Olympic Showjumping

So Lamaze and Bengtsonn are jumping off for silver and gold, then we have Beezie, McLain, the Beerbaums, Pessoa, Angelique Hoorn, and Marc Houtzager jumping off for the bronze. They're walking the course right now.

GO ERIC!!!!!!

I hope Beezie gets the bronze.

You guys are GREAT, I love the play by play
 

 Whoa Mclain Ward took those bricks OUT! 

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly leading for the bronze.

 Eric takes the gold!

WOW, that was so exciting!!!  Loved the bush-jumping, lol.

Eric looked so ecstatic...I love to see people react that way.  And pointing at his horse..just awesome.  It made me so happy for him.

YEAH TEAM CANADA!!!! How cool!

So did Meredith get the bronze? 

Beezie got the bronze!

YEAH!!!!!

It was so exciting...you have to watch the highlights if they put them up online.  McLain started a trend...cutting a corner by jumping over a decorative bush, but then he completely crashed the last fence.  Beezie did the same thing, and then one of the other riders did it, too.  It was funny, afterwards Beezie said she didn't count the strides to the bush, but she guessed it didn't matter, lol!

 I am recording Oxygen for tonight. I hope to see it. I am just SLOW at watching. I love DVR's!

I am also glad McLain didn't medal. Not my favorite person. Eric has had his demons and appears to have worked to set them aside, this is HUGE for him and Canada! I really like his horse too. I am very pleased that Beezie is bronze but I probably wouldn't have been too disappointed if it were Meredith. She is such and outstanding horseman.

I can't wait to see the courses. I have to watch the Nations Cup still too. My DH started watching the prelim round with me, he was like "WHOA those fences are huge!" I told him "you ain't seen nothing yet!"

I'll tell you I don't know if I could "fly" to jumps that size. I guess I would have to sit on horseflesh of that caliber to completely know.

I told my trainer that I want to get my butt and my horse going and start jumping jumper fences again. We are both capable of 4' at least. I am not showing what are we saving him for. Let me have some fun! I jumped him HUGE once, I did not know my horse had that jump in him. An INCREDIBLE feeling. I WANT TO RIDE BIG JUMPERS.
 

Maxs Mom

I'll tell you I don't know if I could "fly" to jumps that size. I guess I would have to sit on horseflesh of that caliber to completely know.

I have to admit...I think no matter *how* good my horse was, if I were faced with fences like that, I don't think I could muster the courage to attempt to pilot my mount over those monsters!

The jumpoff was awesome... apparently it was McLain's idea to go over those bushes. Definitely a ballsy thing to do, but it looked almost like they were designed with that possibility in mind, didn't it? Talk about a challenge to "think outside the box"!

I wondered if it was his idea, or George Morris', since Beezie did it, too.

I've been faced with fences that I know my horse could handle, but I couldn't mentally face.  I just knew I would freeze up and you all know that if you tense up, it'll affect your horse, so I wouldn't even attempt them.  The last thing I wanted to do was pull out of a fence at the last minute and possibly teach my horse to refuse, which she never did on her own.  Thank goodness the only times it happened was during schooling, not in competition.  It's one thing to push yourself, it's another to try something you're completely afraid of and risk ruining your horse over it.  I'm with you guys...those fences are way out of my comfort zone!!

aerial1313

I wondered if it was his idea, or George Morris', since Beezie did it, too.

I've been faced with fences that I know my horse could handle, but I couldn't mentally face.  I just knew I would freeze up and you all know that if you tense up, it'll affect your horse, so I wouldn't even attempt them.  The last thing I wanted to do was pull out of a fence at the last minute and possibly teach my horse to refuse, which she never did on her own.  Thank goodness the only times it happened was during schooling, not in competition.  It's one thing to push yourself, it's another to try something you're completely afraid of and risk ruining your horse over it.  I'm with you guys...those fences are way out of my comfort zone!!

I have "one fence-itis" if it is one big fence all by itself YIKES. If it is a course of big fences I am mentally better. I also have a HUGE issue with fences that do not fall down. I won't jump a cross country fence if it is over 3' and that is pushing it.

I was showing my dearly departed Sayler at a show. It was the "classic" (bigger prize money), we were walking the course, and my trainer noticed a "path" through a pile of debris in the center of the ring that set you up for the next two fences in the jump off. You jumped both fences on a straight line slice. She was saying "you can do it". I learned on Sayler if you schooled sharp angles he would look for it. So we went in the jump off, and I pointed him at that path and he saw it! It was amazing, however...His rider had a brain fart on the rest of the jump off. We did not go off course but I did not have the most direct approach to the next jump. I came in second. I was the ONLY one who did that, if I had not forgotten the course we would have been ahead by a HUGE margin. To this day when I run into the trainer of the kid that won, they always say, I still can't believe you came in second, that slice was AMAZING! It is fun to take the "long shot". hee hee