Touzaint good winner?

[danni1986]

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I found the crying quite funny, when the men in the ambulance started taking photos

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that was hilarious!!

 

[Murphy3]

Question - what exactly happens physically to the horse if the rider drops the reins after XC? I know it can cause tendon damage but how?

 

[JoJo_]

I was hoping the horse spooked at something and made him fall off when he was racing around the arena with no reins lol.

 

[Maesfen]

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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.

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Couldn't have put it better myself so thanks for that!

As you say, he's French; he wouldn't have been French if he hadn't shown that emotion if that makes sense. I think we should be proud that Badminton is THE one they all want to win, it means so much and if he is so chuffed then that has to be good.

 

[MistletoeMegan]

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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!

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^^^ what she said!

Didn't mind the crying, if I won Badminton I'd be a blubbering wreck!

 

[The Virgin Dubble]

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I thought it was wonderful. The best competitor won & so what if he cried?

I'm very happy for him.

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Agree.

Nice to see a man showing emotion. Maybe British men could learn a thing or two from it...

Congratulations to all his team.

 

[rss07]

hehe, so many directions we could take that one....

 

[The Virgin Dubble]

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If his horses weren't top class he wouldn't win much!



[/ QUOTE ] I think that applies to most successful riders...

If he wasn't good at what he does, he wouldn't be getting the top class rides.

 

[The Virgin Dubble]

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hehe, so many directions we could take that one....

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[gloster_image]

I'm with kerilli on this one. Hes a good rider but there are plenty i admire more than him and i was angry to see his display of galloping around out of control and dropping reins after the way the horse has tried all weekend for him. Especially consindering what happened last time he did that...

 

[rss07]

He reminds me of the little geeky one from in "Road Trip", looks just like him!

 

[Rowreach]

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absolutely, vic. glad i'm not the only one who sees it like that!

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Yup and me - I don't mind a French winner, I don't mind him crying, I DO mind him dropping the reins and galloping flat out several times round the arena. I don't care how "balanced" his horses are, to do that to a horse which has performed the way it has over the past three days is down right negligent imo.

In fact, as I watched him jump the last I was thinking good for him he's won, and seconds later I was sitting up shouting "DISGRACEFUL!!!" at the telly. Totally unnecessary performance, I only hope the horse is ok.

 

[VRIN]

Why are so many people quick to critiscise a winner! He was fantastic and his horse looked fantastic too .. I don't think his problem in athens was too much to do with dropping the reins .. it may well have been the ground that casued problems for others too..

 

[teapot]

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I'm with kerilli on this one. Hes a good rider but there are plenty i admire more than him and i was angry to see his display of galloping around out of control and dropping reins after the way the horse has tried all weekend for him. Especially consindering what happened last time he did that...

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That's exactly my thoughts too and the horse he did it to at the Sydney Olympics, I don't think has ever come right again.

He's a good rider but there are many others I would have preferred to see win

 

[Rowreach]

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Why are so many people quick to critiscise a winner! He was fantastic and his horse looked fantastic too .. I don't think his problem in athens was too much to do with dropping the reins .. it may well have been the ground that casued problems for others too..

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I'm not criticizing him for winning, I'm criticizing him for showing so little respect for the horse that helped him do it.

 

[PapaFrita]

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i think it was sweet so see him cry,it obviously meant alot to him.

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I cried a bit too when I saw that although...
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obviously i was rooting for Lucy,she did an amazing job


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Me too

 

[kanter]

Why is it so bad to drop the reins?

My horses gallop round the field perfectly well without reins.

During the laps of honour his horse looked balanced and full of running, more than could be said for how some of the British riders' horses looked ......

 

[Helen71]

I think he derserved to win, i thought some of his cross country riding was lovely, he was balanced and with the horse. If i had won badminton i would have been crying my eyes out. Nice to see how much it really meant to him.

He would not have so many good horses if he did not have the talent to ride and bring them on and have won as much as he has at a relatively young age.

I did want Lucy to win, but hopefully she'll be awarded a place on the team now.

 

[nelgonde]

Post deleted by nelgonde

 

[nelgonde]

Sounds like a lot of sour grapes on here. I think he's terrific. Produces loads of horses with the help of his family. And produced the most complete performance in last year's euros I've ever seen.

Dropping the reins on good-to-soft ground is hardly gonna do any damage. I think he has every right to really celebrate winning Badminton on his reserve horse. One that he's had his fair share of ups and downs on.

The only luck for him is having the grey horse. He's once in a lifetime!

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

Will somebody PLEEEZE explain in numpty terms how dropping the reins can damage the horse....I am a numpty and don't understand...

 

[LEC]

He produces the goods time and time again in the most extraordinary pressure. Not many can do that.
Well done to him.

 

[nelgonde]

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Will somebody PLEEEZE explain in numpty terms how dropping the reins can damage the horse....I am a numpty and don't understand...

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Dropping the reins puts the horse more on the forehand - the more weight on the front the more stress on the front legs.

But hardly comparable to some of the racehorses. Racing Demon for one has his nose virtually on the floor!

 

[ISHmad]

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I thought it was wonderful. The best competitor won & so what if he cried?

I'm very happy for him.

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My thoughts exactly. I would have sobbed like a baby too if I had achieved something as amazing as winning Badders. Not that that's every like to happen

 

[xspiralx]

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I thought it was wonderful. The best competitor won & so what if he cried?

I'm very happy for him.

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Agree.

Nice to see a man showing emotion. Maybe British men could learn a thing or two from it...

Congratulations to all his team.

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Totally agree. As for dropping the reins, I've seen plenty of people moreorless drop the contact after they come through the line, even if they don't completely drop the reins.

I think he rode brilliantly and deserved the win, and I think taking the pee out of him crying is pretty immature. Winning one of the biggest events in the world is achievement enough to cry imo.

 

[Daisychain]

The best came through today, when he dropped his reins the horse was balanced, he certainly didnt drop it on its forehand, i should think you are far more likely to break a horse down on the cross country, than from that little stunt... he was hardly pushing the horse he is fit well and loving it from what i could see, it is an incredible achievement and he should be very proud, i think with that performance and £60k better off i would be crying, i certainly wouldnt mock it.

 

[kanter]

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Will somebody PLEEEZE explain in numpty terms how dropping the reins can damage the horse....I am a numpty and don't understand...

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Dropping the reins puts the horse more on the forehand - the more weight on the front the more stress on the front legs.



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Only if the horse is relying on the reins to maintain its balance in the first place, either due to fatigue, poor training, or deep going. So yes , if you suddenly dropped the reins after the cross country on a tired horse that you had been nursing home by holding it together, this could cause a problem. A fit , well trained horse with a balanced rider shouldn't lose its balance when the reins are released, that's why 'give and retake the reins' is used in novice dressage tests - to identify poorly trained horses that are relying on the rider to maintain their balance.

IMO of course

 

[JCWHITE]

I thought all the French HORSES were lovely, I am not an out and out fan of the winning rider, but guess he does what matters. Have to say, my horse won in France last weekend, I am still on a high, I grabbed a Union Jack and galloped past the stands, it was great(Sorry, self indulgent).And tears yes, but not until the GB anthem was played.

 

[kerilli]

yes, kanter is right.
but the horse would undoubtedly be tired after doing all that yesterday and today, and it's well-documented that tired horses pull tendons and ligaments more easily. to charge around at that speed with no contact - well, it defies belief imho, i don't care how excited he was about winning, it is confusing and unbalancing for the horse, even though i agree that it didn't pitch onto its forehand when he dropped the reins.
yes, he did the same thing at the Olympics and the horse wasn't right for quite a while afterwards, but no-one knows whether the two things were related or not.
i agree that Lucy rode the much much better round, really wish the luck had been with her today.

 

[mickey]

I wonder if people are being too critical here.

At the end of the day, the man (and his horse of course) won Badminton. And as for the crying, I thought it was really touching that it mattered so much to him.

I think we should all congratulate him on a fantastic win and stop nit-picking!