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Originally Posted by Kasept
Just the latest in a long series of steward hypocracies.
When was the last time we read of American stewards calling in a jock for failure to persevere?
When was the last time one was called in for excessive use of the whip?
When was the last time one was called in to review tape and explain his actions wrangling a horse back inappropriately?
Guys do this stuff on a DAILY BASIS ACROSS THE COUNTRY... Yet Victor Molina gets put on the ground for 30 days for a split second, anger-generated, loss of control? A guy who doesn't have a single transgression on his record in a 27 year career? Unbelievable. Priorities totally out of whack.
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steve, I see your point and in general would agree that perhaps it is a bit of a harsh punishment. given his record I would think that a small fine and some days would be appropriate. 30 days does seem excessive.
And you also make good points that the steward review of other types of action is wanting.
However to me this incident is a bit different than a simple riding infraction. Those are close calls where you are walking a fine line between what is normal riding and what is inappropriate. There is room for misinterpretation or an explanation from the rider as to what happened.
Kicking a horse is not at all part of the sport and I think they had to do something to demonstrate to the public that this is totally out of bounds. He showed in that kick a total disregard and disrespect to the horse who was a young 2YO and just as paniced and frightened as he was.