The Results are in!!!!!!!!

[Ceridwen018]

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That's right--the results for the 8th running of the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** 3-Day Event are finally posted, and Kim and Dan have come out victorious after their impressive Olympic showing last year! This competition, held annually at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, is the absolute pinnacle of my sport, 3-Day Eventing. It's even bigger than the Olympics! This is the first year in 7 that I have not been able to attend, but it seems that those who did go were not disappointed, despite the rain.

Take a look around this thread and ask me any questions you'd like. The only way to get a true idea of how amazing and fantastic this sport truly is is through pictures, which I will post later.

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The sun, which shines so bright on my old Kentucky home, also shone brightly on Kim Severson and Plain Dealing Farm’s Winsome Adante. Kim and “Dan” were the last pair to enter the arena today at the Rolex CCI****, and she had an unprecedented 17 point lead over her nearest rival, Phillip Dutton (AUS) on Ann Jones’s The Foreman. Kim rode a flawless round, giving her her third Four Star win in four years. Leslie Law (GBR), who had been standing in second place riding Mr.Keith Scott’s Coup de Coeur, had a rail down and a single time penalty to incur 5 faults, leaving him with a final score of 55.4. Phillip also had a rail down, but was under the time allowed to move him into second place with a score of 55.2.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When queried about entering the show jumping with such a large lead, Kim said, “I just concentrated on not doing anything stupid, like missing a fence or falling off. I really didn’t let up until I’d gone through the finish flags. He‘s a pretty amazing horse.” To the delight of the crowd, Kim galloped around the arena waving to her fans as they gave her a standing ovation. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Phillip performed a bit of a hat trick when he tied himself for fourth place with Mr. Bruce Duchossois’s Hannigan, and Shannon Stimson’s Nova Top. Phillip had two fences down with Nova top, and only one down with Hannigan. He finished on both horses with a score of 55.9 Both horses were well within in the time, and when asked what he thought of Richard Jefferies’ show jumping course, he replied, “I thought it was a bit easier than the previous year’s, but it was still a tough track. I just didn’t ride it all that well.”[/font]

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The rest of the article can be found here.

 

[Ceridwen018]

These are pictures of riders "trotting up" their horses in front of a panel of judges and veterinarians before the start of competition. The best equine veterinarians in the world are gathered to carefully scrutinize the movement of the horse for any "soundness" or "lameness" problems as it trots over unforgiving concrete. Riders and grooms work together for hours prior to this early morning event to ensure that their horses are feeling as comfortable as possible, because even the slightest limp or imperfection can get you "spun" (disqualified from competition) from the trot-up. It is a truely unnerving experience, to say the least.

Let it be known that the sport of Eventing does not allow the use of any kind of drug in their horses, be it steroids, inflammatory, or otherwise. One of the great things about this sport is that it's completely clean.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Three questions:

Are those thoroughbreds? I can't really tell in the pictures.

Do you know if that blond in the last picture is looking for a date with a broken down, overweight, middle aged guy that has high blood pressure?

Is it true that Barry Bonds' horse withdrew just before the competition?

TVOR

 

[Ceridwen018]

Yes, most of them are thoroughbreds, or at the very least, thoroughbred crosses. Thoroughbreds are the only breed that have both the jumping ability, and the stamina for the sport. Other breeds really fall short in the cross-country phase which requires immense stamina, but that's all coming later!

Well TVOR, I could ask her for you if you really wanted. Her name is Lesley Grant--her horse is Timber Spirit.

Yes, I believe so!

 

[Sunstone]

Cerdiwen, my first response to the photos (in hindsight, my first response was perhaps naive) was How wonderful! Such beautiful horses and riders! But on second thought, it has occured to me that Eventing might have a darker side.

I mean, there is no explicit mention anywhere in the text that none of the horses are not homosexual.

Could it be that some are homosexual? Is this sordid fact being hidden from us in order to make Eventing look like a wholesome sport for the entire family to enjoy when in reality the sport is destroying family values and the sanctity of marriage?

Just curious.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Well TVOR, I could ask her for you if you really wanted. Her name is Lesley Grant--her horse is Timber Spirit.

Talk about your coincidences - my middle name is Grant (it really is)!! Call it destiny if you will, but it would appear that there are some unknown forces at work here!

Just to see how much coincidence is involved here, I'll ask - does she by any chance happen to have graduated from High School? If so, I see big things happening here.

Eerie, huh?

TVOr

 

[Prima]

I mean, there is no explicit mention anywhere in the text that none of the horses are not homosexual.

Could it be that some are homosexual? Is this sordid fact being hidden from us in order to make Eventing look like a wholesome sport for the entire family to enjoy when in reality the sport is destroying family values and the sanctity of marriage?

I knew there was somethin about them horses I didn't like....

 

[Ceridwen018]

I mean, there is no explicit mention anywhere in the text that none of the horses are not homosexual.

It's difficult to say, really.

To be completely honest, most of the horses have had their, er, ability to be interested in such things taken away, if you get my drift.

 

[Sunstone]

Talk about your coincidences - my middle name is Grant (it really is)!! Call it destiny if you will, but it would appear that there are some unknown forces at work here!

Just to see how much coincidence is involved here, I'll ask - does she by any chance happen to have graduated from High School? If so, I see big things happening here.

Eerie, huh?

TVOr

Yes, TVOR, but even despite these astounding coincidences, you would certainly have no chance of long term happiness with Ms Grant if her horse is homosexual. But am I the only one who sees the importance of that?

 

[Sunstone]

To be completely honest, most of the horses have had their, er, ability to be interested in such things taken away, if you get my drift.

Yikes! As a male, I feel instant sympathy for them, not to mention a strange compulsion to cross my legs. Tightly cross my legs.

 

[Druidus]

It's difficult to say, really.

To be completely honest, most of the horses have had their, er, ability to be interested in such things taken away, if you get my drift.

Even eunuchs like to be cuddled.

I had a large argument with my cousin on this one. She owned a horse, and she adamantly believed in calling him an it, because he had been castrated. This made no sense to me. Technically, the horse was still a male, because he still had male chromosomes.

Let it be known that the sport of Eventing does not allow the use of any kind of drug in their horses, be it steroids, inflammatory, or otherwise. One of the great things about this sport is that it's completely clean.

What about corticostersoids, for nasal congestion and throat irritation? Horses race better when they can breathe better!

 

[Ceridwen018]

What about corticostersoids, for nasal congestion and throat irritation? Horses race better when they can breathe better!

Lol--horses who are having trouble breathing probably shouldn't be training for international competition!

There have been instances where certain drugs have been cleared for special purposes, such as one of the "greats", Prince Panache, who had heart problems and needed to be on constant medication to help that, obviously. The drugs for Panache were cleared because they were not performance enhancing, and because he would not be able to compete, (or live, really), without them. Also, he was the anchor horse for our US Olympic team in back to back trials, so that helped his case for why the International Committee should give him special attention.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Wow, this is some cool stuff!

Who are those people with the horses in those photos you posted, Ceridwen? They aren't the riders are they?

Who did you want to win this year? Do you have any favorites?

 

[Ceridwen018]

Yes, the riders must trot-up their own horses. There is also a second trot-up the morning after the cross-country phase, and this is where most horses are spun, because many are sore and injured after the rough endurance part.

The rider in the first picture is Andrew Hoy. He has won Olympic Team Gold on the Australian Eventing Team for 5 trials in a row! The Aussie's Olympic streak was finally broken last year by the French. Whenever he rides out into the arena, the Aussie fans start chanting, "Andrew, Andrew, Andrew! Hoy, Hoy, Hoy!" A paraphrase of the famous Australian cheer, "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oy, Oy, Oy!"

The third rider is Kim Severson. She's a personal favorite of mine. She won Rolex this year, AND she won last year. The year before that she didn't compete due to a broken leg, and the year before that she won it for the first time. She also won the Bronze in the Olympics last year, and Individual Gold in the Pan American games. She's on FIRE!!

The second rider....I forget who that was....I'll have to get back to you on that!

 

[Ceridwen018]

This thread is like therapy for me! I don't see my 'horsey' friends on a regular basis during the school year, so I don't have anyone to talk horses with! It was great in grade school--my two best friends and I all rode and during the lunch period we would talk of nothing else, but now it all just gets bottled up inside of me and my eye starts twitching....:sarcastic

Anyhow, I'd like to run through a few basic introductory points about 3-Day Eventing. It originated in Europe as a mechanism for training the Cavalry, and evolved from there into a formal military competition. Soon after that, it became an International sport, open to all competitors. In the early and mid 1900's, almost all of the top riders were officers in the military, but nowadays its rare to see one.

Its basically the triathlon of horse sports, traditionally spanning over three days, with a different "phase" running each day, hence the name "3-Day" Eventing. The current organization of an International Event is as follows:

Tuesday: Horses arrive on showgrounds. Initial veterinary inspections begin at 4 p.m. During this vert inspection, the horses are just given a quick once over to make sure that their vital signs are normal and that they appear to be in good health.

Wednesday: First Trot-up (jog) in the morning.

Thursday: First day of Dressage. In traditional 3-Day format, the Dressage would start on Friday, but many competitions simply have too many riders to get them all in in one day.

Friday: Second day of Dressage.

Satruday: Cross-Country. This phase is broken up into four sub-phases, labeled as A, B, C, and D.

Sunday: Second Jog. Show Jumping. Awards.

Now I'll try to break down each phase and explain it, and I will also include many pictures from this year's Rolex Kentucky, 3-Day Event.

 

[Ceridwen018]

DRESSAGE

The Dressage phase attempts to test the horse and rider's grace, harmony, and obedience. These three traits are also necessary to excell in the other two phases, as are many of the highlighted traits of the other phases applicable here, but specifically, these traits play a major part in the Dressage phase.

The Dressage phase is the only phase with no jumping, and the only phase that is subjectively judged. It takes place in a special Dressage arena, which is in the shape of a slim rectangle, (20m x 60m), and is marked on the outer edges by different letters which act as reference points. There are also unmarked, understood letters which section off the center of the arena.

Each horse and rider combination performs what is called a "test". The Dressage test is a pre-choreographed set of movements. The test uses the reference letters in the arena to tell the riders where to go and what to do. An example would be:

1. A: Enter working trot.
2. X: Halt, salute. Proceed working trot.
3. C-M: Pick up working canter, left lead.
4. B: 20m circle, medium canter.

Each movement follows the other in a nice, flowing pattern. Each horse and rider in the competition rides the same set of movements. New tests are published each year, and the riders are informed of which test the competition has chosen well in advance, so they have months to practice.

Each movement is graded by the Dressage Judge on a scale of 0, (not performed), to 10, (excellent). The final tally of points is then added up and translated into penalty points, because the sport of Eventing is judged on a basis of cumulative penalty points. In prestigious competitions such as Rolex and the Olympics, there are a total of 3 judges. To give you an idea of how tough the scoring usually is, one can usually place in the top 5 with an average of 7's on their movements. I myself have gotten my fair share of 8's, with a few alusive 9's, but 10's are almost unheard of. At the Olympics last year, there was only one 10 in the entire competition.

Dressage truely is poetry on horseback. A winning test in a prestigious competition can only be acheived by a horse and rider combination that are truely in tune with each other and themselves--they must be an amazing partnership. Of all the phases, however, Dressage draws the least amount of spectators. This is because it usually takes a well trained eye to fully appreciate the level of difficulty, although, I feel that even a blind person could sense the concentration and sheer power that these horses and riders exude.

 

[Yerda]

To be completely honest, most of the horses have had their, er, ability to be interested in such things taken away, if you get my drift.

Ah, so there part of the 'sex is wrong' crowd?

Damn horses and their morals. And snobbery. And hooves.

 

[Yerda]

1. A: Enter working trot.
2. X: Halt, salute. Proceed working trot.
3. C-M: Pick up working canter, left lead.
4. B: 20m circle, medium canter.

And there be the gold.

 

[Ceridwen018]

And there be the gold.

Lol, if only!

Is Eventing very big in Scotland, Truth? Have you ever heard of Ian Stark?

 

[Druidus]

Ah, so there part of the 'sex is wrong' crowd?

lol! I read that geldings are easier for female riders to handle, especially inexperienced ones. Is this true, Ceridwen?