Good for him, ridden beautifully, he didn't tug at the horses mouth, get angry or anything. More olympians should be like him. The horse comes first no matter what. He won a gold metal in my heart.
what a nice guy love it when he pats the horse after and doesn't get mad when he spooks...you see too many riders these days not bothering to acknowledge the horse :(
At that moment, the horse had untwisted his panties, started behaving, and allowed a looser rein. Getting out of the ring surely helped too. Any trainer/rider worth his salt should have *instantly* rewarded this beautiful beastie for that, always encouraging better behavior, and this guy had perfect timing too. That's part of what makes him an Olympian.
It was raining at the start of the test, so everyone probably had their umbrellas up already. Then suddenly the rain stopped and it got sunny, so it's possible that what spooked the horse was all those umbrellas being closed and put away! Horses are very sensitive to changes in their environment, and a lot of horses find umbrellas pretty scary in general.
Horses are afraid of 2 things, things they see and things they don't see. I really feel bad for the rider and his team, his test was going so well. Good riding through the horse's meltdown.
I like how when the horse started to spook that he didn't try to keep the horse under the bit, instead he let him have his head, in case it was the bit bothering him. Then he went to gather up his horse after the big incident, of course the horse would still be nervous from it though.
It looked more to me like the horse pulled a haunch muscle. Not uncommon, especially with him getting wet from the rain. Good dressage horses are sometimes something of perfectionist, and when he could not do the movements he was being asked to be because it hurt, he freaked out a little. Excellent riding! But It still sickens me to see the heels up, using the spur too much, and with the curb cranked tight. This horse was looking a bit pissed before the freak-out. That was no simple spook.
“Things were going fine until he spotted a TV camera in the corner and the crowd were moving around in their seats due to the rain and it all went wrong,” Horse seemed quite happy working rain or not. Then a camera suddenly grew teeth and funny looking people were all there to help eat him. ACK! . Happens to even the most seasoned horses. These horses are too sharp and reactive to be police-horse bombproof anyway. It was by far the most collected equine tantrum I've ever seen, that's for sure.
Looks to me like he got shocked. He was just too solid til then for a silly visual spook. It seems from the live feed sound that there are microphones in the letter boxes. I wonder.
I agree!! But I think the Olympic organizers and the ground jury from the Eventing dressage got into a lot of trouble after holding up Andrew Nicholson 10 minutes because of the rain, so they probably didn't want to risk another controversy!
The horse is working its mouth because he is being forced by a "strong" (actually sharp and painful) bit to keep his nose tucked in toward his chest. This is also called "working behind the vertical." This is a cruel practice with severe physical consequences for the horse--for one thing, his trachea is compressed, impeding respiration. In addition, the horse can not see, and that will induce a horse to spook.The training method is called "rollkur," and its results have become the standard for show and dressage horses. During all its training and performing, the horse to whom it is applied knows pain.
Wow, you seriously couldn't more more wrong if you tried. First of all, "sharp" bits are not permitted in dressage ever. The United States Equestrian Federation rulebook reads in part: "bits must be smooth with a solid surface. Twisted and wire bits are prohibited." This is the standard at every single sanctioned dressage show in the US and around the world. It is also the rule at every small schooling show and breed show I have ever been to. At all sanctioned shows a steward is present at the entrance/exit of every arena to check the bits of horses who have just completed a test. At an FEI (international) competition, every single horse must have its bit inspected to ensure compliance, the spurs of the rider are examined, and ear bonnets must come off to ensure no sharpness there either. Any horse found by a judge to have fresh blood on his body will be eliminated on the spot, even if it were from something as innocuous as a horse that nicked one leg with another foot while moving. As for the comments that this horse is being ridden in rolkur, that is also completely, unequivocally untrue. While there are a number of riders who train and warm up their horses in this manner, it is NOT the "standard" at all. It is most common amongst the Dutch riders but is not employed by nor endorsed by most dressage trainers and riders. The FEI has rules prohibiting the use of rolkur at shows but sadly this is an area that is not as easily enforced as the proper tack and equipment. Some cases are clearly rolkur and completely unacceptable and others are borderline. The reason why Capital spooked was because there was a television camera with a rain cover on it in the corner where the spooking occured. In the first half of David's ride it was a torrential downpour and the rain cover accumulated a lot of water in the folds. As the camera was pivoted for filming, the water rolled off the cover and Capital was upset by it. As for why he was opening his mouth, it was because he was tense and opening his mouth was an evasion tactic. Have sympathy for David Marcus. He trained most of his life to get to the Olympics and if he had not had the misfortune of having to ride during a terrible rainstorm, his test would likely have gone very well. He was the victim of bad luck.
The pair are young and need more time to develope. Thats all. That horse shouldnt have gone this year. Feel bad for David of course that it had to end this way. Oh well there is always Rio!
Such a shame. I guarantee it was the ponchos the people were wearing standing around the ring. They should have stopped the test. Feel so bad for David and Capitol .
why do you have to be so awkward? i simply wanted to know what happened, so i can learn from it. if you would just of told me what happened it would of been a lot easier.
