At 16:46:12 on 30.01.12, Trot ON Comment wrote:
Some of you may remember that Trot ON wrote about Mark Smith and his Bridleless not Brainless team back in 2010. Unfortunately new rules for team chasing mean that they will no longer be allowed to team chase in headcollars. Quickly reading this you may think that the MFHA were quite right to make this new ruling and it's total madness to jump at speed cross country in a headcollar. But read the link to our latest blog posting, get more info and find out what Mark has to say. Now do you think that the MFHA were right to change the rules as they have or do you agree with Mark that his training methods are a safer option and his team should be allowed to keep team chasing in headcollars?

At 20:47:22 on 30.01.12, inneedofapony wrote:
Its crazy!? The ability these riders show is incredible, why stop them showing their amazing talent? why stop them showing the unbelievably strong relationship they have with their horses!? I understand that yes it is proberly more dangerous than riding with a bridle (in theory) because theres no brakes other that leg position and seat, but these riders have clearly taught their horses to respond more to their position than yanking on the reins. Surely this should be applauded not banned from compertitions!? anyway even if the organisers are unwilling to 'take the risk' of the riders falling, cant they just make it compulsary for bridleless pairs to find insurance elsewhere and just make it clear that they wont be held liable for accidents. that way the bridleless pairs still get to compete and the organisers arent held liable...SIMPLES???

At 18:00:51 on 31.01.12, mestep wrote:
i say the ban is crazy it should be the riders decesion and in my uppion its not the bitless bridle or even the bridle that holds the person on its the saddle and the way the person rides.

At 18:16:38 on 31.01.12, word_to_the_wise wrote:
I can see where they are trying to go with the banning of your bridleless riding, but it is quite unnecessary. You are not the ones that got in the accident, and the person who did get in the accident was wearing a bit. So it ridiculous that you guys got the blunt end of the stick on this one. You guys are promoting the very thing the horse world needs and you simply got shut-down because someone changed the rules on you. I'd fight it. Find a loop hole, do it anyway, get a petition signed, something! don't let this thing stop you! GO GET EM!

At 10:50:31 on 01.02.12, bazz94 wrote:
Absolutely ridiculous! That's all I have to say.

At 18:56:28 on 01.02.12, NMH wrote:
What a shame they went & banned it. These folk obviously know exactly what they are doing & have put in all the time & training necessary to compete in this way without bits, they are great ambassadors for bitless! A little voice in me is saying- were the MFHA afraid less competent people would copy them? And put spectators etc at risk in doing so? I'm not defending it, but others could be over-confident/downright stupid in that way - if you run things unfortunately the rules on Health & Safety can mean you have to take responsibility for others' safety that oversteps the mark.

At 07:48:23 on 02.02.12, Flicka wrote:
I doubt if many people would have tried it as they know they aren't good enough. I wonder if it wound some people up- many team chasers see themselves as really brave riders and it's true, it attracts people who are real hunting 'thrusters' and ride over huge hedges and fences. But was the sight of these guys riding in pink headcollars saying 'but you're not as brave as us!!'Even though I know that the point of them choosing to ride in headcollars is to prove their riding methods rather than show off their bravery. A real shame that the new rules have effectively banned them especially when it sounds like better changes could have been made. This was just a cheap and easy option. And maybe a way to get rid of something that questions the way other people ride?

At 15:09:41 on 02.02.12, Angelalain wrote:
I missed out on all this, but from the photo its pretty obvious that the horses are all in control and perfectly happy to be galloping and jumping as a team, which is more than be said for many pictures I've seen of team chasing in H&H etc, where one is often way ahead of the rest, or another is tailed off. The issue of them having no bits seems a bit of a red herring since none of them seem out of control!

At 20:42:03 on 02.02.12, kibby wrote:
I love these guys and agree its a shame they won't get to keep showing their skills but I can see where the organisers are commingling from. What if some riders with less training tried this. That is when it could become very dangerous.

At 20:46:23 on 02.02.12, kibby wrote:
Appologies for spelling mistakes. I'm on my iPhone. People might not try this but the thing is people might also and I can see why they would rather not take that risk.