What does everyone think of the frenchman winning badders? Personally I wanted william fox-pitt to. Or at least a british rider. Never seen someone cry like a girl quite like that hehe. Good entertainment I guess.
Rode a very good sj round on a very careless horse...would doubt many others could have brought him home with just one down. Lucy Wiegersma was good and thought Lenamore jumped class. WFP excellent as usual and thought Oli Townend missing stone blind was hilarious
Duh, I thought the re-run of yesterday was on 'til three o'clock. Just came in to watch the showjumping and it was finishing.
I'm glad he won, he deserved to going off what I saw yesterday. Of course we all want a British winner but he looks a hell of a jockey IMHO. I'm curious, besides Frenchness
NT is a superb horseman, his horses clearly love being ridden by him and try their hardest. He is very balanced and so are his horses. That is why he is able to drop the reins as the horses are not relying on his contact for balance.
How mant of his critics could gallop round an arena totally in control yet with no reins, like he just did.
I just wish he was British!.
So what if he cried, what is wrong with showing some emotion.
it's like a lesson in how to break a horse down, totally inconsiderate to the horse. after a round like that, and considering what it did yesterday, he should have pulled it up and patted it, not galloped around like a lunatic for 5 minutes showing off to the crowds.
yes, he's a good rider, but i don't think he's a great rider. he was lucky that the horse didn't have more down the way he rode it... especially the last line. lots of riders impressed me this weekend, but not him. as usual xc he was s*** or bust, it worked yesterday but sometimes it doesn't.
sorry, it's not sour grapes, i just don't like the way he rides. sometimes he looks like he's s***ging the horse, not riding it! he has very very classy horses, but there are much classier jockeys imho.
the crying? well, i'd be hysterical with joy as well i guess, i suppose it gave Clare Balding something to talk about!
Cant say I like seeing him drop the reins like that but do agree with Thistle about his balance etc.
As I watched his xc round yesterday by the time he had got to the quarry I was convinced I was watching this years winner.
Fine for him to cry and show emotion, after all he is French, it is us Brits that are so uptight about showing emotion. It obviously meant an enormous amount to him and he was not afraid to let us know that.
Yes, I'm sure the grey horse was so balanced in athens when he chucked the reins at it? wasnt it both front tendons damaged? Rumour that may have been, and perhaps unrelated to the rein throwing business, either way, I think maybe he could set a better example.
A poor winner in my opinion. Hate how he drops his reins - poor riding. His sj was awful - no consistency and swinging all over the horse. Didn't keep a rhythm and allow the horse to jump - lucky for him it did. If his horses weren't top class he wouldn't win much!
This was an outstanding win for an amazing rider. For NT to get Hildago around that course with just the one down was a pleasure to watch and it showed how much talent he has. In my opinion he is without a doubt one of the best in the business.
I think the french are an emotional lot, sadly I missed it because I was recording and bl**dy SKy decided to drop the signal part way through. I'm going to watch later on that jalipo page, I still have 1000 credits which will be two clips..
I don't blame him for crying, I think I would too, and why should anyone belittle him just because he's a bloke, Zara cried I recall and no-one slated her for it!
CCJ was back at Lucy's base today watching the show jumping with three other grooms, you can imagine how excited they all were. C did say she thought Lucy rode much better than NT in her opinion, which seems a shame he then beat her.
It will mean they surely can't not put Lucy in the Olympic Team after a result like that, and it's going to be exciting training on a yard with that sort of profile.
I reckon there will be some celebrations at the yard this week, but then as I mentioned in an earlier post, a few weeks ago I was watching L ride possibly her sixth horse that day in the torrential rain, concentrating away, and thought to myself how dedicated you have to be to cope with that lifestyle.
There' s a big mental toughness difference in professional riders and the rest of us I reckon.
I enjoyed watching this Badminton more than any other I think, fantastic course, a real test and I felt a fair one.
Now if I could just see any of the Sj I'd be happy..