My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Stunning rides by Sir Mark Todd on Leonidas II and Lauren Kieffer on Veronica II have knocked Michael Jung from the lead after the second day of dressage at Burghley.
Today was the first day of dressage of Burghley 2017. Friday is another day of dressage and Cross Country takes place on Saturday. Don’t forget that Burghley will be live streamed, so you can enjoy a front row seat!
What a lovely horse! What focus! Any one of those “distractions” would have sent Freedom into the next hemisphere.
After two days of dressage, Clark Montgomery on Loughan is firmly in the lead with an impressive 33.6%.
Michel Jung and FischerRocana sits in second place with 37.1%.
Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border are in third place with 41.0%.
Perhaps stealing the show was the retirement ride by Allison Springer and Arthur.
Sprenger chose to retire the 18 year old Irish Sport Horse gelding at what would have been his eighth start at Rolex. Arthur was recently diagnosed with aortic regurgitation — leakage from the aortic valve, which is a common degenerative problem in older horses.
“Arthur is my one of my oldest friends. He and I have traveled the
world together, and we have had many moments of triumph and some moments of heartbreak, but in every moment, he has been my partner and I have always been incredibly proud to get to ride him,” Allison said.
This isn’t just any rocking horse. This is Valegro.
Given the focus on dressage this week, I couldn’t resist posting this. I may have posted it before, but it’s so funny that it’s worth watching again.
Charlotte Dujardin has taken the lead in the dressage in Rio by turning in a commanding 85.07% on Valegro. Not a surprise, really as they are the reigning world champion, but they really lived up to their billing. If I could ride a horse that well — and ride a horse that talented — I could forego jumping forever!
Thanks to someone posting video from a BBC channel, I was actually able to watch the dressage performances. They are posted on Facebook so I’m hoping the embedding works for all of you.
Steffan Peters is currently the highest placing American rider, competing on Legolas.
Here’s a nice interview with Charlotte (and Valegro).
William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning held onto their leadership position with a score of 37.0. What a come back for William, who had a terrible fall last year. To see him back in the saddle and in such great form is inspiring.
He tells his story best in these two interviews below. Until listening to him, I’d had no idea how much he’s had to overcome in his recovery.
Horses have always been part of my life and I love being around them. During my recovery they gave me something to go for. The horses really got me back to being fit and back on the job.
In the beginning I couldn’t see very well at all and then for several months I had blurred vision. It did effect my riding.
‘The jumping was tricky when you could see one fence that became four and I couldn’t really tell which one I was jumping until the last minute. It’s tough.
