Thoughts on Badminton...??

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millieb

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I think it was such a brilliant Badminton.....course as it used to be years ago when Frank Weldon designed it. Hate to see any horses falling (especially at the old sunken road complex, the double of logs) but very refreshing to see in the top 10 a host of riders who are always knocking on the door of big wins but haven't had them. So pleased for Sam Griffiths who was in 22nd or 25th place after the dressage. What a combination!
 
Blooming marvellous and really refreshing to see it as no longer a 'dressage' comp. I was rooting for Ollie Townsend and knew if anyone was tough enough to get round that course, it would be him, so thrilled he got 2nd.

We went on xc day and saw a lot of the dramas live - it was really testing and how Badminton should be.
 
Absolutely loved it and loved seeing it back to how I remember it being years ago. Yes it was tough, but it is meant to be the best in the world! Was also nice to see riders climbing the leader board making it a very open competition. I know they are all top riders deserving to be there but maybe a few were unprepared for what a test it was .
 
I thought it was brilliant, so exciting and a fab competition. It was scary watching the XC on Saturday afternoon but a great challenge. So glad all riders and horses were OK.

I had a fabulous day there on Friday, it was just a perfect day out. The dressage was brilliant and I really enjoyed Carl's lunchtime demonstration too. The whole event is staged so well there, it just seems to get better each year.
 
I really enjoyed it too. I haven't really enjoyed it the last couple of years as it seemed as long as they got a good DR score, they just schooled around the XC. I hate seeing falls but it was interesting to see the new course. Really exciting, and much as I love WFP and was rooting for him to win, I loved seeing different faces moving up the leader board. I liked PF's new horse and was glad they were in with a chance at the end. I also thought OT had a good chance - as someone said above, if anyone was brave enough to get around there, it was him!!
 
The best for years.it had got very comfortable with itself and a fresh eye on the XC course has revitalised it. Everybody who completed this year deserves a special medal.

I really disliked the parking arrangements this year. We have been going more than 30 years without anyproblems (local so know how to get in and out easily) but this year we were out moving cars during the day to make our escape easier.
 
millieb said:
I think it was such a brilliant Badminton.....course as it used to be years ago when Frank Weldon designed it. Hate to see any horses falling (especially at the old sunken road complex, the double of logs) but very refreshing to see in the top 10 a host of riders who are always knocking on the door of big wins but haven't had them. So pleased for Sam Griffiths who was in 22nd or 25th place after the dressage. What a combination!
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I think that Harry Meade was amazing considering his elbows were shattered and he was almost at the point of not being able to get back to the level he is at....and always nice to see such a open competition where it could be anyone's victory!!
 
Badminton - 35 finishers from 81 starters - and people are praising the course

Grand National - typically 15 or fewer finishers from 40 starters - and excluding fatalities which the new course has hopefully remedied forever - and people condemn the race

I sat and watched on red button for the whole afternoon on the saturday and I found some of the fences - particularly the mirage pond - uncomfortable to watch for too many of the horses.

With the Grand National there are a number of finishers and winners that never race up to their former ability again afterwards.

I hope the same is not going to happen to the horses that jumped Badminton last saturday and I will watch their future 4* appearances with interest.

NB I am NOT opposed to the Grand Nationa, love watching eventing and am old enough to remember Frank Weldon's courses.
 
Refreshing to see the score board with some new faces. The course was, as it should be, a true 4*. Whether or not the weather played a part, no one can predict it. I just hope that some riders can go home now, and realise that their horses need to be fitter, as in roads/tracks/steeple chase fit - as in the old. Maybe some are complacent without sections a,b and c now?
Love how many were so emotional about their horses, this year really showed that it was a special year - more so than in the past imo.
 
sparhawk said:
Badminton - 35 finishers from 81 starters - and people are praising the course

Grand National - typically 15 or fewer finishers from 40 starters - and excluding fatalities which the new course has hopefully remedied forever - and people condemn the race

I sat and watched on red button for the whole afternoon on the saturday and I found some of the fences - particularly the mirage pond - uncomfortable to watch for too many of the horses.

With the Grand National there are a number of finishers and winners that never race up to their former ability again afterwards.

I hope the same is not going to happen to the horses that jumped Badminton last saturday and I will watch their future 4* appearances with interest.

NB I am NOT opposed to the Grand Nationa, love watching eventing and am old enough to remember Frank Weldon's courses.
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I agree.

However what people dislike about GN is not so much the course now as the amount of runners which cause many accidents. However i do wonder if the Badminton course was too long, a lot of horses looked tired finishing and was surprised there were none out at the inspection. I think horses do need to be fitter and in the old fashioned way, some of the fences also concerned me and i hope we dont lose too many horses through lack of confidence now.

I thought it was interesting to see falls from some tops riders (hinting at Mr stickability and WFP here), was very disappointed at William for withdrawing cool mountain after the dressage and in the end he may have won it on his score.
 
I really loved being parked in front of tv all sat afternoon watching Xc . But I did get triugh box matlesers and half bottle wine!!!! I thought course was testing, and the horses needed to be fit to get round, I am amazed how many big names never finished, and not one got within the time allowed. Aa mate went and only just got there at 11 am after driving for 5 hours when it should have taken 3! Traffic was horrid. So please Oliver Townsend got 2nd, and nice to see a new name in first place... Bet there was some tired horses and riders sat night.
 
Loved watching the XC on tele but was squeamish when a few hit the deck, but a few falls were saved from serious injury thanks to the frangible pin on the jumps now.
I agree that a lot of the horses looked very tired and weary when finishing and if it hadn't been for the soft ground and exceptional winds I imagine a few more may have made it back home with a bit more run in their hooves.
Was great to see Ollie and Harry up the top though, what a fantastic competition this year in my eyes!
 
To compare Badminton to the GN is not really fair. They are worlds apart. The course was tough, how it should be and like a Badminton of old. The ground was a bit dead, probably why horses were running out of steam, coupled with a wind that was gusting upto 60mph at time. Also, there is no roads and tracks these days so maybe horses aren't fit enough. That is a problem to be addressed by the rider. A lot of the horses that didn't finish were retired on course after a stop, I think that is the weather and ground had been better then they might have continued. All in all, I thought it was the best course I've seen for years, and really opened the competition up for the field rather than just being about dressage.
 
The Mirage pond didn't make very pleasant viewing for me, it looked rather awkward but I thought the rest of the competition was very good, lots of interesting developments - I really enjoyed it
 
Watching from the comfort of the sofa it was a brilliant action packed cross country and a really nail biting finish with the show jumping. It even had the OH completely hooked this year (prob cos of so many falls). It was a shame though to see so many horses finishing the Xcountry looking really tired, perhaps as well as removing a couple of fences they should have made the optimum time a little longer owing to the grotty conditions, perhaps then they're might not have been so many fallers if riders felt they had more time to complete. It was also great to see that everyone got up and walked away from the falls.

Loved the commentary from Ian Stark; also Tina Cook and the other guest commentators - so good to hear from people who really know what they are doing.

On the downside however; the BBC red button coverage was diabolical to start with on Saturday, we switched over after the umpteenth breakdown and watched the F1 Qualifying for a while. Also, and this is a personal rant, I do get sooooooo fed up with Mike Tucker's 'ers' and 'the great' commentary style, just about every combination taking part was 'er, the great {insert horse name] and the great [insert rider name] er' drives me nuts. OH made the comment that there's really no point to him going into the breeding of the horses as it doesn't mean a thing to most people and it would be more sense explaining the terms like 'oxer', 'on the bit', etc to the masses.

Sorry that went on a bit!!!!!
 
Lots jumped the Mirage Pond very well, we spent most of the afternoon there! It was tricky but fair I think. Remember back to the days of the double white rails and bounces into the lake? The riders said after last year that the course needed a re-vamp and that it had got a little stale and needed some new challenges. It was good to see the Vicarage V back too, and although it caused few problems, it really needed riding.

As for the BBC coverage, if you had actually been there to experience just how windy it was, you would appreciate the difficult conditions that presented problems to an outside broadcast. It was actually difficult to stand up at times!
 
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Loved it fab to see the leader board change so dramatically ground was better than it looked. Gutted to see william fall just unlucky horse didn't look tired and had jumped round up to that point like it was a pony club track. I walked the course with William and he did say cool mountain would not enjoy the conditions as he's lazy so probably helped the decision not to run him. I think pippa and Harry made the event for me. Getting a home bred horse round his first 4* in such a stylish way must give pippa a huge amount of pride and it was obvious just how much she thought of the horse, and Harry must be superman what he's achieved over the last 8 months is nothing short of amazing.

Have to say walking the course with william was the highlight of the whole thing for me he chatted to everyone went into detail about each fence his horses and their perpetration and his wife Alice was also very accomadating
 
WelshD said:
The Mirage pond didn't make very pleasant viewing for me, it looked rather awkward but I thought the rest of the competition was very good, lots of interesting developments - I really enjoyed it
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Funny how our opinions differ. From the safety of my TV seat, I would have said the Mirage Pond was one of the softest fences there and most went through it very easily. I bet AN is gutted that his fall, if it had to happen at all, happened there of anywhere else on the course!
 
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