Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Kansas in the summer, Kentucky most of the time
Just a correction:
Mike Smith= jockey
Mike Winter = Olympic level eventer
Anyways, what I heard from my trainer and a woman that really knows horses is that you could visibly see Kingpin start to shut down about 200 feet before the jump. Mike whips him to the jump, and he dies right after the jump. However, I do take into account that NO one could have known what was going on. But he should have known something wasn't right. From what I've heard, Kingpin didn't just suck back before jumps. There was definitely something wrong.
So yes, Mike did whip him before the jump to get him there. There's no doubt about that.
Look like a SUPERSTAR, Ride like a FOUR STAR, Win like a ROCKSTAR
Eventers: Making BAD Dressage look GOOD!