Team GB Full delegation announced

[mpjmcevoy 362]

4 minutes ago, Mkbw50 said:

I saw the video, and thought... was that it? Not in a "it's okay" way, just in a "I thought that was normal there" way

Absolutely my reaction - didn't like it, don't really like dressage, was long aware of everyday abusive stuff on the continent, assumed GBR had not caught up with these nations without employing similar methods - think Team Sky and TUEs.

 

Worth noting in context that the Wonderhorse of the age was a dutch horse, Totillas that was controversially bought for an absolute fortune by the Dutch great rivals the Germans, with MUCHOS MUCHOS bad feeling. The Horse never really got better, and died relatively young. The Dutch regularly complained, publically, that the Germans were 'ruining' the horse with rollkur and other practices.

 

Yet the former dutch rider of totillas was using exactly those practices with all his horses. Always had been.

 

In other words, Dutch hypocrisy in this area is not new, and they are far from innocent. They do the same shit - but they are the only ones who accuse others.

 

 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

3 minutes ago, Olympicsnell said:

There was one moment, after she whips the first set, where the horse rears up and looks distressed, it was at that moment she lost my support

With the best will in the world, causing distress is the point. A horse is, frankly, a pretty dumb animal. They aren't all really Mr Ed.  It doesn't understand 'why' type instruction, it can't be cajoled or persuaded or bribed into doing new things it doesn't understand or naturally want to. Those artificial movements are trained in by repeat use of carrot and stick - a phrase that literally refers to equine traing. And it's a real stick, and it hurts and its supposed to.

 

that's the grim truth. A horse is controlled with a bit, bridle and reins. Think about what that actually means. - a mouth bar pins the tongue, the horses head is held in place, and the implement is pulled, twisted and turned to direct the horse. this isn't shep, a dog who can learn whistles.

 

Someone somewhere decried "my god, treating that poor horse like a circus elephant'

 

Kiddo, the elephant is smarter, it's arguably more cruel to the elephant. But the idea is absolutely the same, and for the same reason.

 

IF you can't stomach that - and many can't and its a legitimate view - then there's no point even following equestrian sports let alone dressage.

[mpjmcevoy 362]

20 minutes ago, Olympicsnell said:

You must be happy. Everyone else celebrating the sport starting, meanwhile your happy cause an athlete got defunded smh

Orangehair is obsessed with crises news about funding, constantly dragging stories with no funding implications to that subject. seems to have a bee in his bonnet about the subject, but its tedious for the rest of us to see the fantasies constantly and boringly repeated. It's almost a relief that there's some limited 'there there' in this case, though not for the reasons he's suggesting.

[Rafa Maciel 1,594]

1 hour ago, Mkbw50 said:

 

As a "country wane", have to say, I thought the video was all a bit 'meh' in the end - but I do think it will be difficult for her to recover from. 

 

Watching the longer version that is doing the rounds, it's not like she was constantly whipping the horse. Typically, they were grouped together in 3 or 4 strikes. I think I counted 6 in relative quick succession early on, but from the sound, it was equally possible that some of those strikes hit the wall and not the horse itself. That being said, there was one strike at the start of the video where she had a kind of two-handed lunge which I did think looked bad. 

 

One of the interesting things in the video is that far from being disgusted or worried about what they were seeing, the person who was filming could be heard laughing in the background. 

[Orangehair43 251]

1 hour ago, mpjmcevoy said:

Orangehair is obsessed with crises news about funding, constantly dragging stories with no funding implications to that subject. seems to have a bee in his bonnet about the subject, but its tedious for the rest of us to see the fantasies constantly and boringly repeated. It's almost a relief that there's some limited 'there there' in this case, though not for the reasons he's suggesting.

I’m just reporting a story and the fact some of the press are now running with the sport shouldn’t get public funding or even be at the games.

[mpjmcevoy 362]

24 minutes ago, Orangehair43 said:

I’m just reporting a story and the fact some of the press are now running with the sport shouldn’t get public funding or even be at the games.

You were saying?

 

[Epic Failure 355]

Just for info, I went and browsed a horsey message board. They are 90% shocked and appalled, and that's a crowd that is...more understanding of the 'need' to 'train' horses in a manner similar to this.

 

Whilst the video was less distressing than I worried it could be, it's still someone whipping a clearly distressed animal. When the best that can be said is "it's not as awful as I worried it could be", it's not a good luck.

 

I also see from the BBC report today that a Danish reserve was replaced after a training video came to light. Different level of impact to their team but at least that shows that this is a more widespread issue and maybe a reckoning is coming.

 

Put me in the camp that would not be worried if we lost this sport.

[Orangehair43 251]

2 hours ago, Epic Failure said:

Just for info, I went and browsed a horsey message board. They are 90% shocked and appalled, and that's a crowd that is...more understanding of the 'need' to 'train' horses in a manner similar to this.

 

Whilst the video was less distressing than I worried it could be, it's still someone whipping a clearly distressed animal. When the best that can be said is "it's not as awful as I worried it could be", it's not a good luck.

 

I also see from the BBC report today that a Danish reserve was replaced after a training video came to light. Different level of impact to their team but at least that shows that this is a more widespread issue and maybe a reckoning is coming.

 

Put me in the camp that would not be worried if we lost this sport.

I suspect GB withdrawing from competing in it due to lack of support or funds is more likely than the whole sport being axed for 2028. 
 

 

Edited July 24 by Orangehair43

[mpjmcevoy 362]

12 minutes ago, Orangehair43 said:

I suspect GB withdrawing from competing in it due to lack of support or funds is more likely than the whole sport being axed for 2028. 
 

 

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