Doesnt bother me anyway LB, see if I say anything Im a "bully" if anyone says it to me, they are "entitled to their opinion" but hey, like I said, doesnt bother me.

Yes they are Azz, we all own dogs dont we, they serve our need for companionship, they work for us, they serve us in what capacity we see fit, be that companionship, work ability of food


Be it horse, dog , cat, take your pick, we the human race dictate an animals purpose in life.

I think that is why Pidge was trying to be fair.

rune

IMO Pidge was being MORE than fair in her comments regarding your participation. LOL.

rune

And that is why cruelty will continue.

rune

As Long as the human race is around , you will get cruelty, and not only to animals.

Personally I think that training is the key issue here. Athletes (and that is what these horses are) need to be trained to meet their full potential. If they have not been trained in the weather conditions they will fail, if they do not have the stamina they will fail, if their scope over a jump is not good enough they will fail.

So my opinion is that the owners and trainers are letting these beautiful creatures down by putting them in a race that they are not yet ready for.

I also think that the GN has too many runners, and that it should be maximised to 30 runners just to give more room on the first fence.

That's not true, they fall due to rider or horse error, a horse can have the scope but still stop or fall at a jump.

Stamina , I agree, an unfit horse going round any form of track is a danger to itself, its jockey and others. ALL horses should be fit enough to cope with the course.


The weather is something we cant train for, we live in England where our weather is unpredictable.

Just for information:
Here is a link to information on each of the fences at the GN: Fences Info

It gives details of height and width, techniques etc for each jump.

This could be helpful in thinking about what changes you may think should be made to the main GN course.

Also, for comparison, here is some information regarding the "Puissance" competition - a 'high' jump, which is contested every year, and can go as high as 7ft: Wiki: Puissance

Just as clarification - do people opposed to the GN also believe that other equestrian sports should be changed/abolished too? So, show-jumping, dressage, eventing, equitation etc, as well as in-hand and ridden shows?

Ok, yes there can be horse or human error as well. However I still think that training is a key issue. The horse that won the national was in such a state that it needed to be stabled straight away, and was given oxygen.

I know the weather in UK can be unpredictable and that it was unseasonably warm but this should not be an excuse.

**I should add that I live in Cyprus as my husband is in the Army, so my home country is UK, and I did use to work with hunters**