Let's discuss this.
-A lot of people are calling for this portion of the event to be removed. Others state this event has military origins and if a soldier was down behind enemy lines- these are all things they may have to do to survive and/or escape- sword fighting, shooting, running, swimming and jump on a horse to flee the area, jumping whatever is in the way.
-There is also the argument that these horses aren't suited for this level of jumps. Why are some horse and rider combos able to complete the course then? Others state these are school horses that are used to packing students around on courses while the riders figure things out.
-Some of these riders admit to only riding twice a month between competitions. IMO this is on them and why their riding is what it is. While I may not have a horse to ride or compete at this level, if I plan on attending an event of any kind- I ride or drive and fine tune what needs to be fixed at least a few months leading up to said event. I work with the horse at least a few times a week, every week and fix any of their issues that may pop up and fix my own too. The Olympics is a pretty large scale event and everyone has a pretty good idea when it starts and what day they will be competing. These people/athletes have plenty of time to plan for this and work on their riding skills. No excuse.
-I have seen where people state she had the option of asking for another horse. This is where knowing the rules of your sport is crucial. There is video on YouTube below with this same rider competing in 2012. Surely between then and now, her and her coach have seen or known of another rider asking for a different horse. Know your rules people! Know. Your. Rules!
-Apparently Saint Boy didn't have a good round with the previous rider and had 3 refusals. Sometimes another rider can take a horse and get more cooperation out of them. They can soothe the horse and calm them down, managing to get around the course. If the rules allow you to ask for another horse after the 20 minute warm up and you two just aren't getting along, by all means get another horse. If she had done this, it could have been a completely different outcome and there wouldn't be anything to discuss.
-People are complaining that 20 minutes to warm up and get to know the horse is not enough. Others counter that with the fact- catch riders do this at shows all the time. Trainers get on new/strange horses all the time to evaluate them for clients or to see what needs to be changed and where they're at, before purchasing.... any number of reasons. If you were a soldier behind enemy lines trying to escape- there's no knowledge of the horse you're getting on having a.n.y. jumping skills at all. If a gate or fence comes up- you're praying like hell and hoping that horse trusts you enough to try to go over it.
-There's a photo posted online saying Saint Boy is back home relaxing and recovering from this event. Others saying its a pic of a different horse- if you look closely the trees behind him have no leaves and the horse has a full winter coat. Not what he would look like coming home from a summer event.
-There was also comments stating Kaley Cuoco has offered to buy the horse at any cost. You might know her as Penny from The Big Bang Theory. If this is true? Props to her and Much Respect!
Thoughts on all of this?
