Townend wins Kentucky ****

OH WOW, well done Oli.

Just looked at the Kentucky facebook page. Oliver Townend looked incredibly smart in his suit for the trot up.
 
Sorry, I am absolutely gutted for Michael Jung - the consummate eventer, so stylish and effective, lovely with his horses, he so deserved to win
 
Jung is class, granted... but a 4* win doesn't happen by accident... pleased for Oli and makes Badminton potentially very exciting indeed :D
 
Lévrier;13766403 said:
Sorry, I am absolutely gutted for Michael Jung - the consummate eventer, so stylish and effective, lovely with his horses, he so deserved to win
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Agreed! As much as I'm happy that Oli won, and do think it's very deserved, I have been backing MJ and FR all weekend. What a mare, 4 in a row wasn't to be.
 
Sophire said:
Agreed! As much as I'm happy that Oli won, and do think it's very deserved, I have been backing MJ and FR all weekend. What a mare, 4 in a row wasn't to be.
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Yep I am now rooting for him to win Badminton with Sam - what a fitting end it would be to Sam's great career :) I'm sure Oli will have different thoughts on the matter :D :D

Personally I think the Rolex is a bit old hat now - it was great when Pippa Funnell won it, and obviously it takes a HUGE amount of skill, determination, dedication and horse power, but once Michael had done it as well then I lost interest :o
 
I am so torn :lol: I am such a Michi fan, his horsemanship is incredible, his riding is next level, I'm always backing him. Equally I would really like Oli to win the grand slam. He works so hard, and he has come so far, I would be so happy for him!

I guess I'll be rooting for them both, and almost hoping it doesn't end up with both in contention like at Kentucky!!
 
oli no doubt will ride harder and drag a tired horse home if needs be i really hope hes improved over past years and doesnt show such traits of past years
 
jhoward said:
oli no doubt will ride harder and drag a tired horse home if needs be i really hope hes improved over past years and doesnt show such traits of past years
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I think that's a bit unfair. He rides very differently nowadays. He's got a lot of young and awkward horses round big tracks with sympathetic riding over the last few years. Credit where it's due.
 
Honey08 said:
I think that's a bit unfair. He rides very differently nowadays. He's got a lot of young and awkward horses round big tracks with sympathetic riding over the last few years. Credit where it's due.
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His ride at Kentucky really showed this I think. His horse was so green out the box and by the end had full confidence in what he was doing. It's good to see the horses he's had since youngsters now making their mark on the sport.
 
jhoward said:
oli no doubt will ride harder and drag a tired horse home if needs be i really hope hes improved over past years and doesnt show such traits of past years
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Another who doesn't really agree with this statement. He has really proven himself since the incident(s) in the past, and I have a lot more respect for him as a rider now than I did a few years ago. He is a far more sympathetic rider and I hope he is able to go on and win the grand slam, I'm just not sure I want it to be done at the expense of Michi and Sam in what may be his final season.
 
Sophire said:
I am so torn :lol: I am such a Michi fan, his horsemanship is incredible, his riding is next level, I'm always backing him. Equally I would really like Oli to win the grand slam. He works so hard, and he has come so far, I would be so happy for him!

I guess I'll be rooting for them both, and almost hoping it doesn't end up with both in contention like at Kentucky!!
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Another totally torn, I think deep down I'll be rooting for MJ & Sam as it's their last attempt. Oli's got plenty more attempts at Rolex in him yet.
 
Yes, sadly you were right and we were wrong, although I still think he's ridden much better for the last five years. He's an idiot, he'd just about rebuilt his reputation and now he's knocked it down to rubble.
 
The ground was heavy in places and people were falling and retiring with very tired horses. Always worth remembering that a horse will recover much quicker from a 'wake up!' tap than from a life changing injury sustained through a momentary lapse of concentration. Heaven forfend that we should get behind our riders. In the final analysis both his horses passed the trot up, despite the PR hold.
 
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I was standing at fence 27 when he came past, so only a couple of minutes from home, and it didn't look like an over ridden, tired horse to me, I actually thought they looked great at that point. Our car was parked near there, so I'd seen lots of other horses go over that fence to compare to. I also ran down the hill to watch them do the brush at the top of the (not in course) steps and the final combination fence. Obviously I only saw it from a distance, but again it didn't look like a over pushed, or struggling horse.

I've yet to watch the to coverage, so can't fully comment on his round, only what I saw.
 
There's a lot of difference from riding a whippy little tb to riding these slightly cold horses. I'm not going to be judgemental here, I wasn't there to see, but I'd rather a smack than a tip up.
As both horses came out well on the Sunday I can't imagine there was much wrong with them.
There were some horses that certainly should not have jumped in the lower rankings on sunday, but did. No one seems to mention them.
 
jhoward said:
So Ollie has been pulled up for over use of the whip....
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yes and the BHS have released a statement. They don't think that the penalties hes got are sufficient. Well done BHS.Lets hope Eventing takes note. His riding is just not acceptable.
 
Mooseontheloose said:
There's a lot of difference from riding a whippy little tb to riding these slightly cold horses. I'm not going to be judgemental here, I wasn't there to see, but I'd rather a smack than a tip up.
As both horses came out well on the Sunday I can't imagine there was much wrong with them.
There were some horses that certainly should not have jumped in the lower rankings on sunday, but did. No one seems to mention them.
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What horses shouldn’t have jumped on the Sunday and why?
 
Honey08 said:
Yes, sadly you were right and we were wrong, although I still think he's ridden much better for the last five years. He's an idiot, he'd just about rebuilt his reputation and now he's knocked it down to rubble.
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i can understand why he pushed so hard, the grand slam, but .... well there is no but. the blokes an ass.
 
jhoward said:
oli no doubt will ride harder and drag a tired horse home if needs be i really hope hes improved over past years and doesnt show such traits of past years
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Sooooooo I don`t suppose you have this weeks winning lottery tickets do ya, per chance? :D
 
Years ago I was dealing with some paperwork relating to his property - I got the impression he was a hard man to please, and it would seem that arrogance is still there.
 
Many people are arrogant. Many sportspeople are extremely arrogant. That in itself is not a crime. It may be unpleasant but it doesn't break any rules.
 
Don't get me wrong, I don't condone the way Oli rode both of his horses in the last couple of minutes of his rounds at Badminton. I watched it live and didn't like what I was seeing, however, in the heat of the moment, in hot weather and holding ground, when you are going for the grand slam I can understand how the competitive instinct takes over.

What I feel slightly sad about is that nobody is even recognizing what he has achieved. He has had 4 horses placed in the top 10, including a win, at 4 star level in the space of 2 weeks. He rides and gets results from a huge variety of horses and has made a very nice living for himself out of it - that doesn't just happen...he is a horseman.

A lot of people would be surprised by what goes on in the background or at home with horses under professionals who are much more careful of how they come across in public - Oli wears his heart on his sleeve and what you see is what you get.

I don't particularly like him, but as someone else said, a lot of professional sports people are arrogant...as are a lot of the top horses....that's what makes them so good.

He rode 2 amazing XC rounds at kentucky - really filling the horses with confidence when both started out extremely green. A good blend of bold, attacking riding and encouragement along with regular praise and the horses confidence grew with each fence they jumped. It was great to see. He did ride like a man possessed at Badminton, but that is understandable, (even if not acceptable), given what was at stake.

I do feel a little sorry for him I have to admit. He had a ticking off from the ground jury at Badminton (yes, possibly not strong enough), he has the world and his wife on his case on social media, he has the BHS making a formal statement and getting on the FEI's case to punish him further and he is now losing sponsors.

I am just feeling a little sad for him that it is going on and on, when nobody is even recognizing what the man has achieved. Meanwhile he continues on the merry-go-round of producing his next generation at 3 separate events in 4/5 days (Aston le Walls/ Floors Castle/ Chatsworth).

Dons my tin hat and runs to hide behind the sofa...... ;-)
 
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Mooseontheloose said:
Many people are arrogant. Many sportspeople are extremely arrogant. That in itself is not a crime. It may be unpleasant but it doesn't break any rules.
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No, it doesn't break any rules, and yes, many sportsmen are arrogant. But they don't depend on a silent partner to give their all and then some more, an animal who is by nature compliant and accommodating. It isn't necessary (or attractive) to be a bully
 
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