Andrew Nicholson's XC with Lord Kilinghurst

[flyingchange]

Am I the only one who was upset watching it? He appeared to be a very unsympathetic rider to me. It was very hard to watch. I feel very sad for that horse.

[shea'smom]

After his fall, he got up and took the horses reins and never even seemed to look at the horse or speak to him.

[mythical84]

I'm with you on this one!

I was IM'ing a friend while watching it (she didn't have access) saying,
"He's flying."
"He's going REALLY fast."
"Oh, and there he crashed."

I was also bug-eyed at WFP's last few fences.

[deltawave]

That team has been together a LONG time. To me it looked like he had the spurs in the horse at every stride and was really gunning for time. The horse just ran out of gas two from home, but what a brave boy.

[snoopy]

This is a business to Andrew and he is not the warm and fuzzy sort with his horses.

[flyingchange]

I don't fault anybody for not being "warm and fuzzy" with their horses, LOL. But I do have a problem with running a horse into the ground - pushing on an exhausted horse - isn't that one of the definitions of cruelty in the USEF and FEI rules? It was very sad when he fell because the fall wasn't from the horse being improperly placed, the horse was just so tired that he couldn't jump it, but he tried anyway. you can be a professional and run a horse business and still be a horseman. I did not see that in his ride yesterday.

what do I know though. I'm just a backyard redneck horseowner and rider.

[Jealoushe]

Its too bad, because I used to love his books and watching him in the old Bad/Burghley vids....he has changed. He also has lost his stickability. Boo. His horse was pooped

[snoopy]

what do I know though. I'm just a backyard redneck horseowner and rider.


I am "goldmedalwinning" name dropper.....good to meet you.:lol:

[flyingchange]

nice to meet you too! I'll show you around the local Culpeper Walmart sometime and you can fill me in on all the gossip over PBRs in the truck on the way over .... :lol:

[JER]

Lord Killinghurst never looks very good out there. I've seen him go in person several times and he's just not an attractive competitor. But he is successful and has been for a long time.

Andrew N. was trying to salvage a bad day for NZ. If you read this article (http://www.stuff.co.nz/4653277a26500.html), you'll see what he was up against.

This Olympic campaign has been put together on what NZEF chief executive Jim Ellis calls "buttons": a total of $525,000 which mostly goes to high performance coaching and support.

If New Zealand could have managed a medal in the three-day event, which looked highly improbable ahead of the show jumping phase early this morning (NZ time), Ellis estimated he could have justifiably asked Sparc for a lot more funding in the lead-up to the London 2012 games.

So he, more than anyone, knows how costly Nicholson's fall has been.

"The more it's been analysed, those tactics were right and there's no criticism of Andrew at all," Ellis said.

[snoopy]

Lord Killinghurst never looks very good out there. I've seen him go in person several times and he's just not an attractive competitor. But he is successful and has been for a long time.




To andrew's credit, he has done far more than what was expected of this horse. He certainly was nothing special when Owen Moore had him.

[purplnurpl]

I wanted to say something about it yesterday after I watched.

I read all the Amy bashing before I saw the footage.

To me, Andrew did a far worse job then Amy.

I watched and saw Amy flying around getting a little over her head to say the least.
She gave that horse 3 or 4 good checks, saw the spot and let him roll towards it. We all know that our coaches scream to us...get out of the way!! fix it in the turn and then get out of the flippin way! I didn't think the spot looked too small for the caliber of horse out there. He just missed with a knee. He was a bit flat and missed. Bet he'll slow down and pay a little more attention to her half halt next time.

Then here comes Andrew. Balls for the wall. If he had just asked for three instead. Three strides would have gotten it done and it was apparent that's what he needed after he landed off the fence on the turn. Take the long way or add. DUH!

And then Karen. OMG. geez. why so dramatic all the time? Have to make the crowd gasp by almost falling off. I was wondering why she didn't pull her, "let me hang from my stirrup bit" again so that she could climb back on by the seat of her pants and everyone can spend the next month talking about how great a rider she is....

I even saw Lucinda Fredricks have a scary fence or two. You can't expect to have 100% perfect spots. But you can prepare yourself and your horse to be as fit as possible the get out of those situations.

But we all get caught up in the moment.

Now Mary King. Amazing. She was freakin amazing. A little overly concerned on that two stride off set and kept his head up a little too much but she stuck to her guns and her horse was cool. solid as a rock. amazing.

Nice brain fart with Becky. That's my move. made me giggle a little.

[Jealoushe]

Perhaps they can convince Toddy to stick with it another 4 years...

Mary King has had her fair share of bad rides too

They all have the good the bad, most have mostly good with the odd bad. It's when its the opposite you gotta start to worry...

[bornfreenowexpensive]

After his fall, he got up and took the horses reins and never even seemed to look at the horse or speak to him.


He was right at the end of the course with a very HOT horse...in hot humid conditions. He looks like he is trying to get him off the course fast and into the cooling tents.

[clivers]

I actually really enjoy Andrew's forward style on XC almost all the time. This time, however, I agree that he looked like he was amost singleminded about it - no matter what. Unfortunately, with the time penalties being that influential on XC I think the course ended up tempting some riders into poor riding decisions and Andrew's several near misses and fall were examples of that. Whereas forward BUT BALANCED riding and taking the straight routes seems to pay off with a double clear (or close) at Badminton, Burghley and Rolex, this course was different and may have brought out the worst in some riders.

[snoopy]

I actually really enjoy Andrew's forward style on XC almost all the time. This time, however, I agree that he looked like he was amost singleminded about it - no matter what. Unfortunately, with the time penalties being that influential on XC I think the course ended up tempting some riders into poor riding decisions and Andrew's several near misses and fall were examples of that. Whereas forward BUT BALANCED riding and taking the straight routes seems to pay off with a double clear (or close) at Badminton, Burghley and Rolex, this course was different and may have brought out the worst in some riders.


So would you say...according to the staement that JER quoted...that the business of funding was the root of his decision to ride the course as he did.

[thumbsontop]

Interesting. My daughter and I noticed the same "business like" approach. They didn't really appear much of a team, more like LK was a means to an end. And I was surprised he didn't even look at the horse's legs to see if they were okay. Nice little pat I suppose.

Was LK the one who has legs that go every which way when he gallops?

[fordtraktor]

You could bet that if I fell one fence from the finish in that weather, I would be booking it to the cooling fans ASAP so the horse could be stabilized, not waiting around in the heat to ogle and pat my horse. That is the definition of horsemanship.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

You could bet that if I fell one fence from the finish in that weather, I would be booking it to the cooling fans ASAP so the horse could be stabilized, not waiting around in the heat to ogle and pat my horse. That is the definition of horsemanship.


That was my impression as well....he could tell by the horse being up and next to him that he was sound enough....the priority would be to get the horse cooled down fast....and in those conditions, that would be at the cooling tents.

[Sightunseen]

Yeah that was the impression I got too, also it looked like he looked over his shoulder and moved over a bit like he was worried about being in the way. And I as well read all the Amy bashing yesterday before seeing the ride, yeah it wasnt beautiful, but I would not blame Amy for the fall, I would chalk that one up to CRAP luck. The spot was a little deep, but the horse is really catty, and what turned him wasnt the leg he left (his RF) but his LF whicj he put down on the table. I was really surprised at A LOT of the riding out there, just looked sloppy, and I was surprised after seeing most of those rides that Amy was bashed SO hard, people were talking about the combination before hand, and how everyone was checking their horses coming down to the skinny, I did not see that happening, and what looked like to me with Amy was Poggio got a big spot to the first fence and the last thing she wanted to do was have a hold of his face so he would jump even further out of balance, and she did what she could and rode what she had out....thats life....I think the people that feel the need to talk crap about riders should start threads of there are that are the "I Hate So and SO" threads...I personally would appreciate the warnings

[clivers]

So would you say...according to the staement that JER quoted...that the business of funding was the root of his decision to ride the course as he did.


I can't speak to his motivation as I don't know him personally, but it seems likely that the business of funding entered into it - along with the drive to excel and achieve, as the Olympics are a big deal.

It's not the external (or internal) motivators that I object to perse, but it seemed to me that the time was overly influential on XC and that led to some riders taking more chances. Overall, I don't think the strong influence of time penalties improved the standard of riding at the Olympics.

[fordtraktor]

Ditto. Would that I could ride like any of the Olympians. Or any of the commentators, who must be absolutely amazing riders. I just can't figure out why they aren't at the Olympics themselves....

[Thomas_1]

After his fall, he got up .

Shame! He deserved worse. The horse deserved better!

I nominated him one of the worst riders second only to Amy Tryon.

[DLee]

And then Karen. OMG. geez. why so dramatic all the time? Have to make the crowd gasp by almost falling off. I was wondering why she didn't pull her, "let me hang from my stirrup bit" again so that she could climb back on by the seat of her pants and everyone can spend the next month talking about how great a rider she is....
.

Yeah, I hate it when she pulls crap like that just so people will think she's great. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Sightunseen]

HAHAHA...i just think, wow she should have a tighter seat....and really to say that Andrew deserved worse??? I cant even imagine what he has done to make you want to wish something bad upon him???

[snoopy]

Yeah, I hate it when she pulls crap like that just so people will think she's great. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:



:lol:

[Equibrit]

How quickly the tide turns. Up until now it was Nicholson who was always praised for pulling his horses up PDQ when he sensed a problem. Maybe he knew more about the situation he was in, than you give him credit for? Anybody privy to his riding orders?

[Sightunseen]

That would be my bet, I think the horse was tired, but if he would have waited for the 3 they would have finished and everyone would be going on about how he made time, or got so close to it....

[Equibrit]

HAHAHA...i just think, wow she should have a tighter seat....and really to say that Andrew deserved worse??? I cant even imagine what he has done to make you want to wish something bad upon him???

(he stole WFP's wife, dumping his own family!)

[snoopy]

(he stole WFP's wife!)


wiggy, the minx, stole andrew from jane...:;)

[Sightunseen]

HAHAHHA....NO WAY!!! HAHAHHA well yeah I still dont think that I could wish harm to him, unless I was WFP.....I mean really, do we wish harm to our actors?? they do that that kind of stuff all the time, and we love it because it gives us something to talk $hit about...which is really why SO many riders have come under scrutiny....JMHO

[Equibrit]

Whichever way round - people seemed to take sides! I think he was trying really hard to not display his feelings. He seems to have such rotten luck at the big gigs.

[snoopy]

Jilly Cooper's Riders anyone?

[Equibrit]

HAHAHHA....NO WAY!!! HAHAHHA well yeah I still dont think that I could wish harm to him, unless I was WFP.....I mean really, do we wish harm to our actors?? they do that that kind of stuff all the time, and we love it because it gives us something to talk $hit about...which is really why SO many riders have come under scrutiny....JMHO

But - that's YOUR actors. Slightly different social standards in the UK. Bounders and cads and all that

[nature]

You could bet that if I fell one fence from the finish in that weather, I would be booking it to the cooling fans ASAP so the horse could be stabilized, not waiting around in the heat to ogle and pat my horse. That is the definition of horsemanship.

How about loosening the noseband and girth while walking to the cooling tent. That is horsemanship. And I do not think Andrew was "booking it" to the tents.

Just an observation from a smurf.

[snoopy]

But - that's YOUR actors. Slightly different social standards in the UK. Bounders and cads and all that


Gotta love the word "cad"....I have known many:lol:

[Hony]

Fox Pitt had a pretty scary last three fences. He landed after the last and was grining and laughing...I wonder if he realized how close he was to being munched!

[Equibrit]

He walks on water and knows all!

[Kyrie]

I saw Andrew's round. While it wasn't his best effort, I don't think it was *that* bad. Yes, he was going at a fair pace but it was controlled. There were a few on the course that were fighting every step of the way. Andrew is very experienced and has ridden LK for quite some time so they know and trust each other. I doubt he would have taken the risks he did at some of the fences if he was on, for example, Gandalf. I consider his fall to be unfortunate. Shit happens. Heck, a rider fell at one of the easiest fences early on in the course. :eek:

I find it more upsetting that NO ONE came in under the time :eek:

[fordtraktor]

How about loosening the noseband and girth while walking to the cooling tent. That is horsemanship. And I do not think Andrew was "booking it" to the tents.

Just an observation from a smurf.

How could you possibly know that? What did you "observe" that would make his destination evident? And how do you know he didn't loosen the girth on the way? It wasn't televised.

[IfWishesWereHorses]

to whoever it was who doubted that Andrew rode the way he did due to being under instructions from team management re funding...well unfortunately I think it can be said that that is pretty darn accurate. The team were more than likely under very very strict instructions to get home no matter what.

He is always first to pull his horse up if things aren't going well, but he also is one to ride to instructions - rightly or wrongly.

Its no coincidence that Mark is back riding just in the nick of time..NZ eventing is going belly up, and Mark was brought back to save it - and without a top 3 finish at the olympics the funding is pretty much zero.

When you hear the millions that are invested in foreign teams, heck, the $550k that NZ has for its riders is dismal.

Sad but true!

[JER]

When you hear the millions that are invested in foreign teams, heck, the $550k that NZ has for its riders is dismal.

Sad but true!

Medals cost money. This is probably even more true in a small country like NZ.

There's a great post today on this from the excellent blog The Science of Sport: What price for an Olympic Gold? (http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/08/beijing-olympic-medal-price.html)

[krobert]

Shame! He deserved worse. The horse deserved better!

I nominated him one of the worst riders second only to Amy Tryon.

I feel this is quite unfair on Andrew, sure it wasn't pretty (x-country aint meant to be pretty) and without any of us knowing the horse he didn't look like the easiest ride. I don't understand why most of you could not see the serious left drift the horse has.

It is easy to sit back and criticise from your armchair, give the guy a break he is probably beating himself up enough without you all putting in your two cents worth. Also lay off Amy she is probably her own worst critic too. Its been a hard day at the office for several of the riders, horses, teams, supporters, grooms, parents, friends...etc.

[OverandOnward]

Wow. This is certainly the snipe & snark thread. ;) Do they have warning labels for that? :winkgrin:

[Carol Ames]

He was lucky:winkgrin: it was not a rotational fall!:eek:

[vineyridge]

Yup. I was thinking it was really a blessing he went through a brush fence. Could have been really bad.

[Carol Ames]

feel this is quite unfair on Andrew, sure it wasn't pretty (x-country aint meant to be pretty) and without any of us knowing the horse he didn't look like the easiest ride. I don't understand why most of you could not see the serious left drift the horse has.

It is easy to sit back and criticise from your armchair, give the guy a break he is probably beating himself up enough without you all putting in your two cents worth. Also lay off Amy she is probably her own worst critic too. Its been a hard day at the office for several of the riders, horses, teams, supporters, grooms, parents, friends...etc. __________________

[Windmill Blue]

Then here comes Andrew. Balls for the wall. If he had just asked for three instead. Three strides would have gotten it done and it was apparent that's what he needed after he landed off the fence on the turn. Take the long way or add. DUH!

Really? How would you stuff a third stride into a line that rode a straight two for everyone else, until your horse dove left and made it a two and a half? Or, alternatively, how do you pull out of a two stride related distance when there is a big effing obstacle blocking the right side of the second jump?

I think if he had ridden clear, everyone would be posting about what an amazing ride he put in for time. His course looked smooth and efficient, jumping out of stride without the tiring seesaw of balance-GO!... balance-GO!

[poltroon]

NZ had bad luck after bad luck just like the US. Poor Heelan, who is a very capable rider.

Yep, I saw Andrew fall and I thought, yup, that's the risk you take going that fast. But he nearly pulled it off. A little luck and he would've been hailed for his brilliance. I'm glad they walked away. Great course design... I don't know whether it was luck or skill that no one was hurt at that fence.

I have to say if I'd fallen on an Olympic course I'd want to get the heck out of the way before the next rider came along.

For some perspective on the funding issue, I read somewhere that the Chinese rider was sponsored to the tune of $4 million to get just one rider to the Games.

[BaliBandido]

I feel this is quite unfair on Andrew, sure it wasn't pretty (x-country aint meant to be pretty) and without any of us knowing the horse he didn't look like the easiest ride. I don't understand why most of you could not see the serious left drift the horse has.


So what is X-C meant to be? I mean I get that it may not have to look like the Regular hunter division at Capitol Challenge, but saying that it 'ain't meant to be pretty' implies that however it gets done isn't important, its just important that it gets done.

I think that mentality has led to some of the problems now being faced by the sport.

Form follows function- when you have that you get something that looks good, smooth, accurate and safe. What I saw a lot of was seat of the pants, unbalance horses, careening etc. I mean I know how things can ride differently than the course walks, but many looked like they did not have a game plan, did not prepare before their jumps etc.

Nope- not an Olympic rider, but maybe that is why I expected more from them then what I saw. Heck I can see those kind of mistakes made at local events all the time!;)

[DRTY.2]

Do you know how many Olympics he's attended? 6!!! I've been thinking and thinking over what I should say but I don't think it's worth the effort honestly. Just one thing though, you go to 6 olympic games and then comment about his riding. He must be doing something right... just wasn't their day!!

[Equibrit]

I feel this is quite unfair on Andrew, sure it wasn't pretty (x-country aint meant to be pretty) and without any of us knowing the horse he didn't look like the easiest ride. I don't understand why most of you could not see the serious left drift the horse has.


So what is X-C meant to be? I mean I get that it may not have to look like the Regular hunter division at Capitol Challenge, but saying that it 'ain't meant to be pretty' implies that however it gets done isn't important, its just important that it gets done.

I think that mentality has led to some of the problems now being faced by the sport.

Form follows function- when you have that you get something that looks good, smooth, accurate and safe. What I saw a lot of was seat of the pants, unbalance horses, careening etc. I mean I know how things can ride differently than the course walks, but many looked like they did not have a game plan, did not prepare before their jumps etc.

Nope- not an Olympic rider, but maybe that is why I expected more from them then what I saw. Heck I can see those kind of mistakes made at local events all the time!;)

Guffaw.

[LisaB]

My thoughts were his horse was very unhappy about the course, particularly the terrain. And he did the best he could considering his horse was sticky. I've seen the horse go on tv before and this time, he just looked unhappy.
Poggio looked like he was being a pisser. Again, unhappy with the terrain and ignoring her. Amy can only tug so much with a horse that jumps like that. She did the best she could do with what she had at hand.
I also noticed a few other catty little ones that really didn't like the course. Very interesting. Headly Brittania didn't look as keen and raring to go as she normally does. Hence, Lucinda taking long routes for one of various reasons.
It seemed that the big fellas that you had to push along enjoyed the course much more. Go figure on that! Gina, Mark, etc had 'pushers' that really didn't mind the mogul terrain. Should be an interesting analysis when the selection committee gets home.

[LessonLearned]

How quickly the tide turns. Up until now it was Nicholson who was always praised for pulling his horses up PDQ when he sensed a problem. Maybe he knew more about the situation he was in, than you give him credit for? Anybody privy to his riding orders?

Indeed. I was glad to see him pull up on several occasions where continuing could have ended very badly. I don't have any great liking for him one way or the other, but LK hasn't looked "himself" for quite some time and Andrew's dressage ride was just not to the level you'd expect from a horse and rider at their level.

I didn't like his cross country ride because his horse looked tired and labored and you could see that crash coming from a mile out. I don't care about what he did with whom, who couldn't keep their pants up, or who stole which wife or husband first. He had an ugly ride which resulted in a costly (at least he or LK weren't badly injured) rider-error-related fall. Poor LK!

[asterix]

Lisa, I had the same exact thought you did. As a die-hard "big fella" rider, I was fascinated to see how those horses ate up the course. I thought HB looked rough in places as well...and, yes, from my ARMCHAIR, AN's horse looked completely cooked coming into that last combo (and unhappy even in his gallop earlier on course). It was entirely obvious from the couch I was sitting on (margarita in hand) that he wasn't going to make it through the straight way.

This is what we all hope separates out most of us from our Olympic riders. Of COURSE we haven't been to six Olympics, and of COURSE it's easier to spot what's happening from the couch than from the back of the horse, 2 fences from home...but at that level, one hopes to see a truly superior ability to juggle all the inputs...team instructions...competitive pressure...what the horse is telling you in that moment...the tiny window of time you have to decide what to do with all that information.

That's what can be disappointing about watching some of these rides. Not that we are so high and mighty that we wouldn't make those mistakes, but it's completely human to be a big fan of this sport and wish...wow, why didn't Karen take the "normal" route at that downhill combo...wow, why didn't Becky have a plan B for every combo that did NOT involve crossing your tracks...why didn't more riders understand how cooked their horses might be at the double brushes, and plan to take the long route (we certainly saw several who made that choice).

EVERYONE who talked about this course ahead of time said it would be impossible to make the time, and everyone knew what the conditions would be. At this level, there should be alternative plans for not just taking the options but what to do when you get the "I'm done" from your horse.

[LisaB]

Oh yeah,
what about the time?
Is this the new way to weed out?
Let's see if you're an asshat and try to make the time even though I made it impossible.
Or, has it really become a timed event? Meaning the optimum time was generally made if you had a good clean round on a good galloping horse. Now, with the impossible time, the fastest ride gets the best score. WTF? I don't like it.

[asterix]

I dunno, Lisa, you could argue in a perfect world (which we obviously don't live in), a course like that SHOULD be a test of horsemanship --

under those conditions, with that type of course, exactly WHERE is YOUR balance between time faults and lower risk of runouts...between time faults and having enough horse to SJ clean the next day....

If you really make good decisions, you go as fast as you can to go clean and have a fresh horse the next day. If that's not as fast as someone else could go, that's the competition. If you make bad decisions, you crash, you use up your horse, etc.

I'd like to think this was the intent -- to ask the riders to really think about how to make these tradeoffs. So the question then becomes -- is this the right intent? and if so, does anyonew walk away from this rethinking how they made decisions, or do they just feel shafted by the course design?

[MandyVA]

I commented to my friend right before Andrew crashed that the horse was exhausted. His whole ride looked scary-fast to me. It's interesting that we can all bash Laine Ashker for riding this exact same way (too fast and not setting the horse up at all), but since Andrew almost pulled it off and his horse didn't happen to die, a lot of people don't seem to have a problem with it. I think he should be penalized.

[JER]

Andrew Nicholson was the second non-German (or team person) to congratulate Hinrich Romeike on his win. (Mary King was the first.) AN looked genuinely thrilled for the gold medalist.

[Kyrie]

Until any of us have represented our country SIX times at the Olympics, how about we quit being armchair critics eh?

:)

[quietann]

I will join in with LisaB in questioning the optimum time set for the course. With the weather conditions as they were, maybe an optimum time of 8:45 would have been more fair. They had already shortened the course from a ~11 minute course, though, so maybe they thought that was enough.

After all, they re-set the time for individual SJ after none of the first few riders (who were in the bottom of the pack) were able to make time. Going from 65 to 67 seconds seemed to make a huge difference, at least for the middle of the pack.

I did not see the AN fall, so can't say much, except those skinny brushes at the end were obviously very difficult as a combination, and it was good to see some people realizing that a few seconds' extra time was better than a bad experience right at the end of the course, when the horses and riders were really tired.

[Romany]

What about making allowances for some of the rider errors because of the pouring rain?

For some of the riders, it was raining so hard, they could barely stay in the saddle - at one point even the goddess Mary King just about got unseated ON THE FLAT. And try seeing where you're going when you've got rain hitting your eyes at 30mph or so...

I don't suppose the horses could see 100% perfectly in driving rain at times, either.

[vineyridge]

Yes, it would appear that the time was used to make XC the deciding factor. Don't think there is much question about that.

[flyingchange]

As has been asserted here numerous times, a good rider does not necessarily equal a good horseman, and boy did AN's ride demonstrate as such IN SPADES. I don't care how many Olympics, WEGs, whatever, a rider has competed in - I stopped wearing the rose-tinted glasses A LONG TIME AGO.

And since when did having the Olympics on one's resume become a necessary criterion to call out cruelty in someone's ride?

I know that Andrew has been riding that poor horse for a long, long time. That does not, in my mind, excuse him from quite literally riding the animal into the ground. I was ashamed of this sport after seeing that.

Count me in as someone who didn't know it was OK to (literally) ride a horse into the ground because you are competing in the Olympics.

[EquiSport]

Fox Pitt had a pretty scary last three fences. He landed after the last and was grining and laughing...I wonder if he realized how close he was to being munched!

His last few fences were :eek: to say the least!

Actually, I was sincerely disgusted by his performance b/c ultimately he was rewarded for that kind of riding. He was one of the fastest times and he was clear, but I was bracing myself watching them. It was awful. Heck, wouldn’t that be considered dangerous riding? Didn’t he have a rotational fall at Rolex a couple yrs. ago?

At the ’07 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention Darren threw around the idea of stationing judges around XC courses who would critique XC rides & offer bonus points to those who rode well. Maybe this idea should be examined more closely.

[ezmissg]

Do you know how many Olympics he's attended? 6!!! I've been thinking and thinking over what I should say but I don't think it's worth the effort honestly. Just one thing though, you go to 6 olympic games and then comment about his riding. He must be doing something right... just wasn't their day!!

Yes, he was BOOKING!!! Although it made me nervous, I still thought "if anyone can handle it, it's one of the New Zealanders."

I had taped the recap on Oxygen, and I went back and watched his fall at the 2nd part of the brush in slow motion 3-4 times. The horse's right hind foot was in the grass, but slipped into the ditch as he began to jump. Looked to me like this was a big factor in his inability to get over, as he couldn't get any push from that side.

[Jealoushe]

What about making allowances for some of the rider errors because of the pouring rain?

For some of the riders, it was raining so hard, they could barely stay in the saddle - at one point even the goddess Mary King just about got unseated ON THE FLAT. And try seeing where you're going when you've got rain hitting your eyes at 30mph or so...

I don't suppose the horses could see 100% perfectly in driving rain at times, either.

Most of these riders are used to going in the rain MORE than the not-rain!

[YRAP Mom]

"Stinking one fall rule........."