Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Gerd Heuschmann and Joni Bentley - EXCELLENT article

READ IT HERE.


And please make sure you scroll all the way down to the photos of Anky and Patrik Kittel riding in Windsor 2009.

I don't think anything I could ever write on this blog can express the horrors of rollkur better than those photographs.

And the fact that judges give them ribbons speaks to the insanity in the sport as a whole.

10 comments:

Claire said...

tis good isn't it.

i think we've a real head of steam on this now ...

Grey Horse Matters said...

Good interview. It boggles the mind that these two riders(and I use that term with much reservation) are awarded anything at all. They should be banned from the sport. It's such a shame that so many riders emulate them and hold them up as the role models for dressage. I really get so angry when I see a horse being tortured like this and the rider being rewarded not only with ribbons but with money, sponsors and fame. The judges really have to stop this behavior by not giving them good scores.

billie said...

Claire, it does feel that way to me - I wasn't in the crowd for the earlier battles over this, so have nothing to compare it to - but there's a fire burning and it doesn't seem to be fading one bit.

billie said...

Arlene, me too. It's crazy. CRAZY.

jme said...

great article, thanks for finding it! i checked out the rest of the website and ordered the dvd course. should be interesting. if only the BHS trainers i encountered were as knowledgeable...

billie said...

Will hope for a review from you on the DVD course. I am interested in it - need to go back and check the price, as I forgot to do that when reading earlier.

jme said...

will do! i ordered one of the package deals and it came to around $125 (i think). i shouldn't be splurging so much but, hey, it's educational, right? i'm going to need something to keep me busy for the winter ;-)

billie said...

I went back and looked and that package deal did seem very reasonable. I agree, it's like taking a class, but from the comfort of your own home. I'm thinking about it... :)

jme said...

or you can borrow mine when i'm done with it :-)

billie said...

Hey - thank you! I will take you up on that!