SHOWJUMPING: Leslie Howard -- the Evolution of Extreme

A coming-of-age saga of the incomparable Dutch powerhouse, Extreme. Purchased with an eye on the Olympics, by Howard's long-time sponsorship partner Jane Forbes Clark: this young mare, whose EXPLOSIVE hind end made her famous/recognized the world over, truly lived up to their expectations, in all regards.
Here she can be seen in several grands pix, including:
The 1995 USET Festival of Champions.
Here, fence #4 was a standardless pedestal with no ground-line. One out of every seven horses competing had refusals there, many were eliminated. That course, in its entirety, can be seen performed to perfection by Patty Stovel & Mont Cenis, in this video:
• SHOWJUMPING: Mont Ceni...
The 1995 du Maurier Limited International.
The richest and most difficult grand prix of its time, the du Maurier was TRULY the professionals' championship. A spectacular clear round can be seen in the following video, performed by Laura Balisky, and the spectacular Dutch gelding, Easy Boy:
• Easy Boy & Laura Balis...
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics:
Round II of the team competition. USA won the team Silver medal. Beautiful clear round by Extreme here, exceeded only in its magnificence by that of Rodrigo Pessoa, and the immeasurably powerful Loro Piana Tomboy:
• Loro Piana Tomboy: mos...
As always, don't forget to check out the crazily-cute baby of the barn:
• BABY SHOWJUMPING: the ...

[@watchgoose]

if I were a horse, I wouldn't have jumped that crazy-looking jump either!

[@imjustasadtwigoflemonmyrtl9043]

At 4:19 the guy said Extreme was a gelding😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@pinkweaselgirl]

geez, i LOVE this horse...super scopey and doesnt seem stuck...she doesnt let her young age show through anymore!

[@ImmortalSynn]

Agreed. As stated in the info box, 1 out of every 7 horses had refusals at that 4th jump... most of them first out of the gate. It wasn't until Michael Matz & Olisco, pretty far down in the order of go, did any horse/rider combination clear it on the first try.

[@shiiuza]

Great! :) I love that little mare, haha. And yeah, I heard the gelding slip... whooops xP I felt so bad for them in the first clip! But you can hardly blame the little mare, does that thing look like a jump to you?? haha

[@ImmortalSynn]

Indeed, she was amazing. Loved her!

[@Sonika001]

Very beautiful video!

[@TheOrangesmiles]

i love this pair! my riding idols! somedayi hope to be in the olympics- just like her! poor extreme, she was an amazing little spunky mare:(

[@shiiuza]

Well put :) Maybe I don't really have the right to say this, but the jump seemed sort of out of place. It was certainly a challenge (the course is supposed to be a challenge) but it was completely different from any other jump there. To me it looked more like something out of a cross country course. It's incredibly open (which I just discovered is really hard to jump! today my trainer stacked poles on top of one another, which were half the length of normal ones and told me to jump it) x)

[@bedfordjumpergirl]

Not to mention Priobert de Kalvarie and Nick of Diamonds. It was so sad when Nick died. He fractured his skull after getting loose while being longed.

[@ImmortalSynn]

...much appreciated, and more to come! ;) Next up, look for a collage to honor Twist du Valon, as well as vids of Jus de Pomme, Calvaro V (not to be confused with Calvaro Z), Hidden Creek's Laurel, and of course.... probably more of Loro Piana Tomboy ;)

[@bedfordjumpergirl]

I own the sister to this mare and train with Leslie...aka Grandma in the barn. She can still bring it on like no one's business.

[@ImmortalSynn]

@xIVanquishIx Indeed. Leslie an Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, and one of Gem Twist's three primary riders..... and Extreme was incredible at whatever she did. I wish her career and life had lasted longer, I think she would've went on to be one of the greats of all time!

[@bedfordjumpergirl]

Dont know where you got your info, but not only have I trained with Leslie/Molly/Chris/Timmy for 2 decades and we have never had a horse in the barn named Roderick Appollo, but I own the sister to Extreme and have for 8 years.

[@bedfordjumpergirl]

I'm pretty sure that Charisma had cancer. She had all those tumours under her tail and on her belly that some greys are predisposed. Grandma is in Canada at the moment and then straight to HITS. I will ask her when she gets back. Charisma was small for a Sunday horse, but she looked like a giant compared to Nick. 14.3 on a good day! But he won the 6 bar at Spruce at 5'11'. When he galloped up to the jumps, all you could see coming towards you has the tops of his ears. Such a game horse.

[@ImmortalSynn]

Well, it was a test of control and experience for the horses that'd be contending for the upcoming Olympics. The 1995 courses are so special to me (as you might've noticed, the overwhelming majority of my videos are from that year) because the USET/AGA put in such an effort to season our riders to face off against the Europeans for 1996. Check out the video of Monty doing the same course (in the info box), you can see that the pedestal at #4 meant nothing to him!

[@ImmortalSynn]

Died from complications of severe colic. Not long after the Olympics. :(

[@ImmortalSynn]

@bedfordjumpergirl Thanks for that info, sad to hear. I knew her career was cut short, shortly after the Olympics... that's when S'Blieft began his reign. I didn't know she'd died though. RIP

[@bedfordjumpergirl]

I am sorry to tell you that Extreme died about 2 years after her Olympic glory as a result of severe colic. The sire is Wolfgang.

[@2101lovelilly]

hav they ever had a jump like that in the olympics, tah would just look epic! great ride and great horse shame about the first clip though : )

[@ImmortalSynn]

Indeed. I guess that's what happens when you read off of cue-cards as opposed to knowing the industry by heart...

[@ImmortalSynn]

@Sarrita1982 How neat!

[@Sarrita1982]

My mare is related to her!

[@ImmortalSynn]

@bedfordjumpergirl Neat. Do you know by chance if Extreme is still around? Also, who was her sire?

[@ImmortalSynn]

@bedfordjumpergirl Wow, I knew he had an injury, but wasn't aware that that was the situation. How sad. Add to that Charisma... who IINM, also died of complications following severe colic. I LOVED that little mare. *sigh*

[@jessyandjake]

I dont know about the theme of this thread , all I CAN say is that she must be a "tough" (being polite here!!!) rider! We had one of her "cast offs " and I have "NEVER come across a more cowed horse in my life! It used to head toss all the way into a fence and when it was under pressure IT URINATED AT CANTER!! Never seen it before or since. Its name was roderik appollo. Hope she has kinder training tactics now. We thought it had an infection till a top vet put us right. Poor little thing!

[@ImmortalSynn]

Tough to watch her and not love her.... shame her career was so short. :(

[@justanapple9704]

@ImmortalSynn do you know who the male narrator in the first clip is, alongside Gina Johnson?

[@ImmortalSynn]

Ken Broo.

[@ImmortalSynn]

With the exception of Mary Tyng, the announcers that year were BEYOND inept. Was sorta sad.

[@ImmortalSynn]

@2101lovelilly I can't speak for all Olympics, but the one in future reference there (Atlanta 1996) didn't have anything like that.

[@lionhearteq]

they called extreme a gelding at the olympics?! /sigh

[@bedfordjumpergirl]

Synn, Extreme died of colic about 2 years after the olympics. Her sire was Wolfgang.

[@sammisoccer7]

What happened to Extreme?

[@ImmortalSynn]

@bedfordjumpergirl I had to go pull it off my shelf to make sure I hadn't imagined it, but indeed one of the last issues of HorsePlay magazine shows a picture of her and says "Charisma, who died of colic complications last year." Perhaps someone there goofed and confused her with Extreme?

[@ImmortalSynn]

Pretty sure I don't, but can look around

[@ImmortalSynn]

Indeed, it was pretty sad listening to the two of them (the other being Peter Leone, butchering the foreign names without even trying)... they're no Gina Johnson (the woman heard in the first clip) nor Nancy Southern (woman heard in the 2nd)! They're both probably the two most informed show commentators I've EVER heard! Mary Tyng was pretty informed though, she's the female voice heard on the 3rd.

[@RunawaybabyDOLL]

Lol. I heard the commenters call her a gelding....

[@seizetheday9871]

haha on the olympics clip they said gelding at the beginning

[@ImmortalSynn]

@israel8952 LOL, she's a mare.

[@ImmortalSynn]

...in some ways, sure, it's unique-- but then again, how often do you see European masters coming here to train, versus the opposite?

[@Laneismynickname]

Is see hand floping everywhere,

[@Laneismynickname]

@ImmortalSynn Well you certainly like to argue with me. Well say that again. And keep in mind that there is someone who's called Anky Van Grunsven. And if you dont know where i'm talking about. You have a lack of education. Not me.

[@ImmortalSynn]

@Laneismynickname ...probably because you're too naive to understand that equitation is a construct meant for amateurs (most professionals have long since abandoned form in favor of function), and also too inexperienced to comprehend just how much much of a fool you make out if yourself when you criticize a dual Olympic medalist on how she chooses to hold her hands.

[@ImmortalSynn]

@Laneismynickname Who's arguing? lol I have no real reason to engage in that with the likes of you, I was merely pointing out an observation. As far as Anky, your piss-poor writing makes it difficult to know what your actual point in bringing her up is... but if it's the rollkur issue you're referencing, my take on that is that I don't agree with it-- but seeing as it's not illegal, not much anyone can do other than exactly what you're doing here: whine about it.