‘Our sport was seen in a constructive mild in Paris’

Nick Skelton, who gained crew gold at London 2012 and particular person gold at Rio 2016, seems past some overzealous stewards to a blinding Paris Video games

Paris 2024 will sit proper up there as probably the greatest Olympics I’ve been to. From the wonderful amenities for the horses to the gorgeous backdrop, the showjumping was very good.

I’ve all the time been towards the brand new three-rider crew format, a lot preferring to have a drop rating, nevertheless it labored rather well in Paris with a component of sudden dying – one fault and also you’re out – that made it so thrilling.

I’ve by no means seen Nice Britain’s trio of Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Harry Charles trip higher, and for Scott to coax each final ounce of reserves from Jefferson – who can be removed from a straightforward trip – underneath immense strain to win gold confirmed very good horsemanship.

Course-designers Santiago Varela and Grégory Bodo deserve a medal too. The fences had been lovely they usually did a wonderful job all through. The ultimate day’s monitor was as large as I’ve seen however completely pitched – to get three clears for 3 medals is the final word purpose in course-building however no imply feat.

I assumed Steve Guerdat was going to win and the group actually obtained behind him, however that was a really arduous turnback to the vertical within the jump-off. Christian Kukuk is an excellent rider and has gained some large grands prix with Checker 47, so he was a worthy winner. Then for Maikel van der Vleuten to win his second particular person Olympic bronze medal is an incredible achievement, albeit with a touch of heartbreak that he’s twice come so near gold.

It was such a disgrace to look at my companion Laura Kraut simply miss out on the final fence within the particular person remaining with Baloutinue, who I’d by no means seen leap higher – such had been the highs and lows.

I did smile listening to a BBC presenter say it was Nice Britain’s first crew showjumping gold since 2012 when actually it was solely our second in 72 years. However we’ve secured 4 gold medals on the previous 4 Video games, so let’s hope our governing physique British Showjumping capitalises on this success, will get our exhibits again on a par with these in mainland Europe and makes us the envy of the world as soon as once more.

Simply allow us to trip

Understandably, horse welfare was on the forefront of everybody’s minds at these Video games. I’m all for proper procedures to ensure it stays a prime precedence, however the one slight dampener in Paris was what I might name some overzealous stewarding.

Take Laura for instance – she loves her horses. They observe her around the steady at dwelling, the place they obtain five-star remedy. However she and these different skilled riders had been instructed day-after-day as to how they need to and shouldn’t be working their horses, who, like every human athlete, want their our bodies to be stretched, flexed and completely warmed-up.

We’re doing nothing improper, however there’s a worry that we might be seen to be by do-gooders who suppose we use and abuse our beloved horses.

After the mud has settled on these Video games, the FEI wants to take a look at the blood rule as a result of having it so black and white isn’t truthful. I noticed the tiny mark located underneath the horse’s girth for which Brazil’s Pedro Veniss was eradicated within the crew contest. It was a bitter tablet to swallow for him. However think about if, for instance, Scott, having secured gold, had then been discovered to have a tiny rub mark they usually later needed to announce their elimination?

VAR for stewards?

If the stewards had a direct line to the judges and a video assistant referee (VAR)-style replay out there for any horse discovered to have blood on it, they might take a look at every case clearly to establish the place and why it occurred.

Sometimes a rider might be at fault, wherein case that’s a transparent elimination, however horses don’t leap these large fences on their very own. If you happen to don’t assist your horse, he’s simply as prone to land on a again rail and harm himself, which is way worse than an unintended spur mark.

We could also be strolling a tightrope, however in Paris we got here collectively to showcase our sport in a particularly constructive mild with 20,000 individuals packing the stands every day in assist. What extra might you need?

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