Totilas Time!

jon1210

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Well done to Matthias I thought he rode okay considering the amount of pressure he is under :) is there anyway to see the other riders from earlier on ?? :p
 

Halfstep

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You didn't miss much.

Its like the Mona Lisa with a Joker smile painted on. A masterpiece ruined. Well, maybe not quite, but when he messed up both pirouettes (which were so amazing under Edward) I got so upset I had to stop watching.
 

Tempi

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Hmmmmm just finished watching it. I think at times Totilas looked unbalanced and rushed, couple of mistakes in the piaffe/passage work and i think he got stuck in both canter pirouettes? But it might have been my computer as it kept jumping. Certainly the first canter pirouette looked very hurried and he almost swung him round (not that i could do any better!!)

Will be interesting to see their score
 

Santa_Claus

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You didn't miss much.

Its like the Mona Lisa with a Joker smile painted on. A masterpiece ruined. Well, maybe not quite, but when he messed up both pirouettes (which were so amazing under Edward) I got so upset I had to stop watching.

I will agree in that had it been a brand new horse it would be pretty impressive but in comparison to what we know he can do it looked distinctly average.

The only thing I will say is that the extended trot actually seemed to have an overtrack....
 

Halfstep

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76% generous. Bad pirouettes, mistakes in the piaffe, extended trots not great, walk not great - the only thing that impressed me were the ones which looked ok (after the start). :(:(:(:(:(:(

On the other hand, this little horse that's in now is no Totilas but looks like great fun! :D
 

Tempi

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You didn't miss much.

Its like the Mona Lisa with a Joker smile painted on. A masterpiece ruined. Well, maybe not quite, but when he messed up both pirouettes (which were so amazing under Edward) I got so upset I had to stop watching.

So he did mess up the canter pirouettes, i thought so - my comp is running really slowly and kept jumping all the time. I didnt enjoy the test at all ive got to say, hes had plenty of time to get to know the horse and to prepare him for it. The mistakes that were made IMO shouldnt have been and werent down to him not knowing the horse properly, they were down to bad preparation before the movements.
 

Vetwrap

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Absolutely no expert, but I've always felt that watching great horses performing beautifully - at any level - really makes your heart sing. A prelim, done well, can still look like you are dancing with your horse.

I don't think that he was happy with that performance from the look on his face and Totilas has certainly looked more fluid...

I hope they get there. It would be a real shame for everyone otherwise.
 

PorkChop

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Absolutely no expert, but I've always felt that watching great horses performing beautifully - at any level - really makes your heart sing. A prelim, done well, can still look like you are dancing with your horse.

I don't think that he was happy with that performance from the look on his face and Totilas has certainly looked more fluid...

I hope they get there. It would be a real shame for everyone otherwise.

Agree with this x
 

MillionDollar

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I think they have a loooooong way to go yet before getting high scores!

Toto looked like a different horse IMO, tense at times IMO, just not the same :(

BUT it is their first comp together, will be interesting to see how they go from here!

I love Girasol even more, she looks like she will be awesome in the future :D
 

Halfstep

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I think they have a loooooong way to go yet before getting high scores!

Toto looked like a different horse IMO, tense at times IMO, just not the same :(

BUT it is their first comp together, will be interesting to see how they go from here!

I love Girasol even more, she looks like she will be awesome in the future :D

I love Girasol too. :)
 

Bug2007

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Wonder what Edward Gal would have to say....i'm sure he would have been watching.
No matter how talented a horse is or a rider nothing beats talent and a fantastic bond.

Toto and Edward had such an amazing relationship.
 

ArcticFox

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I think its a shame that EG has lost the ride on Toto, however I think EG would be hoping that MR creates a good bond with him. After all, it wasn't MR who bought him - he has just been given the ride.

IMO it is early days, MR has so much pressure to perform so that will obviously show some tension - once the initial comparisons have died down, I'm sure it will improve.

I hope it does come together for them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 

FrodoBeutlin

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I also felt he lost a bit of the magic aura he used to have. He looks a bit...less infallible, a bit less superhuman. But still such an amazing horse, and it's still early days!

But, I really, really felt for Matthias. The amount of people by the warm-up ring and the level of expectancy - completely gives a whole new meaning to the word "pressure". No amount of sport psychology can prepare you for that! Hats off to Matthias.
 

soupdragon71

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But, I really, really felt for Matthias. The amount of people by the warm-up ring and the level of expectancy - completely gives a whole new meaning to the word "pressure". No amount of sport psychology can prepare you for that! Hats off to Matthias.

Totally agree! Haven't watched the test but feel Matthias is on a hiding to nothing in that everyone is going to be so critical of him. And he has so much to live up to! Hopefully he will learn a lot from the horse but will he ever have the bond that EG had?!
 

FrodoBeutlin

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Sneak preview :D

DSC_0153-2.jpg
 

TarrSteps

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Obviously, it's not going to be the same partnership but that's life, isn't it? Almost every professional has been in some version of the same situation, with a horse they know they aren't getting the most of or losing one they think they could have done better with, this is just more high profile. And what an opportunity for him, not only to ride the horse but to deal with this pressure. Olympics and WEGs are going to seem a cake walk after this!

I'd likely fall off the first time the horse trotted! ;)

Also, to be fair, I know it's tempting to think the horse would always have gone from strength to strength but none of us KNOWS this. Lots of horses have shone very brightly for a couple of years then not kept up the same standard over time and others have excelled but continued a day too long, even with the same rider in the same program. I'm not saying Gal wouldn't have ridden the horse much better TODAY but that's about all anyone knows for sure.

It does raise the interesting question about the elusive "potential" though, especially as it relates to bloodlines and breeding. Would the horse be commanding the same fees on today's performance? Does it not suggest there are other horses out there that *could* be as good but haven't had the stars align for them? There are do many that take your breath away the first time you see them but not so much later on.

Out of curiosity, how many people, if offered the horse of their dreams and the training, support and financial wherewithal to really have a crack at it, would say, "Oh no thanks, I couldn't,"? ;)
 

FrodoBeutlin

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Out of curiosity, how many people, if offered the horse of their dreams and the training, support and financial wherewithal to really have a crack at it, would say, "Oh no thanks, I couldn't,"? ;)

After today I can confidently say that if I were offered the ride on Toto (!) I would definitely say that - absolutely no way I could cope with that amount of pressure. Have never seen anything like that, I am 100% aware that even with the best preparation in the world, if I had got to that warm-up arena and seen that crowd, I would have galloped back to the stables, given up riding and opened a bar on a beach in the British Virgin Islands.
 

TarrSteps

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After today I can confidently say that if I were offered the ride on Toto (!) I would definitely say that - absolutely no way I could cope with that amount of pressure. Have never seen anything like that, I am 100% aware that even with the best preparation in the world, if I had got to that warm-up arena and seen that crowd, I would have galloped back to the stables, given up riding and opened a bar on a beach in the British Virgin Islands.

Perhaps I should amend my question to say, "massive, scrutiny and ill wishing aside". ;) Hats off to the kid, at least he remembered the test!
 
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