Charlotte Casiraghi's equestrian career


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I think Trep should be Charlotte's trainer!:ROFLMAO: Fire Thierry Rozier!:bang:

Now that the Valencia event is over :cry:

Here are some things you might not know about GCT Valencia.

It took 15 days to empty the lake, lay the arenas and build the grandstands.

Over 200 staff are required to run the event.

80 students from the University of Valencia volunteered to be part of the staff.

There were 50 riders in the CSI 5* classes from 18 different nations.

The 12 full time staff from organisers Oxersport spent a week on site in advance of the opening.

The show featured the current World, Olympic, European and World Cup holders.

Total prize money was Euro 285'000.

Source: The Global Champions tour website
 
Charlotte rarely disappoints w/her style choices - certainly impresses here, too!
 
I love that video. It must be from yesterday. That was her best performance. Troy showed perfect technique too. He did everything perfectly.

Me too! :flowers: She looks great.
I think in that first photo (to me anyway?) she looks a lot like her brother--you can see her dad in her there, even though she looks so much like Caroline usually.:)

I missed some interesting posts. I'll have to watch the video again.
 
On the GCT web site it is listing riders finishes in 2009 and 2010. Charlotte did better than I thought last year:
Valencia 2 star at 1.15m 7/ out of 14 for 125 euros
Estoril 2 star at 1.20 m 8/23 for 300 euros
Valkenswaard 1 star 1.20 m 6/29 for 40 euros
1 star 1.35 m 7/20 for 320 euros
1 star 1.35 m 8/18 for 0 euros missed by 1 place
All on GI Joe for a total earnings of $785. It obviously didn't pay the bills but we can use it as her base to compare against 2010. I didn't realize she competed at 1.35 m last year and she has jumped 1.40 m once at V-L with 5 faults this year (1*). She is slowly improving.

Charlotte is not listed as a rider for Hamburg this week-end. Monaco Formula One car race is this week-end also.
 
I'll try to help you see a couple of thinsgs, though.
In the first jump, you can see how she starts her jumping movements a little bit earlier than the horse does. She puts herself "avant le cheval". As a consequence she also lands a little bit before the horse and she hangs on his mouth for a couple of seconds. It's very slight and we just see it because of the slow motion, but a sensitive horse can get tired of that. The third day Troy refused to take a jump because she put herself too forward in a double jump and he knew what was going to happen.
I have just watched it again and I can very clearly see the "avant le cheval" on the landing. And she pulls back on the reins, at the same time looking up and ahead as if already going to the next jump in her mind. Of course, I have no idea if she is doing the correct thing. This is what I see her doing. But I can see that Troy seems to dislike it as she pulls back. He shakes his head. This is because of the bit, I presume. She pulls back to make him stop and it hurts, and he doesn't like it. I understand that. Personally, I don't like the use of bits, but I've been told that inexperienced riders like Charlotte rely on them. I can see the proof now. Charlotte does rely on it a lot! Of course, a less experienced horse might not mind it so much, but Troy probably knows exactly what he is doing and wonders why this girl is telling him so harshly how to do his job!?!:ermm:
In 0.49-0.50 you can see how she doesn't use her legs. She takes the turns only with her inner hand (what do you save your external hand for, Charlotte?) and you can easily see the stress she puts on the horse mouth and the pain and surprise in the white of horse'eyes.
It seems like she turns (using the inner hand, as you say) and then she uses that other hand to pull back. It's like, just after a jump, she pulls back, he rears his head in pain, she is turning him with her inner hand, and then he dips his head (in pain?) and she pulls back with external hand to get his head up again. ?? I notice the whites in his eyes. I didn't know that was indicative of stress.
In that same jump you can see how she loses her balance while jumping and doesn't put her weight on the stirrups. In some of the jumps she has her weight perfectly put on the stirrups but half of the time she looses balance. As a consequence of that lack of control of her legs you can see her feet travel to the back of the horse and and then make a huge movement forward and when she lands she sticks her spurs on the horse flanks.
Look at the constant movement of Charlotte's ankle and how her legs never stay still, to the point that sometimes her feet are before the girth and even before the horse's elbow.
If you want to see what I mean about how the horse is scarred by Charlotte's constant use of the spurs, you have a good look at 2.16,. Charlotte legs are forward and you'll see a white mark in the place where her spurs usually rest. Troy has a similar mark in both flanks. You can also see how the jump she takes after 2.16 is a much better jump than others. She stays at her place centered and balanced, the feet don't go to the heavens, etc

Also, no wonder that her hand is so hard since she holds the reins like a little kid. Holding them above the small finger would give her a less strong more precise grip.

She really seems to lose balance in the jump that starts at around 2:42. I see the feet move a lot. I also noticed the spur marks. And the tight reins, totally. Even I know that all horses hate that because it's confining, and they hate any kind of infringement.

Thank you for guiding me through it. I have to watch a few more times, though, to really understand. I enjoy it, however. It's fun to take Jumping 101 with Trep at TRF University. :D:books::doh:
 
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Depends on which bit you use. The use of bits, spurs and all the other equipment is only as cruel as the rider is. A bit is only cruel when the rider is using it not properly. So many horses get ruined by the inexperience of the rider using equipment he or she does not know a thing about. Most of the time it are the horses used in sport.

If you ever go to a match CasiraghiTrio, take a look at the warming-up area and you'll see stuff that you really don't. It has decreased the last years as the FEI now has people watching the warming-up area like a hawk.

Charlotte has an experienced horse under her ass. Which does what he knows to do. It are the inexperienced horses that mind the overuse of a bit. They fight it. But an experienced horse knows what to do and when for the better of the rider. That is the quality of an experienced horse. One who has never owned horse before should always buy a horse that has seen it all. Otherwise it will go wrong.

Spurs were made for the use of refining the riders guidance. Too bad most of the people don't get that. It can only improve when used properly.
 
^It does make sense that the experienced horse can handle the bit. I shouldn't have said that Charlotte is "inexperienced." I'm sure I used the incorrect word for it.. She obviously has experience, which is why I can't understand her heavy reliance on the bit. It seems like heavy reliance, at any rate. But as she does have experience, why does it appear that she uses the reins like a very young rider? I started putting up some screenshots of Charlotte and Athina in action (on my flickr page) and just looking at the difference, I can see that Athina is so much smoother as a rider. Athina's body in the jump is so cleanly aligned with the horse, and she keeps her feet still and I don't see any of the "avant le cheval" with Athina that Trep talks about.

One of these days I will take my ass to a jumping show and just watch the riders. I live very close to a good equestrian center and there must be some good summer events coming up.

As FanofMonaco already informed us, Charlotte isn't competing in Hamburg, which is a bummer, but not much of a surprise. Athina isn't there either. Not even Doda is there. I think the only Brazilians there are Rodrigo and some other guy. I checked to see if any of them were competing in Toledo, and none are. It looks like only Spanish riders in Toledo, of course it's only a 2* so that makes sense.

I'm sure many of you guys have seen these videos already. They've been up for a long time on youtube. But for those who haven't seen, or for those who want to watch again, here are some vids of Charlotte & GI Joe from last year's GCT:

YouTube - Charlotte at Prix Jumping International de Monte-Carlo, 1m25 2009-06-26 13:30:00
YouTube - Charlotte at Prix Jumping International de Monte-Carlo, 1m15 2009-06-25 14:30:00
YouTube - Prix CS12 Estoril Invitational Competition 4, 1.20m 10th July 2009

And a few of Athina....... with horses Uceline & Ricardo
YouTube - ♥ Athina Onassis de Miranda and AD Uceline
YouTube - Athina Onassis et Ad Ricardo 500
YouTube - Ad Uceline- jumping horse by Celano

And of course, way better, more experienced than either of the "amazonas" :D Mr. Doda & Untouchable
YouTube - AD Untouchable- jumping stallion (KWPN) by Hors La Loi II
 
Then I suggest for you to travel up to Germany and go to CHIO Aachen. It's walhalla of the equestrian sport.

They have dressage, jumping and mennen. (whatever the name is in English) Aachen is the best equestrian event to visit in Europe. If not in the whole world.
 
Article in italian about Charlotte and Gucci.

Modaonline.it - News: Gucci. In sella con Charlotte Casiraghi per una nuova partnership dedicata all'equitazione

The article says that Charlotte attends the Champions Tour in 2010 and 2011 with stops in Valencia, Hamburg, Turin, Monaco, Estoril, Chantilly and Valkenswaard and Rio de Janeiro, wearing an exclusive riding wardrobe, consisting of clothing and accessories created specially for her by Frida Giannini.
"When I sat down with Charlotte to design the wardrobe for the Equestrian there was just natural understanding between us that made our work together a walk" said the creative director of Gucci.
And Charlotte said ""I am excited about the collaboration with Gucci and very happy to be part of their return to the equestrian world."


Thanks to iceflower for handling the translation :flowers:
 
Charlotte Casiraghi and Troy

These HQs are good 'action' shots! Make sure you click on the pic and see the biggest size. :cool:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Prisma
 
I was looking at the FEI rankings and it appears all of the Monaco riders are blocked out. Charlotte would have to have gotten at least a few points because Sandrine Roussel scored some points at the 1 star level. Charlotte has won prize money at both 1 and 2 stars in 2009 and 2010.

Thanks for the videos above. They are interesting to study and I am learning alot. I was watching Charlotte's French interview video again and noticed that Richard Spooner's legs were waving all over the place and he has won at Monte Carlo 2 years in a row. I think Phillipe Rozier does the same thing. So in the end it's not how pretty you look but what works for you. I do agree with Trepstep though. It appears that most of the top riders try to keep their legs as still as possible. It probably is easier for the horse the less the rider's weight shifts around.
 
I'd like to say many more things but I am not home and have quick and limited use of the internet :)
Fanofmonaco, I don't think that the monaco riders are being blocked out. Sandrine Roussel is a better rider than Charlotte that's why she's on the list and Charlotte is not.
As I told you the important thing is not how many stars a CSI has, but which show you ride. I don't exactly know how the system works but you probably don't get any point for ranking 9th in a 1.20m. show.
Sandrine Roussel rides at a higher level than Charlotte even if the shows she enters don't have such fancy names.
 
I only recently noticed Troy's scar on his knee: Troy's canter - he has a scar on left/front knee :-'( on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (Prisma)

The white marks on his chest are unique. I once thought they were just specks of dirt flying up when he jumped up, but they are the same ones repeatedly in other pictures like this one. They are very unique to me. I never saw marks on a horse that are so random and irregular. It's not important, of course. I think I'm becoming obsessed with looking at Troy.
 
The ones on his chest are specks. Look at photo 1 and 2 and then at 4 and 5 to see the difference.

And the scar is probably from a fence. The horse of a friend of mine has a scar like that on his leg due to a fence.
 
I only recently noticed Troy's scar on his knee: Troy's canter - he has a scar on left/front knee :-'( on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (Prisma)

The white marks on his chest are unique. I once thought they were just specks of dirt flying up when he jumped up, but they are the same ones repeatedly in other pictures like this one. They are very unique to me. I never saw marks on a horse that are so random and irregular. It's not important, of course. I think I'm becoming obsessed with looking at Troy.

I think it is saliva. Troy's running and he has his mouth opoened if you see in the pictures. Especially in the HQ ones.
In the beginning i also though they were specks of dirt from the ground. ;)
 
AZURE, I didn't think about saliva. That's a good possibility. They would be strange as actual birth marks or just the regular markings on such a horse.

I got this in my email, dated yesterday: http://www.fashionandrunway.com/fashion/article.cfm?id_articolo=21646
If you read nothing else, this is the best part. :D (But the rest is interesting. It talks about the history of Gucci's equestrian style and past connections with Princess Grace.)
Charlotte Casiraghi said, "I am thrilled to be working with Gucci and especially happy to be playing a part in their timely return to the equestrian world. It is a very exciting time for show jumping and I am honoured to have Gucci by my side as I continue to progress on the Global Champion Tour. I would like to make a special thank you to Frida and her team for embracing this project whole heartedly and transcending their energy into their truly beautiful designs."

Also, there are 75 pics from Valencia right here: http://x17online.com/gallery/view_gallery.php?gallery=globalchamp050910_X17
 
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^That's a repost. See one or two pages back in this thread.

In news, the GCT Torino is this week. There is no official riders' list out yet.

We can follow this event here:

International Horse Show Italia
Global Champions Tour

It looks like Maserati is a sponsor. Doesn't Fiat own Maserati? Do you think any of the Elkanns will be out to give prizes? I just hope Charlotte gets out there. What excuse is there to stay away? The Cannes Film Fest?:wacko:
 
I was wondering if that's why she didn't go to the party last nite. Maybe she wanted to be in Turin on Monday to practice for Thursday or she might be transporting horses today.
 
^Thank you!

tomorrow the Torino event begins. I do not know of any official riders' list. I have looked for it.

They will do the official opening and have cocktails and press conference and then some kind of 'fashion" party in the evening.
 
I'm not a huge fan of the particular thread since i don't know anything about horse riding so i can't express an opinion about Casiraghi's career but videos about Doda and advertsing your yt channel..?:nonono:
 
^THOSE Doda footage was not uploaded by me and has no affiliation with my "youtube channel" so I don't know what you mean. But perhaps you are right in the sense that Doda is not related to the thread topic.
 
^THOSE Doda footage was not uploaded by me and has no affiliation with my "youtube channel" so I don't know what you mean. But perhaps you are right in the sense that Doda is not related to the thread topic.
No,i wasn't referring to you CasiraghiTrio,there was a post by a new member that is missing today.She probably deleted her message.;)
 
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