nicola Wilson's first ride screwed a bit over the first one and came to the second all wrong... I really hope he hasn't injured himself badly.
Open corners are fine imho (used to meet them all the time at all levels) but the ones at Badminton were very wide with a very short back rail. Of course, if the back rail is long, and the horse veers, it will land in the middle and either have to bounce out (has been known, put it that way...) or will fall. Obv much less forgiving than a filled in corner.
 
The first open hunter trial I did had an open corner and I hated the look of it and was not looking forward to riding it at all, but it rode really well and nobody had any trouble with it nor with any I have seen since.
I went to Badminton on Sunday and thoughout the direct route looked totally impossible and wasnt suprised that so many went around, it wasnt the fact that they were open corners more the very short rail on the back of the 2nd part, the width and the angle they would have needed to jump them.
All credit to the few combinations that did them - I would have gone around (but then I would have gone around most of the others too!:D)
 
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