>>> http://www.notion.net/icelandichorses2007/qtpreviewT1.html
I watched that video again this morning, and at the end, they interviewed the man, Stian Petursson, who won the WC T1 title on Jarl. The interviewer asked him if he had anyone to thank. He thought a minute and said that was difficult. When asked what he was thinking at the end, he said something about telling people who are going for the gold not to give up, and then said something about being surprised to win the second title, since the frontrunner had thrown a shoe. I couldn't help but notice that he never mentioned the horse, or gave him any credit. It was all about riders.... As many problems as exist in TB racing, or in today's competitive dressage, I can't remember a jockey or dressage rider who failed to thank the horse for a win when interviewed. It's probably happened, but most jockeys and dressage riders seem to have some genuine appreciation and affection for their mounts. Before they interviewed the guy whose horse blew out that hunk of hoof, I noticed that the guy stayed on the horse in the ring for a long time after the hoof incident, and when he left the ring, he finally dismounted...and lit a cigarette. I didn't see him even bother to stoop down to look at the damaged hoof. Nice. I also couldn't help but notice that those two horses, Jarl, the chestnut that won that title, and the black horse that blew the hunk of hoof, who apparently an initial favorite, were two of the ones with the most obvious winging problems. You can clearly see it when the horses enter the ring at the first of the video. It was also very visible at one point when Jarl rounded a corner. So, the top two horses either had serious conformation issues, or had seriously out-of-balance hoofs, or had very rough riders...or some combination of the above. I know that conformation is normally the cause of winging, but I think that the trimming/shoeing can also contribute, as well as the riding...maybe someone can offer some comments here? That's what is winning at the WC level...and I think both of those horses are highly sought after breeding stallions. I don't think either would have passed a normal pre-purchase exam when we were shopping for a very low-level child's hunter for my daughter when she was 11. That scares the crap out of me. Where will these horses be in 10 years if these are the "top" stallions? I still haven't gotten a reply about how I can order a copy of the full video. I'd really like to see more. I wonder if anyone in the USA has ordered a copy...? Karen Thomas, NC
