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RE: [RC] Response to the [RC] WEG -- the USA team - kseits@xxxxxxxxx post - heidiJoe, I've been a selector, and your suggestion flat doesn't
work. Horses DO end up putting their "all" into the qualifiers,
and then not having anything left for the big event, done as you
suggest. (And in fact, I think that was tried one year--with
abysmal results.) Horses need to be "on their way up" for the big
event, not peaking two months earlier and going to the main event
injured. (And when I DID work as a selector, for a NAEC, we
eliminated one of the horses for that very reason--one that had one of
the best records going in--because we knew the horses personally and
saw things that alarmed us on his BC judging at his final 100 before
the selection cut-off. His rider was ticked at us, took him to
another 100 in about the same timeframe as the NAEC, and tied him up
big-time. She later apologized and told us that we were right to
have left him off the squad, since we were seeing things that were
worrisome and that she hadn't wanted to admit, in her zeal to place
high for the selectors.) BTW, our squad took the individual gold
and silver at that event, the team gold, and the BC award. So I
think the "human factor," used properly, is still the best bet.
As for our performance in Aachen--no, it wasn't stellar. But it
was head and shoulders over our performance in Dubai. Furthermore,
we finished three out of five of our squad, one in the top 20, and the
two pulls were not major crashes, but rather the sort of bad luck that
can strike anyone. Can we do better? I think we can.
Do we have to hold our heads in shame? Not at all.
Heidi
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