Top horses changing riders

[Lexi_]

Just a bit of idle speculation really...plus I know lots of you are well in the know when it comes to horsey gossip and might be able to enlighten me a bit

It's mostly prompted by the fact I saw recently in either H&H or Eventing magazine that Aoife Clark had sent Fenyas Elegance back to her owner as she couldn't cope with the demands of 4* eventing. Fair enough - she was amazing at 3* but not everything can make that step up. I assumed we might see her out with a young rider or similar for a quieter life - possibly used for breeding? If they were happy with her sticking at 3* level, she might as well stay where she was. Except then yesterday someone tweeted that lo and behold, she's now at Oli Townend's yard and going to the Tattersalls CCI at the end of the month. I know Oli is a bit controversial on here (personally I love him) but I can't see him being anything less than competitive on her!

On a vaguely similar note, Imperial Cavalier (who I know is an older horse coming to the end of his international career) was pretty widely discussed as having a peaceful semi-retirement when he went to Yasmin Ingham to pop round some Novice courses. Then boom, they're out winning competitive OI classes.

Rachel Wakefield's column in Eventing mag at the start of the season is always full of horses changing yards and I always wonder why. Sometimes it's explained, as with the tricky King Joules leaving Mary King and going to a male rider who can cope with him better, but mostly not. Obviously it's entirely up to the owners what they do with their horses and I'm by no means saying any of the above cases are wrong! (although the Fenyas Elegance explanation does seem a tad at odd with recent developments...) It just gets me wondering what goes on behind the scenes and I'm a curious soul Personality clash/massive arguments between the owner and rider or just a very reasonable "well I think they'd do better with a different rider now"?

 

[Golden_Match_II]

A lot of it is owners an riders sitting down and having a chat about what's best for the horse. I read a very interesting article about Armada written by the owner saying how Andrew Nicholson had said the horse should go to a rider with a smaller 4* string, and recommended OT. So although rumours do fly around, I suspect it's more a question of what suits rider, owner and horse best.

If you saw Fenya's elegance at WEG last year she looked very strong XC (to the point of a bit scary!) and Aiofe has a couple of other 4* horses. I wonder whether it's just a similar situation where Aiofe thought the mare would be better off elsewhere. I agree though it was all a bit mysterious - I am glad to hear she is still eventing as it would have been a shame if she had vanished entirely.

Re: Imperial Cavalier, I suspect that they had envisaged a semi-retirement for him, and to be honest some Junior Trials at Intermediate and 1* are miles away from 4* which was what he was retired from. For the horse it is a huge step down, and he seems perfectly happy doing it.

Although there are some changes that might be a surprise, I think it's a good thing for the horses and the riders sometimes to call it a day if it's not working, and move on. Plus I suspect most of them are well-reasoned and amicable moves

 

[DirectorFury]

It's mostly prompted by the fact I saw recently in either H&H or Eventing magazine that Aoife Clark had sent Fenyas Elegance back to her owner as she couldn't cope with the demands of 4* eventing.

Is it possible that this an attempt by Aoife to save face? I know if I was the owner of the horse I wouldn't want her riding it after the awful display at Burghley last year (on a different horse, admittedly).

For those that missed it, this was the end of a horrifying round. She should have pulled up long before she fell. It's a miracle that the horse didn't break a leg and that Aoife walked away unharmed!

The whole round is here: http://burghley.tv/vod2014/

 

[Golden_Match_II]

I think it's a bit strange to say she'd be saving face - that fall looks horrific and both rider and horse lucky not to be injured. I accept it could have been caused by rider error, but "saving face" would not be a priority after such a fall - safety would be. FE is a strong and feisty mare, maybe Aoife just had a wake up call and felt it was too much horse, because accidents do happen?

 

[ihatework]

To be honest there will be a whole variety of things that go on behind closed doors.

Many will be very amicable and a case of moving horse for the right reasons.

Some probably won't be amicable for whatever reason.

It's a tough old world being an event rider and trying to get/keep rides. And it's not cheap for the owners either, who understandably like to try and do the best for their horses whilst having a chance of being competitive.

 

[popsdosh]

Is it possible that this an attempt by Aoife to save face? I know if I was the owner of the horse I wouldn't want her riding it after the awful display at Burghley last year (on a different horse, admittedly).

For those that missed it, this was the end of a horrifying round. She should have pulled up long before she fell. It's a miracle that the horse didn't break a leg and that Aoife walked away unharmed!

The whole round is here: http://burghley.tv/vod2014/

What has that really got to do with the question and smacks of somebody finding the excuse to have a personal dig . These things happen to the best of riders at some point.

 

[Barnacle]

Lexi was asking what is part of the decision-making process and brought up specifically being prompted by this rider sending a horse back... So it seems very relevant to me. If the reason the public statement doesn't match the outcome was that the rider was trying to save face (which seems both totally reasonable and plausible), the mismatch is explained.

For transparency, I do think it's totally normal for someone to want to save face if they feel embarrassed. Accidents happen and sure they may be due to rider error but it is just that - error. There's really nothing "wrong" with a rider in the public eye wanting to avoid too much negative attention. I'd be the same - and I'm sure so would most.

 

[popsdosh]

Its not the same horse so I do not see the relevance of that video to the question as to me it was brought forward as a criticism of Aoife and her judgement. Nothing to do with why the horse changed hands.
Owners and riders disagree about all sorts of things and part company of course both parties will try to save face . However the horse trials community is not large and you soon end up with a bad name if you openly criticise people. There are top riders I would never send one of my horses to because of what has been said . The problem is some riders consider themselves to be bigger than the owner who ultimately is funding their competing.

 

[eggs]

There are various reasons why horses move onto new riders - sometimes it is amicable, sometimes it is not.

I definitely know of a couple of riders who lobby owners of very good horses hard to get given the ride.

 

[SpringArising]

What has that really got to do with the question and smacks of somebody finding the excuse to have a personal dig .

Not really. It was a relevant point, and if you choose ride in the public eye then you are opening yourself up to public criticism.