Too many 4*?

LEC

LEC

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I was looking at the entries for Pau and wondering if now there are so many 4* now that the quality of horses going is pretty poor.

My main example is Red Baron who has NEVER gone clear at 3* yet is going 4*?!? There is also Deltry Salute who only recently went clear 3* at Blair. Normally they would be forced to wait until next year get some more runs under their belt before going 4*.
4* for me is the creme de la creme of the sport but if only a small percentage of the field have any chance what is the point? I just feel that by having six 4* you are decimating the potential fields and allowing those who would never cut the ballot (if there is one) normally to get in.
 
How many where there 10 years ago??
I guess only 4 - Badminton, Burghley, Kentucky and Adelaide (which doesn't really count in a way as on the other side of the world).
Don't think we really need two more, just one perhaps.

Fiona
 
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Is Pau a true 4* though?

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I don't know.. but when i asked someone who competed at Badminton this year if they were going to Burghley? they said no, they were going to Pau as it wasn't ment to be as stiff... hmmm food for thought.. maybe a 3.5 star??
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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Is Pau a true 4* though?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know.. but when i asked someone who competed at Badminton this year if they were going to Burghley? they said no, they were going to Pau as it wasn't ment to be as stiff... hmmm food for thought.. maybe a 3.5 star??
smirk.gif


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I think it will be a 3.5* this year and for a few more years, even though it is wetter than Weston (perish the thought!). How many Brits will want to run in a 4* right at the end of the season? There's little point running an established 4* horse there, and for combinations making that step up to 4*, you have no events afterwards to repair any damage you might do
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Interesting comments... 6 worldwide (4 in Europe and 2 "on the other side..."!) is hardly that many and the comment that Adelaide and Kentucky hardly count because thay are on the other side of the world (or of England perhaps
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) is most intriguing...
Wait and see for Pau. I kind of expect to be disappointed but will give them the benefit of the doubt until I see it with my own eye
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No six 4* is not that many but when you consider how few horses are truly capable of competing at 4* then I think it is too many. I am prepared to be proved wrong but the entries at Luhmuhlen were better quality due to the farce at Badminton over the ground this year. Several riders re-routed immediately after Badminton including 1st, 3rd and 4th places.
Also there are always championships every year held in around August/September time so instantly this creams off from the perspective entrants from Burghley and Pau.
One of the reasons the World Cup was so poorly supported was that it was held late in the year and everyone had gone to do other things. Apart from the French nobody top class had truly aimed for it.
 
So how did they sell the idea to the FEI and what's the point of running a 4* - given the cost of organizing one !- if there is no top class rider truly interested ?
Not counting the riders who decide for one reason or another not to go xc after all in one of the other 4*.
As for the number of horses ready at that level, I have to agree with you.
And I think the timing for Pau is wrong. But I'm hoping that somehow, and if all goes well, it will give top level eventing more visibility in France maybe
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i suppose for many it's another chance to get Olympic qualification. Zara's very brave though, i wouldn't want to take a horse that hadn't gone clear at a 3* (unless it was just a silly glance-off in an otherwise exemplary round, i guess.)
tbh i think it's great that there's another 4*, as long as it doesn't annihilate the field. no way will it be as big a test as Burghley was, though, and so it hasn't got the kudos of a win there, i guess.
Boekelo used be thought of as a 3 and a half star, and i think is now maybe slightly softer than that, a true 3 star, so i suppose this is taking its place.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Is Pau a true 4* though?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know.. but when i asked someone who competed at Badminton this year if they were going to Burghley? they said no, they were going to Pau as it wasn't ment to be as stiff... hmmm food for thought.. maybe a 3.5 star??
smirk.gif


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But then comparing Badminton to Burghley is Badminton even a true 4* because it is always sooo much softer than Burghley...
 
umm, no, i don't think Badders really is sooo much softer than Burghley. some years Burghley is a bit softer, esp in Olympic years and World Games years, when the best of the best are elsewhere. Badders is very definitely a true 4*.
 
if u think of it as which 1 u would most like to take part in (or win in ur wildest dreams!) then badminton or burghley would probably come out on top. to take part in/ win any would b a huge achievement but which 1 would u wont the most?
 
personally i think events of that level should be exclusive something to aspire to. look at 5***** showjumping shows there are a few more of those but you have to be invited to go to them.
 
hmm wonder how red barron wil go then?I was more surprised to see secret legacy entered for the 2*? the last time it went xc cear was last june and it hasn't even gone clear round novice xc this year.
 
It is important to accomodate all the up and comeing horses and riders. There are more qualifying than there used to be. surely this is because of the rising standard! Its not always about the CCI's look at all the runs!
 
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