Badminton...

[eventerbabe]

the elephant in the room I guess! Oliver Townend. I've met him. He came to our RC to do a talk and training. I never liked him prior to that but my opinion did a 180. He was eloquent, honest and the care and passion he had for horses shone through.

I've found it hard to avoid the social media storm regarding his rounds. Has he merited sponsors dropping him? Do he and his team deserve the media frenzy?

 

[Flipo's Mum]

Funny how this is only being talked about now when he’s apparently had quite a few telling offs apparently isn’t it?
I haven’t seen his riding to form an opinion but I think it’s inevitable that being a job, he’s going to appear to push his horses further than others. That doesn’t mean to say I agree with it.

 

[PePo]

I quite admire him & don't think he's always had the easiest of ride's soBadmintin - both literally & within the sport. I've seen him demo & liked how he rode & came across, but also seen things I haven't liked.

He went too far at Badminton & it did border abuse IMHO - and that combined with his awful attitude when interviewed, well, I'm glad Jonelle won.

 

[newforest]

No idea what you guys are talking about.
But to be dropped by sponsors sounds like something more than a telling off and yellow card type thing.

 

[selside]

I'm unsure. It's a business. He has lots of horses, and they need to produce the goods to keep his base and home running. Prize money in eventing isn't big - nothing like other sports with less danger and far, far less expense. Like some dressage producers, he has to sell some top class horses he'd prefer to keep for the cash flow. That's not an excuse, but it is partly a reason for his attitude. If you have a sniff of a top prize you will push hard to lose the chance. I saw both his rounds and agree he did whip hard in the latter stages. Not pretty. There may have been something unseen. I like to think he would recognise if his mounts were genuinely in trouble. Under it all I suspect he loves his horses. Having bought, sold traded and ridden all sorts from being a young boy I guess he is quite hard.

As an oldie I remember seeing and hearing Yorkshireman, Harvey Smith riding. He was the same blunt speaking bluff sort of fella who rode hard. I don't think Townend chooses his word well, and even revels in speaking with northern truthfulness. I have met him too. It wasn't pretty, but you see crueler and worse riding at most local shows . Sponsors are watching their reputations and seem to have decided he's too controversial. They'll likely pick a silver spoon type who works better on a sound bite.
.

 

[KP nut]

No idea what you guys are talking about.
But to be dropped by sponsors sounds like something more than a telling off and yellow card type thing.

Not necessarily. BHS are virtue signalling imo. And sponsors are respondiong to the keyboard warriors who are gunning for him.

He was pulled up for excessive use of the whip: FEI rules are that you can not use a whip more than 3 times for a single incident nor after the last fence has been jumped. He used his whip 4/5 times and did use it after the last jumped as his horse was down on the time and he was trying to push it home. He was warned and yellow carded. His horses were checked very carefully for any marks and he was allowed to continue.

He then had a camera and mic shoved in his face seconds after losing the Grand Slam by a single pole and asked for a reaction and came across like an ungracious bellend. So would I in those circumstances probably.

The next day he made a sincere sounding public apology, taking full responsibility for his actions, accepting his yellow card was justified, saying the pressure of the Grand Slam got to him and he rode in a way that he was ashamed of and was acting as a poor role model.

It made horrible viewing and I was unimpressed. Was horrid to see such harsh riding after seeing the beauty of riders like Michael Jung easing their horse round, and Jonty focusing solely on Art's welfare when he made an error and got caught up on a fence. But I hate the way in which social media hypes everyone up and demonises people and I don't think what I saw justifies the abuse and the vitriol. I've seen worse riding at local shows frankly. If all those expressing their outrage spent that energy on the multiple far worse horse welfare issues in the world then the horse-world might be changed for the better. But it's easier to be abusive on FB than it is to actually promote horse welfare in anny meaningful way.

 

[eventerbabe]

Perfectly put KP nut. I've been sickened by the online abuse I've read. People need to remember they can be held accountable for their actions online aswell as in the real world!

 

[PePo]

As should Oli Townend - or any rider - remember they are responsible for what they do and say.

If you're prepared to beat tired, green horses long after they've stopped responding and not even have the decency to give either of those horses a pat at the end of their XC round in front of TV camera's - you need to be prepared for the consequences IMHO.

He's a string of FEI offences going back 10 years around riding tired horses & use of the whip. It wasn't a one off.

I understand that the competition nerves/stress may have set in. But we're not talking about an amateur rider who might be a bit ring rusty but a professional rider that deals with that day in, day out & who people look up to.

I actually think he's a decent rider & from what I've seen, a decent person. But, I think 'competitive' riding makes him take unnecessary risks and lose focus of the horse's welfare.

I hope this helps him learn from it.

 

[chunky monkey]

I didn't watch all on the TV. But of the large number I saw from about half way round he was using the whip quite firmly. Even the person watching with me who wasn't horsey said it seemed excessive.
It was the commentators before he even went round that kept saying that those at the top if they felt the horse wasn't right would just ease off and give there horse the trip or pull up and save it for another day. So if his horse had exhausted itself before starting why didn't he ease off.
I can remember another rider think he was Italian, think he did XC but definitely showjuming, he was always very harsh with his rides. The comments were that he was an effective rider. Can't remember his name but you don't see him riding now. I always thought he was quite aggressive in the way he rode.

 

[KP nut]

If his horse had exhausted itself before starting why didn't he ease off.......
.

Perhaps because there was £250,000 on the line and the glory of the Grand Slam? I can't imagine that kind of pressure and can imagine you want every ounce of effort from your horses in those circumstances. I wouldn't describe the horse as exhausted either. He was tired and flagging- the ground was heavy - which meant it was very hard to make the time. In fact no one did make the time. Which increased the pressure as time faults rack up so quickly. But I wasn't watching thinking that horse needs pulling up as it was struggling to jump safely.