Well even if those 22 riders hadn't withdrawn Lucinda would still have won because none of those could touch her on her dressage.
Interesting that she says 'baked August clay' yet the likes of Weezy found it good enough and on the the T.V it showed a give in it... She is a team selecter afterall....
Oli withdraws a possible team horse yet runs the other one that had a reasonable dressage...
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I found her comments about 'not good enough for modern riders' very interesting...
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Atleast she admits they're spoilt nowadays! It was baking hot 10 years ago, not sure if you went but everyone was burnt and swimming in the lake and yet there were some 11 withdrawls...
Daisy Dick also ran Hope Street yet not Spring Along.
I am a massive British Eventing fan but cannot help think the Brits are a bit spoilt and are being allowed to get away with making decisions not to run just because they are not in a competitive position. The Brits are very lucky they have a heap of things to aim for such as World Cup, Burghley, Pau, Luhmuhlen and Euros. The USA and Aussies so not have half as much choice due to the cost of travel and distance.
Interesting that she says 'baked August clay' yet the likes of Weezy found it good enough and on the the T.V it showed a give in it... She is a team selecter afterall....
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With respect she goes on to say "...The final result was firm but serviceable, a great deal better than we once had to deal with in high summer..." I didn't see the track on the Thursday, only the Saturday and I stand by my comments, I do not see why there was so much fuss - indeed I have walked a firmer Blenheim(and indeed jumped on harder). I do think there is a spoilt attitude now.
I can understand, in part, the comments about riders being spoilt nowadays, but I was pondering this, and wondered if perhaps advances in veterinary knowledge play their part too?
I can remember, as a teenager, not thinking twice about trotting for long periods on roads, and cantering/jumping on hard ground, because I didn't know any better.
Nowadays, we do.
It's always going to be a tough call for riders, when the going is a contentious issue, as they're sometimes damned if they do, and damned if they don't...
With respect she goes on to say "...The final result was firm but serviceable, a great deal better than we once had to deal with in high summer..." I didn't see the track on the Thursday, only the Saturday and I stand by my comments, I do not see why there was so much fuss - indeed I have walked a firmer Blenheim(and indeed jumped on harder). I do think there is a spoilt attitude now.
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Many of those who withdrew, walked it on Sat morning though...
Dubble, my old mare is 26y.o , I have hunted her for a good 10years, she has always trotted/cantered on roads out hunting and two seasons ago at 24y.o she did 2 days a week (10.30 - about 2.30), until I leant her to OH she had never been lame...
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And I cannot help but wonder whether they were *making a point* rather than seriously weighing up the pros and cons - but I am a natural cynic anyway
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Plus if the ground is bad the ground is bad, two riders who made a point about it and withdrew their team hopefuls who hadn't scored what they were capable of still ran two of their horses who had decentish scores...
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And I cannot help but wonder whether they were *making a point* rather than seriously weighing up the pros and cons - but I am a natural cynic anyway
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Plus if the ground is bad the ground is bad, two riders who made a point about it and withdrew their team hopefuls who hadn't scored what they were capable of still ran two of their horses who had decentish scores...
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Actually, Ruth could have won as she was on the same score but if she had stayed on her dressage then her xc would have been closer to the time.
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We can 'if' forever, she may not have even made it around the xc and then she may have had fences down just as Kim Severson did.
Hmmm, I suppose I was thinking along the lines of Toytown, who has had previous leg problems, and possibly some riders who were thinking about the Olympics looming...
Yep, the pony I used to ride on hard ground, when we used to get REALLY long hot summers, was still going strong in his thirties, with never a day's lameness.
Your mistake with your mare was lending her to your OH obviously...
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Actually, Ruth could have won as she was on the same score but if she had stayed on her dressage then her xc would have been closer to the time.
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We can 'if' forever, she may not have even made it around the xc and then she may have had fences down just as Kim Severson did.
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Of course, it's just not true that Cinda couldnt have been beaten
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Actually, Ruth could have won as she was on the same score but if she had stayed on her dressage then her xc would have been closer to the time.
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We can 'if' forever, she may not have even made it around the xc and then she may have had fences down just as Kim Severson did.
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Of course, it's just not true that Cinda couldnt have been beaten
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My original comment was 'nobody could touch her on her dressage' which Ruth couldn't have. 'IF' Lucinda hadn't had the pole down then Ruth couldn't have beaten her, who's to say she'd have had the pole if she'd had Ruth breathing down her neck
I'm new here, but felt I had to comment on this. My parents own one of the horses that was withdrawn (please don't ask me which one, I'd rather not say). But the decision was made by everyone involved that it was not worth risking the horse on the ground. The rider walked the course on the Saturday morning, and still found it not suitable for the horse. We are all happy with the decision, and made it with the horse's best interest in mind. He will be sound for another 4* and will hopefully have a good few years left in him.
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Actually, Ruth could have won as she was on the same score but if she had stayed on her dressage then her xc would have been closer to the time.
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I heard that the reason she didn't run her second horse was due to her having a hard fall on her first horse - does anyone know if that is true?
I saw Ruth's first horse fall - he slipped over on the flat, he looked pretty sore when he managed to get up...can't say I blame her for withdrawing the other...after walking round the course I wouldn't have let a horse of mine go round there thats for sure!
"Atleast she admits they're spoilt nowadays! It was baking hot 10 years ago, not sure if you went but everyone was burnt and swimming in the lake and yet there were some 11 withdrawls... "
I ran my horse at Badminton 10 years ago - on the hard ground. Both the horse and I were first time competitors. There was no big debate about the ground - unlike this year. My horse was jarred up on the hard ground, I pulled him up and he never evented again. In retrospect, I wish I had withdrawn - there would have always been another day. There has been huge progress in the going at BE competitions - why not at Badminton?
In my opinion those in charge of the going at Badminton this year displayed huge arrogance in thinking they did not have to produce good ground. It had not rained for 6 weeks, and the forecast was for dry weather. Why then did they only start working on the ground seriously once the riders had complained?
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In my opinion those in charge of the going at Badminton this year displayed huge arrogance in thinking they did not have to produce good ground. It had not rained for 6 weeks, and the forecast was for dry weather. Why then did they only start working on the ground seriously once the riders had complained?
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I'm sorry about your experience. But very well put. Our horse was pulled out because he hopefully has many more 4*s ahead of him, and it's not just the immediate effects of running 41/2 miles on hard ground, it's the cummulative ones too.
Arrogance is just the right word to use about the organisation - many of the riders used the same one. And those people that think some of the riders were being hysterical - they weren't. They, along with owners, were genuinely concerned about their horses. People are very quick to judge, and would probably have cried cruelty if a few horses had pulled up unsound....
could it be that the attitude was "It's Badminton - the best event in the world - we're SO prestigous that they'll put up with whatever we dish out"
as you say - arrogance and similar in their attitude to public viewing round the 'popular' fences
I now totally refuse to go as it is such an unpleasant scrimmage - I like horse sport not rugby or boxing and getting round Badminton on XC day has become more like a combination of both.
Sorry Doodles - you're right, I'm thinking of the wrong one (don't think my brain was in gear yesterday!)....it was the first horse to start that I saw fall...has anyone heard how it is?
Yeah, that was Daisy Dick on Hope Street. The horse went for x-rays, and nothing serious was found at the time. Don't know what the latest is now however...