Shameful riding at Badminton XC

[skewby]

I didn't go this year and also only caught a bit of it on red button yesterday. BUT the bit I did catch involved Pippa Funnell talking at length about a distinct lack of "coffin canter" and how it was catching people out, she was trying to analyse how to fix this with changes to lower level eventing.

So I really don't see why people have been attacked on this thread for daring to comment.

Or maybe someone should be getting in touch with Pippa, so that some of the enormous egos on this thread could offer to watch a few vids of her riding and put her straight?

 

[skewby]

Amelia, do you realise just how much of a cow you sound?

She doesn't sound like a "cow". However with this comment, you do.

 

[Jesstickle]

She doesn't sound like a "cow". However with this comment, you do.

How does calling someone, anyone, a cr*p rider NOT make you sound like a cow? It's just down right rude.

All these people that we're merry slagging off and calling cr*p riders are people. They might even read this one day.

Would you ever say it to her face? If not then you shouldn't be saying it on here either. This is a public forum and the latter could effectively amount to the former.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course but being rude isn't ever called for.

 

[lialls]

Tbf, you won't know whether she gets pulled up by the stewards until the end of the competition, if at all. BE & FEI produce a list every year though.

I've heard about this before. Can anyone tell me where we can find this list? Could be interesting to look at.

 

[lialls]

if louise skelton is crap, then i would be pleased to be half as crap as her!!

LOL, I'm with you on this one! Wheres the 'like' button?


Just to add, Louise is local to me and although shes not everyones cup of tea shes done you cant disagree that she hasnt done a fantastic job with her horses! I didn't see her riding yesterday so don't know what happened but shes only human and we all make mistakes. Yes its true shes got some metal work in her leg, i've never heard that this has changed her riding style but from talking to her personaly not long after the accident she said she was still very weak from it.

 

[1stclassalan]

And Ingrid Klimke has just demonstrated how to do this riding thing properly. Absolutely delightful - such a sympathetic horsewoman.

Agree with you about the lovely Ingrid - but it was your signature that caught my eye - don't see much of that these days ! Then I noticed where you hang out - all those dreaming spires.

 

[badger1]

i would like to see those of you who are calling louise skelton a crap rider try and ride around badminton!!!
she has produced both of her 4* rides herself! what happened on sunday was not her fault the horse misjudged the distance and took of a stride early and could not make it to the other side this simple mistake could of happened to any rider!! the rest of her round was faultless and looked a hell of a lot better then half of the other professionals!
meanwhile while you a being extremly rude about her riding you may like to know both the horse and rider will make a full recovery!!

 

[aimsymc]

you may like to know both the horse and rider will make a full recovery!![/QUOTE]

Glad to hear it!! and hopefully she'll be back as good as ever next year!

 

[skewbald_again]

waited all weekend for some bridle-less worthy with a carrot stick to show us how it's really done, but sadly was disappointed. Not a bouncing ball in sight. Oh well, maybe next year. Or not.

 

[TarrSteps]

I've heard about this before. Can anyone tell me where we can find this list? Could be interesting to look at.

Here is the FEI decisions list (go back a page and there's another table for ongoing decisions but they only update a couple of times a year) http://www.fei.org/legal_activities/fei-tribunal/decisions

I'm sure a search would turn up the BE equivalent.

Keep in mind, too, these are only the decisions that have gone that far. Other people may have been "spoken to" informally by Stewards and had penalties awarded that they chose not to appeal.

I'm not posting this so people can attack the people on the list, more so to dispute the point that "nothing" is done about rule breaches and welfare concerns.

As far as people having opinions, they are just opinions, aren't they? So people are allowed to disagree. In both directions. None of us are in decision making positions. It is really, really hard to say what you would or wouldn't do in this or that position and, quite frankly, a lot of people's riding choices are at least partly based on avoiding being put into situations that would make them feel uncomfortable.

 

[EAST KENT]

Hmm..wish I was ever as good a rider as these guys,leave the professionals alone .

 

[suzysparkle]

waited all weekend for some bridle-less worthy with a carrot stick to show us how it's really done, but sadly was disappointed. Not a bouncing ball in sight. Oh well, maybe next year. Or not.

LOL - Brilliant!!

 

[dozzie]

I didnt see bad riding. I saw some mistakes and hairy moments but that is the nature of eventing. Well all horse sports really. It is to do with the fact that riders are human and horses have their own mind.

I think Laura Collett (I think that is her name) is a lovely rider. One for the future hopefully. Sorry if the name is wrong but I mean the young girl who was at her first Badminton. I though she rode really well. I know she had a few blips but nevertheless, she is a good rider.


Pleased Toddy won. I went past his base earlier and the balloons are out...but they are pink! What is that all about?????

 

[Elbie]

There were quite a lot of groans from the crowd (and a rather dramatic NO!) when Emily Baldwin smacked her horse when he refused at the lake. I wasn't too impressed with it, I can understand a smack as a reprimand to say "that was not good, you should have jumped it, lets try again" but it seemed more like she did it in anger or frustration as she sat, readjusted her hat, walked a bit THEN delivered 3 hard smacks.

I'm not saying i'm holyer than thou and have let my frustration get the better of me before, and I have regretted it. Think it's a shame Emily's actions were seen by thousands and a lot who may not be entirely 'horse wise' and may think the sport is a bad thing.

 

[Flame_]

Right, you don't need to have been round Badminton, or even be able to go round Badminton or round a pony club cross country to see that, for example, Andrew Nicholson is a stylish, talented rider, so why is it not possible to see when a rider is crap?

I didn't watch Louise Skelton, so no comment there, but these riders are at Badminton on TV for all to see, so people expect to watch awesome riding, if some of the riders appear comparatively crap, people are going to say so.

 

[JanetGeorge]

Oh sorry obviously not allowed to have my own opinion - this board is ridiculous, the whole idea of discussion boards is to discuss one's opinions on a topic. I didn't say any of you are ridiculous for your opinions so how dare you have the audacity to say my opinions are ridiculous? Oh and that's how you spell ridiculous by the way ;-)
Louise skeleton is a cr*p rider and could easily have killed her horse yesterday. I would never be able to ride round that course, but even I have better feel for a horse than her

Of COURSE you can discuss your opinion - but so can other people. So if they think your opinions are ridiculous, expect them to say so!

And to call Louise Skelton a cr*p rider is pretty ridiculous! Let's discount the fact that she is a BHSII and a BE accredited coach. The judgement - for me - is that she has won and placed at top level with HOME PRODUCED HORSES!! Yes, she brought them on and trained them herself - and then got results like winning the Welsh Championships in 2003 and 2008, winning Blair Castle 3* in '05 and finishing 16th at Burghley 2009. She qualified two home-bred and produced horses for Badminton in 2010. She's GOT to be cr*p with those results - now remind us - what have YOU achieved??

 

[Zebedee]

Excellent post Janet - agree 100%

waited all weekend for some bridle-less worthy with a carrot stick to show us how it's really done, but sadly was disappointed. Not a bouncing ball in sight. Oh well, maybe next year. Or not.

PMSL........I guess we'll all have to keep waiting !

 

[EAST KENT]

There were quite a lot of groans from the crowd (and a rather dramatic NO!) when Emily Baldwin smacked her horse when he refused at the lake. I wasn't too impressed with it, I can understand a smack as a reprimand to say "that was not good, you should have jumped it, lets try again" but it seemed more like she did it in anger or frustration as she sat, readjusted her hat, walked a bit THEN delivered 3 hard smacks.

I'm not saying i'm holyer than thou and have let my frustration get the better of me before, and I have regretted it. Think it's a shame Emily's actions were seen by thousands and a lot who may not be entirely 'horse wise' and may think the sport is a bad thing.

Well it bloomin` well went over the second go ,did`nt it?

 

[skewbald_again]

There were quite a lot of groans from the crowd (and a rather dramatic NO!) when Emily Baldwin smacked her horse when he refused at the lake. I wasn't too impressed with it, I can understand a smack as a reprimand to say "that was not good, you should have jumped it, lets try again" but it seemed more like she did it in anger or frustration as she sat, readjusted her hat, walked a bit THEN delivered 3 hard smacks.

I'm not saying i'm holyer than thou and have let my frustration get the better of me before, and I have regretted it. Think it's a shame Emily's actions were seen by thousands and a lot who may not be entirely 'horse wise' and may think the sport is a bad thing.

as I understand it, the horse has an issue with water - he's obviously a very capable horse, and was being a bit of a *****.

It seems some people would preferred her to have fannied about like a cub scout, wandered into the fence half arsed, and allowed him to break her neck and his own by suspending himself across the fence, or nosediving into the groundline.

Gladly, this was Badminton, not your local All - Comers Parelli Novice, so the jockey was committed enough to get over the blooming thing. I'd just love to see some of these 'oh dearie me, Mark Todd shouldn't have done that' types do ANYTHING worthy of note at all. Cos obviously the one thing he needs is your advice!

If you don't AGREE with eventing, might I suggest you don't watch it? I don't watch darts, being unkeen on obese drunks in shiny shirts. However, it's not my job to tell them what not to do. Sorry Elbie that' s not directed at you, I realise you're not in that camp, I have somewhat wandered off my original point.

I am jolly glad she did whack the horse, as if my young daughters need a role model to think of when riding round a cross country course, I'd prefer them to come home in one piece having remembered how to get a horse to actually jump.

 

[coedcae]

I didn't see Louise Skelton riding so will not comment on that but she was extremely rude much earlier on in the day when we were innocently crossing the course at one of the designated crossing points, way before the cross country started.
She screamed "Get off my line, get off my line!!!" And a further tirade, which made the ten or so people there wonder what on earth was going on. She looked at us as if we were somthing that she had just had to scrape off the bottom of her boot. It was completely over the top and unnecessary and it struck me as someone who was not full of confidence. It was wholly unproffessional and I can't imagine the people sponsoring her, who were plastered across her shirt, would have wished to have been associated with her at that point.

 

[Ranyhyn]

That's very bad PR Coedcae. I am always struck by how polite and charming most of them are, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King most notably. William has been walking by and said hello quietly whilst we all stand gawp mouthed! And Mary King came for a chat when she got stopped on the course last year I think it was!
Manners cost nothing and those people she was rude to, could have been her next prospective owners

 

[skewbald_again]

That's very bad PR Coedcae. I am always struck by how polite and charming most of them are, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King most notably. William has been walking by and said hello quietly whilst we all stand gawp mouthed! And Mary King came for a chat when she got stopped on the course last year I think it was!
Manners cost nothing and those people she was rude to, could have been her next prospective owners

Totally agree, and know that Lucinda Fredericks makes a point of being polite to everyone, as she says the exact same thing.

 

[missnaughty]

I finally got down to watching it today and did see some tired horses, and tired riders and I wondered why (not sure if the rules apply) given the conditions it was rather warm, humid and the ground hard the orgnaisers could have (or maybe did have) increase the time so riders didnt push their horses too much. I would guess the consensus of opinion would be that the weather is average in the UK and woul dnot (if they went to say Japan) take the horses to aclimatise. We granted got caught out with the gorgeous but warm weather and for the welfare of the horse and safety of the rider they could have possibly slightly shortened the course, or taken a fence out or lengthened the optimum time.

There were a few risk takers, really going a clip and it was inevitable that there were going ot be accidents, and from the riders experience (they clearly have talent and experience to get there) I was suprised how fast and possibly a lack of judgement some people rode.

When you watch the Olympic Games you can see the class riders and the also rans (even if like me your by no means expert) that it can make you cringe a bit to see some of the riders who really have out classed themselves (you just will them to get round)

It did not suprise me how tired some of the horses were (the last Grand National springs to mind given the conditions etc) and I was suprised about the number of horses getting their reminders (justified or not) but there was a lot of stumbling.

Hope all riders and horses are ok, but I do think that maybe this could have reduced some of the issues by evaluating the course and time

 

[wizoz]

And Ingrid Klimke has just demonstrated how to do this riding thing properly. Absolutely delightful - such a sympathetic horsewoman.

I'm really sorry but I have to disagree with you here, I watched her round and felt that she was very fast at the beginning of the course, bordering on kamakazee, I didn't think it looked very safe or pretty. It was a shame how it ended however.

 

[dozzie]

I was at BAdminton this year and watched from the grassroots until the SJ on Monday.

I have to say, there were a lot of tired horses but we have to remember these are professional event riders and to get to that level of competition, you have to be capable.

Land Vision did look tired, but Mark Todd rode him tactfully and if anyone can get a horse out of a sticky situation, it's him.

Many of the horses needed a wake up and jump smack but what would you rather? That the rider lent forward and whispered in their ear? Fundamentally it was a challenging course - as Badminton always is - and the riders need to make sure they get their horses safely round and if giving them a smack reminds them to pick their feet up, then they did the right thing.

I agree with this. There were some tired horses- more than normal. Maybe it was the heat of the previous days.

I think Karen O'Connor should have retired after her two stops. I was surprised when she carried on tbh. Not quite sure what she was thinking. But it is easy to sit in judgement after the event. I suspect she is kicking herself.

 

[wizoz]

I think Karen O'Connor should have retired after her two stops. I was surprised when she carried on tbh. Not quite sure what she was thinking. But it is easy to sit in judgement after the event. I suspect she is kicking herself.

If you watch again, you can see that the 2 stops the horse put in were because he was far too close to the fence and knew he was not going to be able to take off that close, the 3rd time she presented, she got a better stride to the fence and he therefor jumped it more happily. It was a shame that the next fence was the bank, it would have been better for the horse if it was a let up fence. He is an experienced horse, with a very experienced rider and I seriously believe she thought he would be fine at the bank.

It was a really nasty fall to watch though, poor poor boy, I really hope he is going to be ok.

 

[amage]

Ingrid Klimke is downright scary to watch XC...I can never understand how someone who is so beautiful a rider in the dressage is so kamikaze in the country. Re: Louise Skelton...I wonder is her critic confusing style with ability?!? Louise is an incredibly good rider and producer of horses but I would not consider her stylish. That does not take anything from her ability...riding doesn't have to be pretty to be good!

 

[dozzie]

If you watch again, you can see that the 2 stops the horse put in were because he was far too close to the fence and knew he was not going to be able to take off that close, the 3rd time she presented, she got a better stride to the fence and he therefor jumped it more happily. It was a shame that the next fence was the bank, it would have been better for the horse if it was a let up fence. He is an experienced horse, with a very experienced rider and I seriously believe she thought he would be fine at the bank.

It was a really nasty fall to watch though, poor poor boy, I really hope he is going to be ok.

I was at the jump where she had the two refusals. He just didnt seem committed if you know what I mean. I was genuinely surprised when she carried on. But as I said, it is easy to sit in judgement after the event. I agree, I think she thought he would be ok but he wasnt, hence she was probably kicking herself afterwards.

 

[badger1]

'quote' she was extremely rude much earlier on in the day when we were innocently crossing the course at one of the designated crossing points, way before the cross country started.
She screamed "Get off my line, get off my line!!!"
Your not riding the course and you dont need to stand in front of the jumps! would you not be nervous before you rode round that! So many people on saturday and sunday morning were walking on the course (ignoring the signs) and standing infront of the fences. Everyone should just wait untill end of cross country then they can do whatever they like! If you were just crossing (innocently) then how comes you ended up in the way!

 

[blueneonrainbow]

It would appear from some comments on the Badminton threads that unless your opinion is complimentary of the rider you are commenting, you are not in fact allowed your own opinion. I tried to count the number of "Well, we haven't seen YOU riding around Badminton, so you don't know what you're talking about" comments but I lost count between this and the other thread. Fact is, the users of this board may not be as talented, experienced, confident, and/or rich as those riding Badminton, but it doesnt mean that they are not entitled to put their views across on the way those who do choose to ride around Badminton went round the course. Some riders were clearly more sympathetic and therefore got a better tune out of their horses than others.

I for one was very uncomfortable watching Ingrid Klimkes, Emily Baldwins and Karen O'Connors rounds. I felt there was very little communication going on between horses and riders - there were other riders who I felt did a considerably better job on the day but am I not entitled to say that because I didnt go round the course and have no interest in doing so myself?