Prelim to 3* in 1 year, horse and rider... have a look at this... Udonna.

kerilli

kerilli

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 April 2002
Messages
27,417
Location
Lovely Northamptonshire again!
Visit site
Seriously, normally I'd think someone would have to be utterly MAD to try such a thing, but this is very very impressive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz9coL-tCsI&feature=player_embedded

I wonder if there's any chance they could get onto the U.S. team for 2012... if there's a horse I'd put money on jumping double clear on the final day, this mare is it.
What a fantastic combination, a real pleasure to watch.
 
oooh cool!!

My mums friend had a grade a showjumper that she took round a BE novice for fun, it had never even been XC schooling in its life and went round clear. He had such good jump training he found it easy.
I wonder if the showjumping horse will struggle to make the time though as showjumpers give the fences so much air?
 
Look at the results for Noble bestman on the BE website. He spent his life showing and showjumping, but started eventing at open in Jan 2010, and ended the year on two 2 star events. He is with Laura Collett. Should be doing Badmington, and burley this year.
 
Last edited:
Ah, i didn't know that, thanks sprite. Are you sure about Badminton this year if he did 2**s last autumn though?
There is a very long and, erm, enthusiastic discussion about this American pair and their plans, on COTH.
This is the original article about them: http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/marilyn-little-meredith-learning-tricks-new-trade
This picture of them caused a little debate:
http://www.hoofclix.com/Pine-Top-Fa...MarilynLittle/15968853_LDTwt#1201770734_x5jKU

Obviously no ordinary rider and no ordinary horse either (there's a vid on youtube of her clearing 6'2" in a Puissance as if it's 4' high), and being trained by the O'Connors, I think their progress this year will be fascinating.
 
Her dressage score was 47 for Intermediate. This is the weakness as they might not get the QR. If you look at the photos of them doing dressage its not a good picture. Reed Rayers thinks they are candidates for a rotational. The mare is very bold probably too bold in places.
 
yes, must admit i hadn't seen the dr pics when i did my first post. lovely mare, but it takes years to build the strength to do adv dr movements really well. she's over-jumping (esp into water) but hopefully she'll give it a lot less when she realises there's no need. she's got the knowledge and scope to jump herself out of trouble, obv, and a seriously accurate, very good jockey up there too. i'd worry more about her turning over from ballooning down into water than i would about her turning over at a fence, put it that way.
Reed, like me, is very vocal on the safety front...
 
It's only doing an Anky really, isn't it?! Take a top rider from one discipline and swap them to another, in a proven programme with pretty much limitless resources....

It's impressive, but I would say pretty easy to do if you have the time, money and support team. Look at all the top level triathletes who are now sponsored heros in the world of adventure racing, and there was an entire TV programme a while back dedicated to how the Winter Olympics GB committee looked at other sports for people who were top level but not the best and persuaded them to try winter olympic sports, got them qualified etc (in fact this may not have be limited to the winter olympics but I think I saw it years ago and can't remember enough details!).

It comes back to the theory that there is no such thing as talent, just people willing/able to put more hours in than others with the right support structure in place to make sure they are doing purposeful practice (which in the case of horse sports includes the right horse!).
 
Interesting.

When I groomed in NZ I worked for a top young rider who rode in both eventing and SJ at top level. One of her top SJers had evented at 3 star in NZ, then switched and was jumping at Grand Prix at the Horse of the Year show when I was grooming for her, two years later she was over here in the UK and the same horse jumped round Burghley and Badminton. It was amazing to see him event at top level having only known him as a fantastic showjumper. A really brilliant horse, sadly kicked in the head before he really got established over here so now retired back in NZ.
 
SpottedCat said:
It comes back to the theory that there is no such thing as talent, just people willing/able to put more hours in than others with the right support structure in place to make sure they are doing purposeful practice (which in the case of horse sports includes the right horse!).
Click to expand...

Completely agree with this SC (Bounce?! :p).

Makes you wonder about the purposeful practice put into horses too, and their ability to switch disciplines? After all a SJers muscle memory, technique, experience, etc, will be subtley different to that of an eventer.

I have a horse whose 'forte' is clearly SJing (but not quite up to the 10,000 hours of purposeful practice ;)) and I'm trying to make an eventer out of him. He makes the most beautiful shape over a fence but I do wonder if he'll ever lose the 'preciousness' that a SJer seems to have - give him a decent brush fence and he'll always jump the lot rather than brushing through it, that's not always the most helpful when you've got 3 of them on a curve, on a slightly long distance!
 
I find it scary that you even know which books are on my Kindle! That's not right.... ;)

I think the eventing/brush thing is actually pretty normal - my 'proper' horse did this until Novice level, when he suddenly realised he didn't have to, and the new bog pony is still doing it!

ETA: About the SJ vs Eventer in horses - in the vids I saw of Udonna, she wasn't 'galloping' properly - not that really smooth, effortless, ground covering gallop, and that instant 'lower and accelerate' you see at the top levels. That and the dressage marks are where I am guessing the different muscle working is showing up at this stage.
 
Last edited:
i agree about the brush thing, i've known horses (such as my grey) who didn't like touching it at all. stallions are famous for not liking to brush through it either (for obvious reasons), in fact 1 stallion owner complained at Burghley years ago that the big brush fence was unfair to his horse in particular... ;) ;)
i thought she was galloping on pretty well in that vid actually, bearing in mind it was only Training (Novice) level, if the rider was pushing her into doing the 'lower and accelerate' thing (which many horses never get the hang of properly imho, and equally, i'm sure not everyone would think it was ideal to try to accelerate that fast between fences xc anyway, then we get onto the subject of the Jimmy Wofford article i linked to in another thread today), she could possibly be seen as reckless...! in fact she looks like a really educated horsewoman who is really studying the sport so she learns from everyone else's mistakes rather than making them with her lovely scopey talented horse...
the hugely free hind end over fences and overjumping would be my only concerns, she might overjump down a proper old-fashioned 'coffin' fence etc (do they still exist in the U.S.?!) or down a big drop etc. otherwise i think they look awesome xc, that mare must feel like Pegasus.
 
Training is PN isn't it? I think so....I think Prelim is Novice.

I didn't say I thought she was doing anything wrong, just that she wasn't properly galloping yet. That isn't necessarily a bad thing is it? I was referring to the comment about different muscles for SJ and eventing, and just thinking that the gallop does not look effortless yet with that horse. That's not to say it should at this stage, nor that it never will. But it is a weakness for now.
 
Shame the rider gets thrown forward over every single jump. The horse is obviously significantly more talented.
 
Ah, right, got it, sorry. Yes, I see what you mean. I think I need to go back on the caffeine, my brain's not working very well the last few days.
I didn't realise Training was PN, I get them muddled. Btw, do they really have a 'Kermit' level over there, or was that just an Eventing Urban Myth?
 
They have Beginner Novice - BE80
Novice - intro
Training - PN
Prelim - novice
Int
Adv
 
How cool is that!! If you have the money, backing and a horse like that why not! I reckon they will get to advanced level, whether they do 3* depends on qualifying so that depends on the mares dressage and luck on the day I guess. She does tend to over jump but perhaps may tone it down by Advanced! To be fair my mares Nancy (and Connie used too) jump all of the brush on brush fences but luckily have the length of stride to make up for it! Is rather scary and you feel as though you are in the air for years and I do adopt the safty position!!!
 
Seth said:
Shame the rider gets thrown forward over every single jump. The horse is obviously significantly more talented.
Click to expand...

Erm, if they're that free with the hind end in midair, i defy any rider not to get thrown forwards a little... you can't really sit up on a back that's sloping that much in midair with hindquarters way up high, can you?
She looks like a pretty classy jockey over the jumps to me.

ElleJS, i agree, very cool.

If they ever make cloned horses affordable and allow them to compete, I think this mare would be very high on my list of "I wants"...
 
I agree that she is a lovely mare. My concern would be that unless she adapts her jump she will affect her soundness and could turn herself over if landing that steep at a greater speed. It is preferable for an event horse to have a flatter trajectory across country for those reasons. Also she gallops rather on her forehand which is not an insurmountable problem but increases the pressure on the front legs and can mean more time preparing for a fence.
With regard to the brush, many horses are inclined to want to jump it clean especially if it is birch. This is why some top riders consider too much use of birch quite hard on the horses as they make such a big effort to jump it. When it is on top of a corner/portable box, it makes for a serious amount of energy, more so if in a combination.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top