I love Mr. Hester's riding. If you're in the public at such International events, criticism won't come short. But is every critic even able to ride at these levels? I salute Mr. Hester and am a huge fan! Well done! Well done!🎉
Finally!! A co-commentator and a man at that. FEI Dressage commentation has been so single voiced and bogged down with endless minutia of every single little movement, running a 4 to 1 negative ratio. Its such a distraction that I have been turning the voice volume off the last few shows. It's just nice to hear about other things, the big picture, some backstory on the riders. Thanks FEI
Beautiful ride, the horse seemed to be relaxed, only flicked his tail once that I noticed. I really liked that he didn’t poke him with the spurs to achieve passage, piaffe, as I’ve seen other riders do.
If you watched properly Carl always hass the lightest of hands. He knows this horse tenses up and is working all the time to get him to relax Fame has a very short neck which doesn't help.
Far too short in the neck through the whole program except in the extended walk. Simply too short rains! Every now and then he is behind the vertical. So why do you sit here and boost this! Shame on you!
Beyond sad to see the beautiful classical dressage rider that Carl once was becoming a caricature to please judges who don't have a clue what they are looking at. This horse is short on the neck, not properly on the bit, against the hand (bulging under neck), hollow, unengaged and not collected. 9 for piaffe!!! Unbelievable, but sadly also believable.
He's been working with Fame since January. Obviously there is a ways to go. Hopefully Fame can overcome his shortcomings,which is difficult enough with a hot horse.
In my experience, horses with immense work ethic like this will occasionally get behind the vertical more readily than the rider asks. It can make the rider look as if they’re demanding that connection when it’s not necessarily the case.
