New British Freestyle Record!

Was just reading the comments from one of Kristie Oatley's relatives too. This article The neighs have it on Olympic equestrian ruling

What a load of BS. At that level riding is certainly far more than just a "hobby".

Considering all of the other crap surrounding EA at the moment, regarding membership cost and the like, and the amount of people sitting on the fence regarding joining, or even renewing, their membership, they have done serious damage with this.

Like you say, dressage as a whole is not a popular sport, particularly with the general public. This drama is the last thing it needed.

For Hayley it IS a profession, she doesn't have a multi-billionaire family buying her horses and supporting her 'nice little hobby'.
It's just ridiculous. I am so angry about it all, the EA is a load of rubbish. They are a dictatorship, that sap money out of members and give nothing at all back to the riders who pay a fortune to be part of it.
There is NO logicial explanation to why Kristy was selected of Hayley. The EA know they're messed up and are too damn scared to speak out because they'll put their foot in their mouth and dig themselves into an even deeper trench.

Horse sports, particularly dressage, was on it's way up in Australia. But since the changes in the EA, and now the Olympic saga, I think we will see it dwindle down again.
I haven't sent in my membership renewal yet... and now I'm debating whether it's worth parting with that money for a few competitions when I'm equally as happy to keep training at home.

The performance itself was golden.

I wasn't too thrilled about how the music was put together though...it didn't really "flow" right (though I have a classically-trained ear, so that makes sense). I'm not British, but I LOVE the sound of Big Ben (and I love the movie the Great Escape).

Beautiful, just beautiful! It wasn't flawless, but it was pretty darn close - very well deserving of the score given!

I hadn't really heard about the drama in Aus. Just looked it up - that is so awful! Then the pics from Aachen where she was crying is just heartbreaking. Did I read correctly that this is the same woman who lost her horse in a that trailering accident last year?

I hope someone starts a vacation fundraiser for her. But the good news is that she is getting some good publicity for herself and her brand. I would pay to go to see her in a clinic...

Reno- I loved the Big Ben chimes too!

Yes Shasta, she lost the beautiful Reli in a trailering accident. One of her grooms had taken him down the road for his regular vet assessment. On the way back a car pulled out in front of them, the trailer tipped and Reli's injuries were too great to treat. He was her Olympic mount in Beijing.
She has also been battling breast cancer.

Hayley is the most genuine, gorgeous, giving person. This is just heart breaking for her. On facebook she has mentioned time and time again, for people to PLEASE not attack the team members, it's not their fault, it was the undesirable selection process that is to blame.

Ugh!!!!

At least the jumping team didn't have any drama. The eventing team also had an appeal on the picks.

The German's have been up in the air as well. I'll be annoyed if Toto gets on there - that family loves to flex their money muscles even though the horse isn't doing terribly well and they missed the last selection event.

I agree Reno, not a fan of the way the music was put together either. Brilliant ride though. Can't wait to watch the Olympic rides.