Olympic chat thread 2 Gold edition.

[DesolateWaist]

What a way to start.

Brilliant!

Was it just me shouting 'knock a pole off' during the last round?

Amazing! I'm so pleased for Nick Skelton.

I take it all back about the oldies in our team

I work in racing and Nick's two sons Harry and Dan are really up and coming in the Jump Racing world as a jockey and trainer respectively.

Our first individual medal for 44 years! Amazing!

well done to Nick Skelton.

Wow, amazing by Nick Skelton. The brilliant performances from Team GB in Rio continue.

Brilliant!
Was it just me shouting 'knock a pole off' during the last round?

No, we were too!

Wow

Fantastic!
That was so exciting, I rather suspect a few beers will be downed by Nick Skelton tonight!

I grew up watching him on Apollo. Glad he got such a super horse in Big Star 30 years later. Really touching watching someone from that tough hardworking jumping rider era biting his lip on the podium. (Not that they don't work hard now too but it's a bit different).

so exciting when the other horses knocked the poles off

another one who is unimpressed with the Bolt love, What about GB. the headlines are Bolt when they should be Jade Jones, for example

The heavyweight boxers look so ponderous compared to the flys. Mind you the commentator said joe joyce got in close and slowed the other guy down on purpose.

Ok I take my ponderous comment back!!

The riding round of the modern pentathlon is always so cringeworthy.

I was jumping all those jumps with the horses. Great Gold for Nick Skelton.

I know Trionic. Some honest wee horses there jumping despite the riders getting them wrong for every fence and they aren't that small. If I was lending a horse for the competition I would be crossing fingers it drew somebody from a riding background, not a good athlete who's been plonked on a horse.

The modern pentathlon riders need Clare Baldings "riding instructor" commentary like she did in Beijing - great stuff. Forgetting the course is a bit dire.

What channel? I've got boxing.

There's such a difference between those who are clearly "riders" and those who aren't. So many just letting the horses barrel along, pointing them vaguely in the direction of a jump and hoping for the best.

Nick Skelton he's older than me Well done Nick
Joe Joyce and Anthony Joshua I love you

One would have thought the Americans could ride. Perhaps not.

Up the Irish!

So pleased for Nick Skelton!! I met him at an agricultural show in the late 80s, I was star struck. Amazing that he's still at the top all these years later.

This modern pentathlon lark is a bit of a farce isn't it. Get a dodgy horse and your olympics can be over pretty quickly, regardless how good a rider you may be. Saying that, a lot of them aren't amazing riders but it's a bit of a lottery all the same.

The usual horse crashing disaster. I wish they had a ranking round over smaller fences the day before and the people who can't ride could go today over a smaller course for fewer points so the poor horses didn't get faced into bigger jumps on the wrong stride and on the forehand. It looks shit, is unfair on the horses and is a bad advertisement for the sport. Plus I would let the good riders go first so they didn't have to ride a horse whose confidence has been wrecked. 20 minutes and a few practice fences isn't enough to get some horses' confidence back even with a good rider.

I've got diving on. Loving Leon 's commentary