March Madness: Bracket Battle of Event Horses

By Visionaire on
 Well, it’s March.  That can only mean one thing: the entire American office world is consumed by the madness of brackets, seeds, Cinderella upsets and cutting down nets.  Office pools and corporate lunches rest in the delicate balance of obscure schools like Northern Iowa vs. Sam Houston State.  Yes, it is time for that grand spectacle of NCAA Tournament basketball, and life is looking really good from my (blue) part of the world.

Not to be outdone, the “ENCAA” has created it’s own bracket busting challenge.  Our selection committee has sorted through many of the sport’s great horses, considering their SOS, RPI, and FEI numbers.  We have chosen the top 32 event horses and pitted them against each other to determine who is the best.  I hesitate to name the winner the “GOAT” –greatest of all time– so we’ll just call him the 2010 EN Champion (a “Helms Title” if you will; I’m sure UNC will hang a banner for it).  The winner will be selected by YOU, as readers will have the opportunity to vote the most-deserving horse on to the next round.  We decided to include only retired horses, *not* those currently competing, as their legacy is not yet finalized.

As with NCAA fans, you are free to quibble and whine about the seeding of this bracket, who was left out of “the dance,” and brag about who you believe is better.  Witty, amusing, nostalgic, or clever comments regarding the horses in question may receive additional votes at EN’s discretion (like NCAA referees, we take bribes).  So please vote, offer your opinions or smacktalk, and boost your favorite horse to the top.   

You will notice there are two sides to the bracket: US and International, who will meet in the finals.  (Also note that the O’Connors were able to fill an entire region by themselves…now that’s dominance!)  We will provide a brief biography for each horse, to refresh your memory on some of these great competitors and assist you in your selection.  Good luck, and may the best horse win!

ROUND 1 VOTING will begin tomorrow, Tuesday March 8, with the 1 vs 8 seed match-ups.  New match-ups will be posted every day through March, except weekends.  Get to it, EN! 

BracketBattlesUpdate.JPG

*note: reflecting the insights in the comment section, the bracket has been updated as of 11:55pm 3/8/10

Note: Eventing Nation is a community built upon positive and fun discussion of the insanity that is our beloved sport of eventing. We always appreciate discussion, feedback, and criticism but comments must be constructive and appropriate. The easiest way to leave a comment is using the Twitter of Facebook login. If you submit a comment by typing in an anonymous username, it will be sent to the EN comment moderation Chinchillas for approval.

  • Andrea
  • lec

    Toytown totally deserves to be there being World Champion and European Champion he is a far better horse than Ballincoola(Ballincoola and Primmores Pride have not retired yet either as all the others have?) Also I would have had some European horses as Galan de Savagere and Ringwood Cockatoo? Get Smart while good was not a big winner.
    What about Headley Brittania for Australia? Olympic team silver, winner of Burghley, Kentucky and Badminton equalling Primmores Pride and a far better horse than Peppermint Grove.

    My votes would go to out of the list Custom Made, Winsome Adante, Primmores Pride and Ready Teddy.

  • Visionaire

    Lec,
    How on earth could I forget about Toytown?? I guess I figured he was still competing; I didn't know Brit was retired, either. She would DEFINITELY be on there if she's hung up her shoes!

    I knew Cockatoo was close to retirement, but wasn't sure if he was completely done.

    I completely admit to being a bit uninformed about the European horses' status...the news always seems to filter over a bit slowly here! Thank you very much for your updates! I want to get it right.

  • Anonymous

    John, I think you need to extend the field to 64. Too many good horses were missed. On the american front how about jacob two two, hannigan, carrick, windfall....the list could go on for a while. Its a great idea, but I think too many top quality horses are missing.

  • Visionaire

    Oh I actually really wanted to do 64 (or 65, with a play-in, lol). But John was worried that it would be a little too overwhelming, and would go on too long. Trust me, it is very hard to narrow down 32 horses...you will surely leave somebody out! That's why I won't call it "The Greatest Ever," because a 32-horse field simply can't determine that.

    To my knowledge, Carrick is still competing. I think he did well at Pine Top last weekend.

  • Anonymous

    what a great idea! This is a wonderful way to look back at and remember our sport's great horses.

  • lsa

    Visionaire, What a marvelous, outstanding, visionaireista idea. Thank you Andrea, I also vote for Charisma.

  • lec

    I am guessing criteria is 1990s to present and must be retired? As Priceless is my all time ultimate event horse (Winner of Badminton, Burghley, European Champion, World Champs, Bronze medal at Los Angeles and Team Silver, never had a single xc fault http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priceless_(horse) but would be missed off in this criteria as competed in 1980s.
    Headley Brittania has not retired I think she will be aimed at WEG. I do not think Toytown will ever do anything much again as pretty much unsound.

  • http://www.micjerseys.com/Wholesale-nhl-jerseys-minnesota-wild_c842 wholesale jerseys from china

    I like this sport. You like it? what you think of it? If you have some time, it may wish to continue your article to share with you the happiness.

  • http://www.christianlouboutin365.com/ christian louboutin shoes

    The taste of ashes in my mouth is so bitter that food jumps from my lips to escape it. Why don’t you love me? And, also, am I not technically the housewife in this particular ménage?