rodney powell

an incident involving a bbc camera and a dog spooked his horse on the run in to the hexagon hedges managed to get over the first element but refused the second . shame was looking a class round up to then
 
He got freaked out by the quad bike which was filming them through the Vicarage V. The quad had swerved to avoid a dog and got too close to him. I think he should have carried on and hoped they did a Lexington and removed his refusal points.
 
He was going really well, and then on the run up to the vicarage vee complex, the horse was spooked by the quad and Tv camara that had to swerve close to them to avoid a loose dog.
Think it really destracted horse and rider who jumped scrappily over the first hexagon hedge but ground to a halt in front of the second one and retired.

He must be gutted!
 
Can't really figure why he retired - plenty other riders refused but finished their rounds...Just seems a shame.
 
apparently ( i didnt see) according to the commentary team
he didnt ride the 2nd one well, and would have run out anyway...

(i dont know though,,i didnt see!!!)
 
I was watching, the camera angle seemed straight on, and he certainly LOOKED straight for the 2nd brush, but refused and just walked off...
 
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He seemed to be perfectly straight for the 2nd brush, horse just backed off and ground to a halt!

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okay, fair enough!!
i wouldnt know either way, i was shopping
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Its intrestresting but ( being a badminton nerd!
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) - Rodney has never jumped the straight route over the original vicerage v fence on any of his horses! Perhaps he just dosent like that fence!!
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QR - was at the vicarage ditches when it happened, though didn't notice the dog/quad thing. He didn't look that good over the first brush and we were surprised that he carried on to the 2nd (which came up very quickly!) rather than do the alternative. Unfortunate about the distraction but he has to take responsibility for his bad decision.
 
If you watch closley you can see the horse looks back at the quad when approaching the 2nd then looks at the fence and stops.
I can't believe how much the horse spooked as he is normally a very very laid back horse that takes everything in his stride, so gutting for Rodney, never seems to have any luck (this horse was 14th last year on 1st attempt at 4*, won Bokelo 3* year before and was electrocuted at the end of 2008, which they were worried he'd never compete again from).
 
the quad was naughty but i agree with sm153 he should have done the alternative he didnt have a good jump over the first so the horse lost confidence and im sorry but someone with his experience should have thought quickly and changed plans to help the horses confidence if for nothing else!
fair enough would have cost time but would have maybe jumped clear and completed
 
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Can't really figure why he retired - plenty other riders refused but finished their rounds...Just seems a shame.

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Actually, quite a few retired after one refusal
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I understand they do it to save the horse so they can run it again soon, but to me it just doesn't seem very sporting!
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Watching the highlights today - Zinzan's jump over the first ditch (ditch to corner thing) looked quite spooky (quad not even moving or visible from there!) - could well have been 1 ditch too many regardless of the quad.

Think that Toytown had pulled a shoe off in his refusal - so don't blame Zara for not risking him, especially given AMS had gone lame earlier.
 
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Can't really figure why he retired - plenty other riders refused but finished their rounds...Just seems a shame.

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Actually, quite a few retired after one refusal
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I understand they do it to save the horse so they can run it again soon, but to me it just doesn't seem very sporting!
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It may not seem sporting for the spectators, but consider their position
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They are professional event riders with horses worth X thousand pounds, belonging to owners who would like to see good results
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Why on earth would you continue to ride around one of the most demanding XC courses in the world, potentially risking injury and/or wear and tear on your valuable horse, when you have no chance of winning or being placed? Makes perfect sense to me for them to retire
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Splotchy, I'll never own a horse capable of running at Badminton (unless I a) win the lottery or b) marry a millionaire), but I would like to think I would run a horse for FUN, not just to win - and I think there are still some owners out there with that mindset.
 
However I would conclude that apparently that does not apply to the owners of the horses being discussed on this thread
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