tim stockdale olympics

I didn't see that later rounds, but he was so unlucky in the one where he had the last fence, the rest of that round looked immaculate.

Think he is a great ambassador for the sport of show jumping, as is 'normal', approachable and very good at explaining things in a non-patronising way.
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I think most people in the country (not just horse riders) would be able to have a drink with him in the pub, which I don't think can be said for some people in other disciplines.
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For me it showed we just don't have world class horses, Tim is a fantastic ambassador for showjumping and nobody would have tried harder, but all the GB horses looked out their depth. Its all very well being good national horses and winning a few classes abroad but when the cream needs to come to the top we just couldn't cut it compared to others. I mean some of those other horses had scope to burn even over the biggest of fences.

I really like Tim, he has a personality and is a gentleman. I would like to see him have another crack at it in 2012.
 
Totally agree, i think that even though the british riders have very good horses they are not quite in the same league as some of the others, with the possible exception of Ben Mahers mare which i think could be top class.
 
What a shame, i realise some offers are too good to turn down, but if this keeps happening how will our riders ever have world class horses!!
 
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What a shame, i realise some offers are too good to turn down, but if this keeps happening how will our riders ever have world class horses!!

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Totally agree, no wonder we are always outclassed!!
 
I think its going to be very hard as the already made world class horses sell for circa 4 - 5 million euro's and I don't think there's the incentive over here re prize money, sponsorship etc to justify an outlay of that sort of capital.

You also need more than one good horse so that makes the problem worse, you need a string of them incase of injury, lameness etc.

Breeding programmes need longer here to come to fruition,

Its an awful thing to say but showjumping is so expensive now I can't see how anyone can take part as an ' owner' other than getting lucky with a good youngster. It will become a spectator sport only soon.
 
I agree, and even if you got lucky with a good youngster it would more than likely end up getting sold overseas anyway. . . A no win situation!!!!
 
You have just made the best comment I have read for ages. Even if you get 'lucky' it is a ridiculous amount of money to find each month, even if you do deal with the rider.
 
Money speaks volumes in SJ'ing...

I'm 'away' from it all at the moment but it all came back to haunt when we found out today who's island we were sailing around...and who it's owner is married to
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We are in Greece and have spent some time around Skorpios...home of the Onassis family...and who's current owner (Athina) basically bankrolls the Brazilian SJ'ing team
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Compete with that if you can...

To bring the British performance into perspective however...two or three of our best horses (Arko, Peppermill and Portofino) didn't even jump. All or any of them are as good as anything in the world...anywhere.

I've heard conflicting stories about Rolette being sold...don't know the truth but I wouldn't be surprised if she has...she's only one though
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I think Tim did great, he was the best British rider if you go by the results. Such a shame about the last round, but you can say that about Ben as well.

Interesting about the Brazilian team. The chestnut horse that fell in the team competition was awesome.
 
Tim's final online diary I thought spoke volumes about the Olympic course.

A real shame for him as he's one of the true ambassadors of BSJA.
 
I hadn't remembered that that one was Brazilian, it was such a shame it tipped a pole and fell, it was jumping spectacularly.
both Tim and Ben did brilliantly to go clear and if their horses had coped with the last round as well as they coped with the previous ones, (and Ben hadn't had to hang around for another 10 mins while they drained the water jump) we might have been celebrating 2 individual medals... i thought both horses looked as good as most of the others, not outclassed.
 
Harsh as it sounds the bottom line is they were outclassed, they came back with cricket scores. Others didn't. End of !!!.

In reference to Rambo's point about Arko, Peppermill and Portafino all I would say is that at the key hour of need ( and on the world stage it doesn't get bigger than the Olympics ) all three didn't jump. So what use is that and again it highlights a dearth of talent to be able to call on. Other countries must also have had horses with soundness issues in the run up to the games and presumably have a good contingency plan if needed. Rambo's point is very valid but it illustrates we need more top horses to call on if things go pearshaped.
 
The costs are enormous aren't they but in a way I think the riders can help, this is a very contentious comment but I do get a feeling that people still feel they are likely to be ripped off if they fall into the wrong hands. I know people who have been ' seen off' and would never invest in horses again. I was talking to a lady on the BSJA stand at a major show last year and she said that they knew this was a problem and were pinning their hopes on the younger riders coming through being ' more transparent'.

A friend of mine was at an SJ yard charging £ 20 per month for shampoo until the owners rebelled. I think because they are also cocooned from the outside world they have no concept of the earnings of others, in that to keep a horse just on livery is more than most people's take home monthly wage.

IME the person I deal with is ' cheeky' but not out to rip anyone off and as long as you keep on your toes all is fine.
 
I have been fortunate to have bred horses that have gone to a number of yards to be produced and then ended up at yards such as Michael and Bens and I have to say that they have all been fair on the costs considering they also have to live, pay bill and wages. It still does take one of our wages each month to pay for a horse to be away which is ridiculous for what you and the riders get back which is nothing really, unless of course you sell and then the gamble is at what stage do you do that, as to get to the bigger shows it is generally who can pay the bigger bills and everday people cannot compete with the wealthier people (good luck to them).

I work in marketing so see what companies spend on a campaign and I still havn't got a chance of sponsorship as the sport offers nothing back in return, not even the small percentage they require.
 
You are obviously very dedicated, not many people would be prepared to sacrifice a full time wage to pay for a horse, but you are right we always assume those in the game are very wealthy, which is not always the case. I bet most are people who just love the horses and are prepared to make sacrifices to support them.

I also tried to get my employers ( a multi national bank ) to sponsor classes at a local equestrian centre and they didn't want to know, not a mainstream sport they said and little / no payback.
 
LOL ! As long as you don't look back in years to come and think you have wasted so much money, could have retired 10 years earlier, paid off the mortgage, helped the kids onto the housing ladder etc etc.
 
From a Canadian perspective this thread makes me laugh. You think show jumping is unsupported and unrewarding here . . .
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Some of this comes down to dumb luck and who has it on the day. The Canadian team is ranked 7th in the Nations' Cup League (which STARTS with the rankings after the 8 nations in the Super League) and yet they pulled it out on the day. Fantastic and proves it's possible but hardly a sign of a radical change.

The fact is the playing field is very level these days. Most of the top riders are capable - personally and with their horse power - of jumping a good round at Nations' Cup level IF it goes their way. We all ride horses of similar breeding, we all have access to the same resources, and, yes, it comes down to money. Which is hardly about showjumping and far more about social pressures, who is involved at any given time etc.

Someone like Eric is a slightly different case, I think. He's been a phenomenal talent since he was a kid and has done whatever it takes to get the money to make the most of his talent. He really did "come from nothing" but I suspect few people have that sort of talent to sell or are willing to produce that sort of single minded devotion to the cause. His Olympic horse is Dutch bred and owned by a wealthy American (although he has both Canadian and American clients) and he spends a lot of time swimming in the very deep pool of American money and talent, along with regular forays to Europe. Most of that it HIS doing, not due to the support of the deep coffers (joke) of Canadian show jumping.

There are lots of factors. And it's going to get tougher not only with the economic downturn but also with changes within the sport, most notably the fact that most owners - quite reasonably - want to either ride or profit from their horses not watch other people ride them.

(I really don't think we can reproduce the European systems and the levels of government support they receive for all sorts of reasons - social, historical, economic etc.)
 
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