Neville Bardos Superstar!
| January 13, 2012 | Posted by Patricia under Eventing - Competition News |
Neville Bardos, photo by Patricia
There is a great article in the NEW YORK TIMES (capitalized, because I find this completely unreal) about Boyd Martin’s Neville Bardos and tonight, he will win Horse of the Year – not “may”… but will – at the USEF Convention. And if he goes to the London Olympics, you can bet he’ll be on one those athlete profiles on NBC. What is funny about Neville, is that he is far from the typical Disney movie hero. He’s not very cuddly…in fact, he’s more of a bada** dude. According to Boyd and his groom Lindsey:
- He has tried to kill everyone who works for Boyd at least once.
- He is not to be trusted, no matter how much he tries to tell you he should be. Any type of care: ice boots, equissage, etc. requires careful supervision. He is a troublemaker!
- Working students put their lives on the line when hand grazing Nev. His actions can be very unpredictable and when he gets that wild look in his eye, things turn dangerous pretty quickly. No texting or talking on the phone allowed!
- At his first off the farm outing, a jumping day in Newcastle, Neville broke loose when they were unloading him and bolted with lead rope, halter and shipping boots straight into the jumping ring in the middle of someone’s round. It took five people to catch him.
- Silva took Neville to his first competition at Scone Horse Trials, and fell off him at the first jump. It took 15 minutes to catch him and then she got back on and finished, but had 467 time penalties, finishing last.
Fire or no fire, Neville is a superstar. He was the top-placed American at the 2010 World Equestrian Games (10th), 4th at Rolex Kentucky that year and the top-placed American at the 2011 Burghley Horse Trials (7th). He has done one CCI *, two CCI **, three CCI *** and four CCI ****, without a cross-country time penalty or jump penalty. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, because there is a loooong way to go, but I sincerely hope they make the Olympic podiums larger than usual, so Neville can get on it in London. 
Here’s the latest from Boyd – January 12, 2012
Trot work looks great there when KOL comes on…Oh and if you want a perfect horse buy a Breyer statue, they’re very well behaved
Not every horse has a perfect relaxed temperament. Sometimes you just have to learn how to get along with a horse and respect there space. I’ve worked with plenty of scoundrels before. Not every horse is going to be docile no matter how much handling they have. And there are some people that are excellent at handling these types of horses. I used to take it personally when I couldn’t get along with a certain horse. But, I’ve learned that like people not every horse is for everyone. I think it’s great that this horse has handlers and riders that believe in him and are giving him the opportunity to be a star rather than end up in a meat market where he was originally destined.
Jen…. He has the right handler. His name is Boyd.
Jen….because he’s TALENTED. This is not some fat old lady’s 3-foot hunter. This horse can jump a house. What’s more, he can jump a house and run for miles, and the day before all that, put forward a classic upper level dressage test; and the day after all that, jump the snot out of the painted poles. He’s a phenomenal horse. And he’s rude, like all horses are, when fit to run four star events. I don’t know of ANY four-star horses that aren’t bada$$. They have to be! This horse is simply a star because of his stellar competition record — and that’s in large part due to his rider, equally as good — Boyd. JMO.
Because everyone deserves a chance and no one, or thing, should be judged!
I don’t know … Sure, he has talent, but I don’t understand why people idolize a bad-tempered, unreasonable “star” (equine OR human!) JUST b/c they can win (or sing, or whatever). As riders, surely when we select for “talent” at the exclusion or temperment, we’re setting ourselves up for disaster. What’s the point in riding if you don’t enjoy it and it takes three people to handle your horse??? That said, my own horse is a rescue, and I’ve spent two years “reforming” him, so maybe all Neville needs is the right handler
Such a great success story!
Love this horse — and I’m proud to say I voted for him, even though I’m a show jumper (and I use that term loosely!) Let this be a lesson — cross partisan voting CAN be possible. It’s all about the candidate, not the party/discipline. LOL
Go Nev!!
He sounds every bit the star!! Puts me in mind of those ‘bad boy’ tennis pros