[Renn/aissance]

I am perfectly happy to agree with that, and I will buy you a drink because I bet you'd be pretty fun company too and nothing says love like mutual creepiness

Cheers.

alterhorse- I understand and agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think the bottom line is that good instruction (which still exists!) prepares a student to ride a horse, train a horse, display a horse, and survive a horse; and those skill sets involve common components but sometimes different combinations.

[Tha Ridge]

I am perfectly happy to agree with that, and I will buy you a drink because I bet you'd be pretty fun company too and nothing says love like mutual creepiness

Seconded.

[alterhorse]

Cheers.

alterhorse- I understand and agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think the bottom line is that good instruction (which still exists!) prepares a student to ride a horse, train a horse, display a horse, and survive a horse; and those skill sets involve common components but sometimes different combinations.

Well said!

So I think it's up to those who understand this concept, to try to educate those who "idealize" the centered, balanced, rider form, and try to explain to them in terms they might understand, that a truly professional rider of show hunters, does have the ability to ride in that "ideal" manner, but they are choosing to ride in a different "style" in the hunter ring, because that different style is more effective for displaying the horse to the judges.

[Renn/aissance]

That's where I start to depart from you a little bit because I am not sure that all facets of the predominant style are necessarily undertaken for efficacy in displaying the horse; but that's also a departure from the thread in general. (And they do seem to be working, so maybe I just don't know jack. Always possible.)

Speaking of departures from the thread in general, one of the lot of you who can actually get blood oranges right now- paging you, Tha Ridge!- is going to be responsible for making this and then telling me how wonderful it is.

[kmwines01]

Those sound delicious. Would've been nice to have last night!

Off topic a bit too... was this class considered as Derby style/styled? The jumps looked derby-ish but not completely. Or has that style just become big hunter class?

[War Admiral]

No, that was a Classic. They're doing the Derby later.

[alterhorse]

Like War Admiral said...

Also, I think I remember the commentators mentioning during the coverage, (I'm paraphrasing) that hunters are currently taking a direction towards increased expression.

[kmwines01]

Gotcha. Wasn't sure what the class specs called it. The jumps just happened to look like most of the derby jumps now. Hopefully the Derby will kick it up a notch for jump building.

[skydy]

Cheers.

alterhorse- I understand and agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think the bottom line is that good instruction (which still exists!) prepares a student to ride a horse, train a horse, display a horse, and survive a horse; and those skill sets involve common components but sometimes different combinations.

I agree. The young ladies that are showing with great success in the hunter classes AND in the jumpers, seem to adapt their positions to the task at hand.

The hunter position does seem affected to me, a bit extreme, however I wouldn't be able to get those horses around as nicely and as effectively as these kids do.

The hunter riders who only know how to "perch", don't get to the level in the jumpers that these kids have, and, if by some miracle of expensive horseflesh, they do, they seem to have spectacular falls and scary rounds.

[Tha Ridge]

Speaking of departures from the thread in general, one of the lot of you who can actually get blood oranges right now- paging you, Tha Ridge!- is going to be responsible for making this and then telling me how wonderful it is.

!!! Will do. I will need it for the continuation of this thread, I am sure.

[Alter_nativ3]

Eh, horses don't jump well from that automatic release that all the COTH armchairs seem to idolize.

THANK YOU

[Dewey]

I agree. The young ladies that are showing with great success in the hunter classes AND in the jumpers, seem to adapt their positions to the task at hand.

The hunter position does seem affected to me, a bit extreme, however I wouldn't be able to get those horses around as nicely and as effectively as these kids do.

The hunter riders who only know how to "perch", don't get to the level in the jumpers that these kids have, and, if by some miracle of expensive horseflesh, they do, they seem to have spectacular falls and scary rounds.

I agree with this. I am an old f**t and prefer a classic style, but I know perfectly well that I am not the rider these people are, and I admire their ability to show off their mounts.

[jmjhp]

Kelly Always has at least one disaster, I have never liked her.

[CBoylen]

Kelly Always has at least one disaster, I have never liked her.

That's pleasant of you. Frankly, there's a fine line between brilliance and disaster, and your odds of the latter are increased by multiple rides. Kelley usually has many rides, and she doesn't ride to be second. I can certainly tell you, having ridden a lot of horses before and after her, she rides as good if not better than anyone out there.

[HorseLuvr]

Tori Colvin just amazes me! She is such a beautiful rider with a phenomenal eye for sure! You can tell the horses just love her and are so relaxed when she rides them. Congrats to her, she deserved it!

[Tha Ridge]

That's pleasant of you. Frankly, there's a fine line between brilliance and disaster, and your odds of the latter are increased by multiple rides. Kelley usually has many rides, and she doesn't ride to be second. I can certainly tell you, having ridden a lot of horses before and after her, she rides as good if not better than anyone out there.

It's also worth noting that I don't think a lot of the horses Kelly rides are exactly junior- or amateur-friendly. She definitely has some unique characters that would not do nearly as well with someone else in the tack.

[Silk]

It's also worth noting that I don't think a lot of the horses Kelly rides are exactly junior- or amateur-friendly. She definitely has some unique characters that would not do nearly as well with someone else in the tack.

I did notice she was very free with the pats, even after that refusal Thaat being said, I did find some of her rides to border on hard...but I guess brilliance could be used to describe it. I just dont find her as soft as some of the other professionals. This might be due to some of her horses...I am not privy to knowing anythng about them

[ynl063w]

I did notice she was very free with the pats, even after that refusal Thaat being said, I did find some of her rides to border on hard...but I guess brilliance could be used to describe it. I just dont find her as soft as some of the other professionals. This might be due to some of her horses...I am not privy to knowing anythng about them

This is such a tough crowd here on COTH - the riders who go for the brilliance are not liked for one petty reason or another, and the ones who don't are accused of drugging their horses to the gills. You're damned if you do, damned if you don't - and by a crowd of people who have little to no first-hand knowledge of the reality of what competing at that level really is, of all things.

It's a real shame, because it would be such a bonus for those of us who are interested in real information and education, if some actual professionals who are successful at the very top levels would participate on this board, but I can't blame any of them in the least for staying far far away...