One of my favourite YouTube accounts is that of vintageeventing, an benevolent and anonymous purveyor of, well, exactly what you’d expect – long form vintage eventing videos from deep in the vaults. I don’t know who this person is, but I like to imagine them sitting comfortably atop a throne made of discarded VHS tapes, occasionally deigning to bestow a Horse Trials Review from 1990 upon us ravenous nerds of the internet. Thank you, whoever you are.
This week, the bosom from which we sup has truly yielded the goods, with over 25 minutes of top-notch eventing action from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. (Yes, that does mean that people who were born in 1996 are now halfway to 50, and yes, I’ve already cycled through the appropriate crisis responses to this realisation and am on hand to provide support as you do the same.) Featuring legends of the sport such as Blyth Tait, David O’Connor, and a bevy of misting tents and fans – which you’ll agree were undeniably the true heroes of the day, if you’ve ever been to Atlanta in August.
There’s also a really interesting fall in this video – and I know that’s an odd thing to say, so bear with me. Ian Stark and Stanwick Ghost parted company coming out of the water complex after a stumble up a bank and were extraordinarily lucky not to have a full rotational; but if the mechanics of this type of fall is something that you’re keen to learn more about as the conversation around safety gains in intensity, it’s well worth jumping on the opportunity to study the factors that come into play in this instance. (And – spoiler alert, in case you feel squeamish about watching a fall – both were totally fine and went on to complete the course. The good old days, eh!)
Go (vintage) Eventing!
