Badminton and Burns
Unable to attend Badminton this weekend makes one appreciate the BBC.
Our appetites had been whetted in the first place by the virtual cross country course.
Then on Saturday they showed the cross country live on BBC interactive. The last five in the show jumping were then also shown live on Sunday, after more XC highlights.
Best of all the virtual XC course, and the cross country and show-jumping rounds of Pippa Funnell and William Fox-Pitt are both available to watch on the BBC website by following the links from this page. You can relive Primmores Pride's heartstopping flying change just before Fence 7 all over again.
Long live public service broadcasting.
I was then pleasantly surprised on Monday night when I picked up a copy of The Times. Sportswriter of the year, Simon Barnes, had written a fantastic piece about the event. He either hasn't spotted or deliberately omits to mention that the cheers as Pippa crossed the line are noticeably higher pitched than the crowd at, say, a football match. Not only is The Worlds Most Dangerous SportTM currently headed by women, it manages to attract a large female following. I predict a larger influx of money into the sport when the advertisers realise this.
Until then there are only a few, non-British, riders who really have commercialised the sport and sold themselves as a brand. And while it remains untainted by large financial injections and sponsor demands* we remain a remarkably privileged bunch.
Watching the INTERNATIONAL EVENT RIDER who caught THE FELLA a couple of weeks ago riding round Badminton reminded me how lucky we are that we can watch the Olympic Champion on TV tackling Badminton one week, then next week be up against him in a Novice class. You can't play football with David Beckham at the weekend in your local league - despite what the Nike advert would have you believe. You can't play tennis against Tim Henman. You can't join a scrum with Johnny Wilkinson.
That we 'mere mortals' can compete with the greats, at the same level, is a privilege.
Long may it continue.
And the burns? That's the raw skin on my fingers where my reins ran through my hands the other night as I exited by the side door while out riding THE MONSTER.
*Don't even start me on the damage inflicted by the FEI in order to satisfy the corrupt body that is the IOC.
Our appetites had been whetted in the first place by the virtual cross country course.
Then on Saturday they showed the cross country live on BBC interactive. The last five in the show jumping were then also shown live on Sunday, after more XC highlights.
Best of all the virtual XC course, and the cross country and show-jumping rounds of Pippa Funnell and William Fox-Pitt are both available to watch on the BBC website by following the links from this page. You can relive Primmores Pride's heartstopping flying change just before Fence 7 all over again.
Long live public service broadcasting.
I was then pleasantly surprised on Monday night when I picked up a copy of The Times. Sportswriter of the year, Simon Barnes, had written a fantastic piece about the event. He either hasn't spotted or deliberately omits to mention that the cheers as Pippa crossed the line are noticeably higher pitched than the crowd at, say, a football match. Not only is The Worlds Most Dangerous SportTM currently headed by women, it manages to attract a large female following. I predict a larger influx of money into the sport when the advertisers realise this.
Until then there are only a few, non-British, riders who really have commercialised the sport and sold themselves as a brand. And while it remains untainted by large financial injections and sponsor demands* we remain a remarkably privileged bunch.
Watching the INTERNATIONAL EVENT RIDER who caught THE FELLA a couple of weeks ago riding round Badminton reminded me how lucky we are that we can watch the Olympic Champion on TV tackling Badminton one week, then next week be up against him in a Novice class. You can't play football with David Beckham at the weekend in your local league - despite what the Nike advert would have you believe. You can't play tennis against Tim Henman. You can't join a scrum with Johnny Wilkinson.
That we 'mere mortals' can compete with the greats, at the same level, is a privilege.
Long may it continue.
And the burns? That's the raw skin on my fingers where my reins ran through my hands the other night as I exited by the side door while out riding THE MONSTER.
*Don't even start me on the damage inflicted by the FEI in order to satisfy the corrupt body that is the IOC.
posted by Nick on Wednesday, May 11, 2005
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