So Mr. Big was 7th in the order of go, and I waited impatiently at the creek oxer to see him. MB is the second smallest horse at Rolex and he really doesn't look much bigger than Teddy. I took some video of him over the creek oxer, here it is:
Show jumping footage from Youtube
Compare him to Teddy at the same fence (sorry for the video quality, it's my cellphone).
Teddy is little but he has a huge stride and boundless energy--he's a powerball and looks fully capable of jumping these huge fences easily. Mr. Big does not have the same way of going. His stride shuffles a little, he's older, and when I watch him I really ROOT for him, because as he approaches the fence he looks small, smaller than Teddy frankly. But he has a big jump that seems to come from nowhere.
Julia and Mr. Big finished the course! Yes, they had trouble at the duck combination, but a lot of other competitors did too. I've never met Julia or Mr. Big but I am so happy and proud for their accomplishments. Congrats to them!
There is a terrible rumor that Frodo Baggins had to be euthanized after his fall at the flower basket jump. I'm hoping against hope that it isn't so. Apparently he got up right away after the fall, then seemed to spook at something and fell. No official word, but as we left the horse park we noticed the flag was at half-mast. His rider, from the last report, was talking and moving her extremities but was medivac'ed to a hospital.
Sadly, this is not a rumour. Apparently, he had a skull fracture and lung injuries. :-( It sounds like it was a horrific fall. :-(
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I also just learned that Quiet Man, who also fell, was put down this morning. Bob watched him fall, it was apparently pretty awful, but they got him back up and the announcer said he would "live to fight another day" -- so I thought he was okay. I guess he fractured his shoulder. In a KY newspaper they said that QM "looked exhausted" but it was actually pretty early in the course. My sister and I watched his first few fences. They were pretty sticky, and we were worried.
ReplyDeleteNot a fun day at Rolex :(
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, having watched the jog and knowing some people close to some of the horses/ponies, I would say the Pony might just be a Pony because of his permanent card. I'd be interested to see them re-measure him ;)
oh, and according to security, the flags were at half-mast due to a local soldier being killed in Iraq (we noticed it on Friday so we asked...)
ReplyDeleteTeddy is small, but Mr. Big doesn't get all the hoopla and he looks VERY close to the same size. We should look for pix of them standing together and compare!
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