Oliver Towned Sports Illustrated photo

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation, Random and , , ,

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from the May 3rd issue of Sports Illustrated 

A few people sent me emails asking about the Sport's Illustrated photo, and I just had a chance to pick up a copy of SI this weekend.  Sports Illustrated published this photo of Oliver's fall from Ashdale Cruise Master in their "Leading Off" photo section, right along side Luke Walton of the Lakers falling on an OKC Thunder player and a baseball player breaking his bat.  
Last week, Kim made a comment about Oli's photo in Sports Illustrated and pondered "aren't we happy to see eventing in the mainstream press...errr...maybe not."  Right now, it seems to me that eventing is not mainstream enough to receive consistent major coverage, but it is just mainstream enough to receive attention when things go wrong.  
Every time I watch the video, I am reminded of what I said after seeing the live feed: it would be a miracle if he wasn't dead or paralyzed.  It's simply astounding that he walked away from the hospital the next day.
Oliver's fall -- Warning: not for the faint of heart

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Oliver Back at Rolex

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and
Oliver Towned has been released from the hospital...for real this time...we promise.
Oliver was out and about at the horse park this afternoon.  If you have any photos of an Oli sighting from Sunday, please send it in and we will post it just as hard evidence that he has actually left the hospital.

In the interview, Oliver explains that the FEI has given him a 21 day pause from competition because the fall knocked him unconscious.  Obviously Oliver will miss Badminton.
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Oliver Townend Not Seriously Injured

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and , ,

I have confirmed from a source close to the situation that Oliver is conscious, walking around, and not seriously injured, and that he might be released from the hospital sometime soon.  Perhaps the best sign is that Oliver was apparently flirting with the nurses.

Oliver Townend is currently at the University of Kentucky medical center, where he was airlifted after a serious fall during Saturday's Cross-Country at Rolex.  His horse, Ashdale Cruise Master fell on top of Oliver at the Hollow, which is a XC complex with a vertical rail and two bounce banks down.  Oliver was apparently knocked unconscious after the fall.
More information later as we get it.
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Oliver Townend Reportedly Conscious and Moving After Fall

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and ,

Oliver Townend is conscious after being airlifted to the University of Kentucky Hospital.  Oliver's Facebook fan page reports that he was able to move after the fall:

"[Oliver] was taken away by helicopter and was conscious and able to move when he left. He will remain in hospital for the time being. Ashdale Cruise Master will be checked by the vets but initailly looks to be fine."


William's site even reports that Oliver is swearing at the hospital:

"The good news is he has regained consciousness and is cursing and swearing so hopefully this means he is ok, much to the relief of us all here. Knowing Ollie he could well be back to ride ODT Master Rose in the show jumping tomorrow as he is lying well up there."

 

Clearly initial reports suggest that we should be optimistic.  More news later as we get it.

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Oliver Townend Airlifted After Fall on Ashdale Cruise Master at Rolex

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and , ,
Oliver Towned was airlifted from Rolex Saturday afternoon after falling from Ashdale Cruise Master at the Hollow (#20 and #21AB) on the Rolex Cross-Country course.  
Ashdale Cruise Master caught his legs while jumping the rail at #20 but the horse continued over the fence and rotated onto Oliver.  
Event officials quickly erected the tarp shielding.  Within 10 minutes Oliver was placed on a board and transported by helicopter, reportedly to the UK medical center.
Ashdale Cruise Master was walking after the fall, and I heard that Ashdale Cruise Master is fine but the horse received a trailer ride back to the barns.
Kristi Nunnink and R-Star, and Tara Ziegler and Buckingham Place had falls at that jump, but without the horse landing on the rider.  Both of those combinations appeared to be ok.

Sara Lieser and I were live blogging the Cross-Country as the fall happened, and Eventing Nation will have all the information on Oliver's status as it develops.  Also check out the Chronicle's Rolex page for information as the situation develops.
Oliver is in Eventing Nation's thoughts and prayers.
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The Word Around Rolex

By Leslie on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and ,

Adding to the pressure of competing at the nation's biggest event (and for some, a spot on the team!), competitors must indulge the media in daily press conferences.  Lucky for us, they are friendly and have plenty to say about the weather, the cross-country course, and their amazing horses.

William Fox-Pitt:

"Cool Mountain is a very talented horse on the flat...to produce his best test today, in this atmosphere, is a credit to him, but I think he's got more in him."

On Saturday's test: "Last year the course was a bit tricker but there are plenty of chances to make mistakes."

"If it rains it will be huge."

Allison Springer:

"I've been working really hard to improve myself and my horse in all three phases, and I hope that this weekend we can really put it all together."

"This is a place I've always dreamed to be."

Press conference video from EventingUSA


Oliver Townend:

"The horses were about as good as they could be today, but it's very tough competition we're up against."

Oli's strategy for Saturday: "Go clear inside the time."

Karen O'Connor:

"It takes a village...a lot of people went down that center line with me."


On Mandiba and cross-country: "He feels confirmed.  His experience matches the questions tomorrow."

Phillip Dutton:

[The Foreman] is obviously one of the best horses I've ever had...It's a bonus having him here and I am enjoying it."

Read what else the top riders had to say:

USEF: Dressage Day 1, Dressage Day 2

USEA: Dressage Day 1, Dressage Day 2

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Rolex Friday Dressage Preview

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and , , ,

-Friday's weather forecast includes a bit of everything, with thunderstorms, highs in the 60's, and sun mid-day.  A 'possibly severe weather' warning is in place for Saturday.

-7 combinations to keep an eye on:

Woodburn and Phillip - 9:30 AM

Arthur and Allison - 11:04

Fleceworks Mystere Du Val and Leslie - 11:12

High Patriot and Mara Dean - 11:20

Cool Mountain and William - 2:10 PM

Tipperary Liadhnan and Kim - 2:26

Ashdale Cruise Master and Oliver - 3:20

Full Ride Times


-Rolex officials scheduled Oliver with rides two today to give him time to recover from his travels and give his owners time to arrive.  

-An unnamed but very reliable source told me that one of Oliver's horses spent 30 seconds standing on his hind legs after a botched flying change during Oliver's ride Thursday afternoon.  Pre dressage meltdown moments are typical of some horses especially as they get super fit.  Also consider that the horses flew over to the US last week and have't had time to loosen up turned out in pasture for a few days now.  Everything I have seen of Oliver's rides this week suggest that he is more than able to win the dressage.
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Ride Times and An Early Look At The Cross-Country Course

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and , , ,
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This is the magical bracelet that gets me back in the barns.  This is my 10th consecutive Rolex, and, as always, my goals are to have fun, learn a lot, and hang out with my friends.  This year will be a little different because I get to bring a few thousand members of Eventing Nation along for the ride.

I took a quick walk around the XC course with my friend Lauren Kieffer this afternoon.  My main goal was to keep Lauren relaxed and to make the jumps look shorter by standing next to them.  I'm 6' 3", and there's a reason nobody walks Rolex the first time with a midget little person.  But, I did get a chance to see the course along the way.
(1) There's a water jump without any jumps.  Seriously.  The water between the trakehner and the coffin doesn't have any jumps in it, but the roped off track make the horses gallop through it.
(2) The Head of the Lake has two drops into water.  There's a brush drop in going towards the main arena, 4 strides to a left corner.  Then, it's out of the water, a short right handed loop and another drop over a rail into water followed by a very tricky uphill angled vertical out of the water.
(3) In general, the course is big but not overly technical.  All of the combinations give the horses time to see and analyze the out elements.
(4) The distances that don't walk perfect tend to walk a little long, but I will have more about the distances when I go on a couple of course walks with coaches.
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-A lot of the horses were ridden or hacked this morning at least once and will be ridden again this evening after the jog.  The main arena opens at 4:30 and most riders will take advantage of the chance to school or at least hack the horses in the main arena to give them a look at the environment and grandstands.
-Ashdale Cruise Master is better on the flat than I anticipated.  I briefly watched a few of the riders on the flat, and Cruise Master stood out as having quality gaits and good focus.  Oliver can definitely be in the top 5 after dressage.
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WFP and Oliver Have Arrived at the KHP, 2 Judges Have Not

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and , ,

According to William's site, both William and Oliver have arrived in Lexington after their incredible travels over the past 36 hours.  The question now is how exhausted and jet-legged are they?  Both men have two days to recover and they both have a good deal of experience, so I think they will rebound quickly and be able to give their best effort to Rolex.  Thanks to KM for sending us the update.

Oliver's taxi ride from Paris to Madrid cost $3,000 US.
Two Rolex dressage judges have been replaced due to volcano related travel problems.  Marilyn Payne and Christian Landholdt (SUI) will replace Anne-Mette Binder (DEN) and Sue Baxter (GBR).  Gretchen Butts has been named the TD in leu of Tom Ryckewaert (BEL).  Course designer Mike ES won't arrive until Friday, and Derek di Grazia will sit in for him until then.  Multiple officials for the WEG test events were also shuffled around.
Boyd's trip to Rolex was interrupted by PA state troopers who pulled them over and gave them a ticket for not having the correct license on their truck and trailer.  It's OK Boyd, someone isn't completely American until they have been pulled over and given an obnoxiously large fine for something trivial.
The McLain Ward and Sapphire disqualification situation is growing every day.  This is easily one of the biggest stories of the year in show jumping, and I suggest The Jurga Report for the latest information, including a video explaining the hypersensitivity test.  
Update: The New York Times has written an article about the Sapphire disqualification that discusses the story lines behind the scenes.
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EN’s Group Rolex Pick: Round 2

By John on , Filed Under Eventing Nation and , , , , , , ,
Welcome to round 3 of EN's group Rolex picks, whereby we have selected 3 combinations from each of our preview posts to move on to round 2.  This is a bracket style competition, and at the end we will have a collective EN pick as the result of our voting in polls throughout the bracket.  
Note: We will also have a separate contest where everyone can enter their own Rolex picks, per the suggestion of PlayerHater.  One member of Eventing Nation will win this contest outright, and they will have the distinction of beating the best and the brightest in the eventing community.  We might have a prize for this contest, depending on if I have time to find a company to sponsor it.  More about that later.
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19 Rolex pairs from our preview posts advanced to round 2:
From preview part 1 & 2: Boyd and Neville (25%), Bonnie and Merloch (23%), Leslie Law and Mystere (19%) 
From preview part 3: Phillip and Kheops (30%), Kim and Tipperary (35%), Hawley and Gin & Juice (13%)
From part 4: Allison and Arthur (30%), Will and Pawlow (28%), Mara and High Patriot (17%)
From part 5: Will and Twizzel (14%), Phillip and Chip (34%), Boyd and Remington (23%)
From part 6: Stephen and Joshua (20%), WFP and Cool Mountain (18%), Becky and Comet (19%)
From part 7: Oliver and Ashdale Cruise Master (28%), Karen and Mandiba (23%), Amy and Coal Creek (19%)
Judge's save: Woodburn

This is a very strong list, and I think any of these combos has a shot to win Rolex.  Except, I still don't think there is any chance of Will riding Twizzel less than three weeks after breaking his collar bone, but if they did ride at Rolex, I would put Will and Twizzel in my top 5 for sure.  They have looked great this spring.  

In an effort to foster discussion, here are the best 5 dressage, XC, and show jumping pairs, in my opinion, based on watching the horses this spring and staring at their records for hours for the previews.  

(In no particular order)

Best 5 Pairs at Dressage: 

Becky and Comet: obvious
Mara and High Patriot: best dressage rider in the field
Kim and Tipperary: Jimmy said they would be top 3 after dressage
Will and Twizzel: looked extremely polished in the training sessions and at The Fork 
Leslie and Mystere: consistently good


Best at Cross-Country: 

Phillip and Chip: 2/2 double clears at four-stars

Phillip and Woodburn: best gallop in the field
Oliver and Ashdale Cruise Master: because Oliver is riding
Boyd and Neville: veteran, tough, hard working horse
Will and Pawlow: meshing at just the right time


Best at Show Jumping: 

Stephen and Joshua: 8 SJ penalties since 2003
Phillip and Chip: one rail in last 8 rounds
WFP and Cool Mountain: great SJ rider
Allison and Arthur: looked super at jumping training sessions
Karen and Mandiba: gotta like Karen on Sundays


Coal Creek, Gin & Juice, and Remington all have solid all around games.  I also was close to putting Chip and Ashdale Cruise Master in the best dressage group, and Mystere almost made the top show jumping group.  


Everyone gets three votes again this round, and the top three from each group will move onto round 3.

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Oh, I almost forgot-subk requested a preview for Woodburn, but I am very tired so this is going to be short: Wodburn's dressage is improving, but he has a tendency to get tense and lose his cool.  Best case scenario for Phillip is to get Woodburn in a time slot where there will be a small crowd.  Woodburn is absolutely automatic on XC, with a tremendous gallop.  Show jumping is a liability for Woodburn with the over-under at one rail.  Look for Phillip to ride fast in the early part of the show jumping and steady Woodburn toward the end as Woodburn tends to get more tense as the round progresses.  I think Woodburn will win a 4* someday, and that day could easily come in a few days, but he might need a rail in hand and I'm not convinced that this XC course is going to give that to him.

Oh, I almost forgot, Eventing Nation is new to the world of Twitter, but we plan to learn on the fly at Rolex and the goal is to integrate Twitter into our Rolex coverage.  www.twitter.com/eventingnation

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Also, check out the 3D3W interview with Will Faudree over at the Chronicle.
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