dcro

Another French team rider has his score listed as under review. Slightly suspish.

I see that the modern pentathlon is still going at it with their phantom universality spots. We know they are going to be left unclaimed.

In dressage there is an opposite issue. Competition is stronger on the continent so every now and then a news comes out about some British rider having to withdraw last minute after their horse got stuck at Calais or somewhere.

Eventing is specific in that you can only really aim for one major competition in about 4-6 weeks. Even if you focus on the short format events, you still need 10 days between two cross-country completions in regards to welfare. So the gaps in a calendar are a fixture here. British competitions have indeed been largely reduced to just domestic riders (Britons and internationals residing there, mainly from Australia, New Zealand and Japan), plus the usual dose of Americans who make the trip. The amount of riders from the continent has gone down, and that's across the board (in particular Germany and Sweden, but also Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain).

To give the decision some credence, Malinin did took part at the World Championships and delivered a sub-par performance. In his own words, he felt it was result of pressure to perform.

Team standings after Day 1: https://live.rechenstelle.de/2022/pratoni_09/nationcup01.html In terms of Olympic qualification, my predictions have been spot on so far. Only Italy, now in 8th, is holding a ticket instead of Switzerland, but it's all marginal. Ireland was a sad sight today. Wow. Looks like they went back to their traditional poor dressage, which was definitely not the case in 2018 when they picked up two silvers...

GB traditionally has the strongest competition circuit. After Brexit the entry of horses became a bit of a logistic nightmare, so the amount of international (European mostly) riders attending these events has nosedived since.

Great Britain already dominating as expected, however I don't think it will be such a sweep individually after Day 2. Surely the eventing is the only sport where Brexit alone actually made GB stronger. Excellent so far for New Zealand and United States. Monica Spencer really did hit one out of the park here. This is her first ever competition outside of Australia and New Zealand, so yeah, it was pretty impossible to compare her form to those in Europe and North America. Oceanian circuit is no joke, and it's always pretty great to see their federations sending some completely new names for the championships and those same names delivering.

Surprised he did it already, but not surprised it actually happened. Finally it will silence those who claimed that 4A was impossible.

Carlile's score was in the end lowered by 1.2 (highered in terms of penalties), so in fact he received a deduction for some reason. From what I've read, it seems to be a windy day in Rome area. At some point (before Jarno Verwimp came in for Belgium) the organizers decided to remove flower pots.

I've been following the live scores only so far. Thomas Carlile's result is listed as under review. That is very strange.

Dressage should go forward. Usually they stop it only if there is a thunderstorm closeby.

It's a lot like an Opening ceremony at the Olympics. Austrians were the best dressed. https://eventingnation.com/pratoni-e-bellissimo-sights-and-sounds-from-the-first-horse-inspection/

Start list is out. https://live.rechenstelle.de/2022/pratoni_09/leaderboard01.html Germany was drawn first which is the least ideal position. Brazil will end the team rotation. Somehow Canada always gets drawn early, but at least they will not be forced to be the competition trail blazers like they were in both Rio and Tryon, their last two team appearances. Regarding the individual rider for big nations, there are no real surprises there. Team USA is kind of dumb for going with Lauren Nicholson over Arial Grald. New Zealand choosing Spencer over Pottinger is curious as well. But maybe they just don't like Pottinger & Just Kidding's show jumping record.

Everyone passed the horse inspection, except sadly Daniela Moguel's Cecelia who was withdrawn from the holding box. Start list and team rotations will be out shortly. Will Coleman & Off The Record Holly Jacks & Candy King

Ways to watch: https://www.fei.org/stories/sport/where-can-i-watch-pratoni-2022-coverage Looks like the Olympic Channel will stream too in some undisclosed territories.

It's all happening this week. Here is a throwback at the last time Pratoni hosted championships (2007 Europeans). Pratoni slide was there, and it will be there once again this year early in the course (but with different obstacles, of course).

There is also the issue of three-day tournaments, which I don't think is all that great for any multi-sports games, in particular the Olympics. It just comes and goes amidst other action. Paris scheduling is a novelty with the group stages starting before the Opening ceremony and the finals on the first days. I am pretty confident this was done to increase viewership more than anything else.

It would be a spineless decision, but they do have a precedent... Imo, rugby sevens is still facing growing pains which started immediately after the freshness of Rio expired, basically.

Yes, it turned out to be a pretty easy promotion for Italy. Austria was left two fences behind. Now if things go wrong at the Eurpoeans next year, then Italy might have one last chance to grab Olympic quota at the 2023 Nations Cup Finals...

Kind of sad how at this day and age a joke needs a disclaimer, apparently on top of an emoji, otherwise the -ism bombs explode immediately. While we are at it, what's up with the laughing downvotes on the Totallympics? Some are becoming quite proficient at it.

Here we go again with the Balkan mafia. Kind of ironic that Italy is so often apparently a victim in sports despite of its size and undoubtedly huge influence... And despite, you know, the fact that the term mafia actually comes from there.

Duty first, family second, horses third. https://www.eurodressage.com/2022/09/08/queen-elisabeth-ii-dies-aged-96

Jako loše protiv Izraela. Sedmo mjesto bi također trebalo biti dovoljno za Svjetsko prvenstvo, ali nakon ovog danas, mislim da su šanse zaista male protiv Francuske... Izgleda da ni vaterpolistice nisu imune na razočarenja (potop) u ključnim mečevima.