Hunters Then & Now Presented by Ronnie Beard

[@kintero27]

Absolutely LOVE the footage from the 70's! Those TB's looked so amazing and you did too! I loved your forward yet very soft riding. You don't see those types of artistic rounds anymore. Those jumps looked like those in the Hickstead shows in Europe and I wish they would brings those back to the Hunter Ring. I wish they hadn't dumbed down the Derbies too. I asked a well known course designer why he didn't add the water jump in the derby and he told me because the horses wouldn't jump it. I say bring back those beautiful, solid jumps, unrelated distances where you ride off your eye (not count strides) and ride on a more forward step. At the shows I hear the horses loudly grunt as they heave themselves off the ground because of the slow pace. They are also so overweight that their dapples are in 3D, lol.

[@natasharostova5859]

Total agreement. At the rated shows, all of us hunter riders not on a pony rode a TB -- with a few crossbreds in the Jumpers and zero warmbloods. Back then, anyone not on a pony jumped 3'6" the first time she rode into a recognized class as a junior; none of this low-height stuff; everyone who wanted to win learned to finesse a TB horse. First Year Green at the beginning of the summer was always an exciting class -- lots of crazy and lots of fun with all the young TBs, many off the track. I still rode as an amateur for the first half of the 70s, and I'm here to tell you that with the advent of the push-button warmbloods, the quality of amateur and junior riding has really deteriorated in the last few decades.

[@kintero27]

Linda Broussard so lucky of you to ridden back in the day. Back then lots of riders groomed and braided their horses. They were off in the winter and brought back in the spring. Nowadays, they show all year long. Horse care has come a long way these days but sometimes the best is just giving them time off. Just trail ride and give their brains a break. I ride with a Scottish guy who did the nations cup in the 70’s. Seeing him in pictures jumping the Hickstead jumps are awesome. He loves training the youngsters and his method is true.

[@charlenedasta5865]

Back in the 70/80’s were the best days to show!! I like my TB’s always will!! 🥰

[@TanPatty]

agreed with you.

[@Noodlemonkey7]

Thank you so much for this ❤️

[@cindyschimelpfenig7169]

Nikki, Linda, I totally agree with what you have said. I was showing at all of these shows in the late 60's, all of the '70's. Knew all of these horses well. I also rode with George at this time. Everything both of you noted is absolutely true. I now find the hunters to be as exciting as watching paint dry. The big horses, tiny, ramped jumps, no pace, have sapped the hunters of the pizzaz of the earlier years. We all rode TB's, jumped 3'6". If you can see my tiny picture, that is my eq horse who I also showed in jumpers, working hunters (while I was a junior, at 4' to 4'6"). It's a whole different world now.

[@MarkRobertCuthbert]

Cindy? I agree. But The Thoroughbred ex-Race horse (Sprinter) is Still there today. In my opinion better bred. By that I mean slight more bone. And more (better) blood. Not light bone. There are horses are at least One TB that went to the factory that could have Jumping Internationally. Too many so called Warm-bloods. Sightly Softer horses than TB. Only for The Thoroughbred there would be no great International Jumpers in any breeding country in Europe. 1968: Snowbound. 1984: Touch Of Class. Have that one horse tuned up for that one day. The jumping people now want consistency, so went to the warm-blood. The Easy route.

[@lespangen]

Love Rhumba

[@haileyfeldman4179]

This is fantastic. Bravo!

[@millsixstudios]

Instead of traveling to Europe to shop for warmbloods, let‘s honor the American thoroughbred once again and confirm their unparalleled grace and ease of stride.

[@conniebmosley]

whose the guy too scared to look??

[@berndhompesch4343]

II