# Just seen Lee whinging on the Midlands nesw



## Koala Kate (5 September 2012)

Saying a judge was against him ??? ..But carrying on to say he was happy with her scoring..Same old Lee lol


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## TheFarmersWife (6 September 2012)

I have to say that I was quite pleased he was the only member of the GB equestrian team not to get an individual gold. The man is arrogant. yes he's don't fantastically in the past but he can be totally obnoxious about it all. Whereas when I see the girls interviewed, they appear so excited and humbled by their experience.


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## mrussell (6 September 2012)

Ive seen able bodied Pros continously whine about poor judging rather than just accept they werent the best on the day...so why should Lee be any different ? Afterall, a strong sense of self-belief is what makes some people exceptional... even if some of them are just plain deluded 

But if you really want to be cringed out of your skin, watch The Last Leg as they often play Lee's comment about what he feels when his horse goes well.  Blurgh.  TMI Lee !!


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## Maesfen (6 September 2012)

He hasn't come across at all well at these Games; even the trailers of him have been cringeworthy arrogant so I agree totally with TFW above.


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## NoseyPosey (6 September 2012)

I was always told that if you're really that good at something then you don't need to shout about it, otherwise you're only setting yourself up for embarrassment when you don't do so well.

Nobody likes a smart-@arse.


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## BBH (6 September 2012)

I don't know the guy but arrogance is not an attractive quality in anyone no matter who you are.

Agree with whoever said the most successful people are the ones who are often very humble as they have nothing to prove and the confidence not to need to ' big' themselves up.


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## armchair_rider (6 September 2012)

In fairness I think one of the judges did mark him down quite heftily.

Agree he doesn't come across well. Now how about a whinge-off between LP and Andrew Nicholson?


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## LizzieJ (6 September 2012)

The scoring was pretty  though and he wasn't the only one not to get an individual gold, Deb and Steph both got silvers too! He has often come across as very arrogant though.


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## Seahorse (6 September 2012)

I've heard lots of times that he is a bit arrogant, but when they interviewed him after getting his individual silver I thought he came across as very humble and quite pleased to have got a medal at all!


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## Crazy_cat_lady (6 September 2012)

When it shows him on the bt clips during the adverts he comes across as quite arrogant esp compared to quite a lot of the other paras. Just my opinion though.


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## crabbymare (6 September 2012)

The problem with seeing clips is that they will often be taken out of context of the whole conversation r interview so can sound worse than if  the whole thing is shown. I dont particularly like the way he comes across sometimes but in this instance when you look at the scores it looks like he has a point as the one judge was a lot different to the others.


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## Halfstep (6 September 2012)

Lee was lucky to get the score he did in the freestyle, seeing as his horse was unlevel in much of the trot work.....


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## cruiseline (6 September 2012)

crabbymare said:



			when you look at the scores it looks like he has a point as the one judge was a lot different to the others.
		
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When competing at an international level, as a rider we expect all judges to be working from the same hymn sheet, so to speak. If they are not and the scores quite obviously prove this, then you would quite rightly wonder why and be a little upset about the situation. From a competitors point of view, it either was, or it wasn't, it can not be both.


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

Oh for goodness sake leave the guy alone - why do so many people feel they have to have a dig at him at every opportunity!


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## NoseyPosey (6 September 2012)

mle22 said:



			Oh for goodness sake leave the guy alone - why do so many people feel they have to have a dig at him at every opportunity!
		
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Because he's an arrogant so and so who likes to tell everybody how good he is at beating everybody and now hasn't


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## Penniless (6 September 2012)

Thought I was the only one in the country not to like him.  Saw documentaries years ago on him and thought he was an arrogant so and so then, with a very big chip on his shoulder (yes, I know he's disabled) but this year, over the past six months or so, I've seen a documentary about him when he was belittling the other young English boy who had managed to beat him twice and sadly had no horse to compete on this year; I watched him in Come Dine with me and also in another programme on the disabled olympians, and in each and every programme, he came across really badly, and if I heard him say once more about how he had better get a Knighthood when he wins the Gold this year - well!

Credit where credit is due, I certainly couldn't do what he does even without his disabilities, but he really needed taking down a peg or two.  Hopefully he may now realise that the British Dressage Team doesn't revolve around him.


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## cruiseline (6 September 2012)

If you look at the actual scores, you will see why he, quite rightly was a bit p*ssed off by the judge. If you do not understand the art of dressage, you can always send me a PM and I will be more than happy to explain it to you.

http://www.london2012.com/externalparamodules/EQ/pdf/EQX212101_C73DD.pdf

but perhaps seeing the true story is not as interesting as making one up!!


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

Why would you want to take him down a peg or two - that's just nasty. The people who are posting anti him are much more horrible than he is.


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## Taome (6 September 2012)

In our house we love him.After following him for a few years found he has a dry humor that doesn't come across well.He had said before the paralympics not to expect too much as Gentleman could be a donkey sometimes.The media also built him up and there were great expectations which add to pressure on any competitor.His freestyle was not too good but I still find the difference in markings hard to fathom.Looking forward to seeing him with a new horse and may his humor continue as it is


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## D66 (6 September 2012)

He has a big personality, thats just the way he is.  He rides a lot better than I do, is more dedicated and single minded and I admire him for that.  

He has to put up with a load of bilge from the media who like to present him for their convenience but needs the exposure to get sponsorship.  Would they be interested if he wasn't outrageous and why should he be quiet and humble because he's disabled?


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## MICHAELA8228 (6 September 2012)

[QUOTE But if you really want to be cringed out of your skin, watch The Last Leg as they often play Lee's comment about what he feels when his horse goes well.  Blurgh.  TMI Lee !![/QUOTE]

I thought that too!!!!! Lol!!!!


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (6 September 2012)

TheFarmersWife said:



			I have to say that I was quite pleased he was the only member of the GB equestrian team not to get an individual gold. The man is arrogant. yes he's don't fantastically in the past but he can be totally obnoxious about it all. Whereas when I see the girls interviewed, they appear so excited and humbled by their experience.
		
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Have to agree with this!! I'd never really thought about the guy much TBH, but had admired him for his achievement, but after the recent TV documentary about him I'm afraid this rather showed his true colours unfortunately.


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

digger66 said:



			He has a big personality, thats just the way he is.  He rides a lot better than I do, is more dedicated and single minded and I admire him for that.  

He has to put up with a load of bilge from the media who like to present him for their convenience but needs the exposure to get sponsorship.  Would they be interested if he wasn't outrageous and why should he be quiet and humble because he's disabled?
		
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Agree!


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## minesadouble (6 September 2012)

There was a post on this forum ages ago (few years??) about how great he was and I happened to comment that whilst I admired his achievements I just could not 'like' him as a person - I nearly got lynched!!! I then posted saying that I couldn't help but wonder if I had said I didn't like an able bodied rider would it have met with the same reaction and all went quiet 

For me he is just too keen to blow his own trumpet, I remember seeing him saying how much better he was than most able bodied riders - that may or not be the case but he should let others be the judge of that.


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

I can't stand this - oh you have to be humble - thing!


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## minesadouble (6 September 2012)

mle22 said:



			I can't stand this - oh you have to be humble - thing!
		
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There's an awful lot of middle ground between being meek and humble and being an arrogant, self important twot!!


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

minesadouble said:



			There's an awful lot of middle ground between being meek and humble and being an arrogant, self important twot!!
		
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And are you saying that this is what Lee Pearson is? Do you know him personally?


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## minesadouble (6 September 2012)

Am not saying he's arrogant self important twot and do not wish him to be meek or humble but there is a wide spectrum between the two and he is certainly edging towards the wrong end of the scale.

Of course I do not know him personally but have seen plentiful tv footage where he certainly doesn't shy away from extolling his virtues. Those who are truly great prove their worth through their actions rather than expelling it from their voicebox. (unless they are a singer of course )


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

And you don't think he has proved his worth?


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## minesadouble (6 September 2012)

EXACTLY we all KNOW his achievements - we don't need him to tell us how great he is. I've never heard Mary King, William Fox Pitt, Carl Hester, John Whittaker etc. etc. saying what amazing riders they are or that they are SOOO much better than the average rider - they don't feel the need. THAT is my point.

In fact most of our top able bodied riders are quick to minimise the role that they played in their victories and put it down to the horse that carried them!


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

Well maybe it's just a particularly British trait - don't blow your own trumpet.

I just think he gets a disproportionate amount of criticism. Like all the para athletes he is inspirational and was the first to be famous as a paradressage rider. I can't understand why some people seem to always want to bash him.


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## Koala Kate (6 September 2012)

He brings it on himself. I watched interviews with the and was in tears . So gracious and humble . O was so happy for them I cried .


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## Koala Kate (6 September 2012)

The girls


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

Tell the wheelchair rugby team they have to be humble and gracious!


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## Koala Kate (6 September 2012)

Why ?!!! They are not obnoxious little brats


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## mle22 (6 September 2012)

They're not humble and gracious either! Are you saying Lee is an obnoxious little brat? Because that is the implication of your post. I feel very angry on his behalf.


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## DragonSlayer (6 September 2012)

The man works hard to get where he is, able-bodied or otherwise.

He is at the top of his game, I don't know him personally, so I don't judge on the kind of guy he is, but I do admire his dedication to the sport.

I take all interviews with a pinch of salt, things said may raise eyebrows, but it doesn't affect my everyday life so I don't see the point in making comments on 'attitudes'.

We had a similar discussion on Murray during Wimbledon here on HHO, I said the same thing, then and I'll say it now.

What is the point in character assassinations?


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## NoseyPosey (7 September 2012)

I've said it before & I'll say it again - I don't think any sport which does not have a clear cut "fastest time" or "first past the post" should be an olympic sport and this highlights the reason why. Maybe the judge thinks he's an arrogant so & so as well?


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## hobo (7 September 2012)

Thanks for posting the results cruiseline very interesting result from judge M. My OH and I met him while we were waiting for MK to take the water jump at the WEG Kentucky. We found him friendly and funny and some of the things he said still make us chuckle. 
I think he has done a lot to lift the profile of para dressage to what it is today.


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## cruiseline (9 September 2012)

Lee has every right to be proud of what he has achieved, he also has the right (as a competitor) to question a quite blatant discrepancy in the way one of the judges marked his test (4 others got it right)! If you watch sport, you will see that athletes always take bad decisions quite personally, I know I do.

I find it very sad that there are people who are willing to very publicly bad mouth someone that they have firstly never met and secondly never experienced what they have been through in their life to get where they are.

What is the old saying:

DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES

I would love to hear back from you when you have, I might then take your comments to heart. Until that happens, its all just hot air!!!!!!!!!


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## merrymeasure (9 September 2012)

cruiseline said:



			Lee has every right to be proud of what he has achieved, he also has the right (as a competitor) to question a quite blatant discrepancy in the way one of the judges marked his test (4 others got it right)! If you watch sport, you will see that athletes always take bad decisions quite personally, I know I do.

I find it very sad that there are people who are willing to very publicly bad mouth someone that they have firstly never met and secondly never experienced what they have been through in their life to get where they are.

What is the old saying:

DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES

I would love to hear back from you when you have, I might then take your comments to heart. Until that happens, its all just hot air!!!!!!!!!
		
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Agree. I think people take Lee too seriously. I really admire his achievements and I'm pretty sure a lot of his comments are said tongue in cheek.


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## siennamum (9 September 2012)

How nasty some of you are. What a pointless post.


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## Alec Swan (9 September 2012)

There's another thread somewhere,  with equally conflicting views on Lee P.  I suspect that all those who for what ever reason,  are catapulted into the public arena,  find such fame to be difficult to deal with,  and perhaps on occasion they will fall short of our expectations.

I wonder what I'd be like,  were I famous;  probably even more insufferable than I am now!  I've decided that I'm now officially in training,  for fame and fortune!  

Alec.


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## ester (9 September 2012)

but Alec you ARE famous.. you were on countryfile and everything


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## Luci07 (9 September 2012)

I saw him on come dine with me and thought he was funny! And actually, made a very strong point about recognition. Ever thought that the general public might still not really know about Paralympic dressage and him if he WASN'T so outspoken?! 

He used to post on here a while back and got slammed by a lot of people for putting up a picture of a 3 year old as a lot of our local experts said it was clearly over trained at too early an age. Hilarious. It was a 3 year old colt just starting out. Yes it had quite a reasonable crest on it ..about half of what it would have when it actually did start work.!


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## JanetGeorge (9 September 2012)

cruiseline said:



			I find it very sad that there are people who are willing to very publicly bad mouth someone that they have firstly never met and secondly never experienced what they have been through in their life to get where they are.

What is the old saying:

DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES

I would love to hear back from you when you have, I might then take your comments to heart. Until that happens, its all just hot air!!!!!!!!!
		
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Well said cruiseline!!

Lee wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth - just a disability that would finish off many people!  He's worked his a*se off to get where he is today, and he has HAD to blow his own trumpet - because without sponsors - and the media - he couldn't survive at the level he is, let alone score gold medals!

He has a fantastic sense of humour - including the ability to laugh at himself.  When he joined my forum he did so with the user-name 'crutch'!

He has inspired MANY people - particularly many disabled riders - by proving 'it's ability that counts'!!  And he's raised the standard of para dressage to an enormous degree!  I'd ask, WTF have his critics achieved???


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## EAST KENT (9 September 2012)

ester said:



			but Alec you ARE famous.. you were on countryfile and everything 

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Really? Ooh will have to watch then!


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## JanetGeorge (9 September 2012)

ester said:



			but Alec you ARE famous.. you were on countryfile and everything 

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Oooh - does that make you famous??  I did that once or twice!


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## Serenity087 (9 September 2012)

"I hate him cos I saw a TV documentary with him in it"

This is possible the most redundant explanation for an utterly uncalled for character assassination in the history of mankind.

When one has achieved 10 gold medals and 1 silver at Paralympic games and when one has spent time with Lee in person and got to know the real Lee, can one possibly post an opinion on his character.

On the plus side, I CAN vouch that there are a number of arrogant **** posting in this thread!


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## Spot_the_Risk (9 September 2012)

He's a nice guy - and yes, I have met him, he came to Devon in September last year for a fortnight to teach at a clinic, and I sat next to him at dinner.  He's funny, dry, and he really strongly wanted to win at the Paralympics, home turf and all that.  I would say he's a great ambassador for para dressage.

The Last Leg has been very funny viewing, but I doubt Lee's comment was the only one that some would find offensive!  And as for the documentary recently shown, Lee wants to WIN!  If he didn't want to WIN, he'd probably be going for a riding at an RDA centre once a week, if that.  You have to push yourself, have self belief and a desire to always try harder, again and again, whether disabled or able bodied - humble, what a load of tosh, if I'd won nine Para Golds in three Paralympics, therefore having a 100% compete/win rate, I'd be damn proud of what I'd accomplished.


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## Sagittarius (9 September 2012)

cruiseline said:



			Lee has every right to be proud of what he has achieved, he also has the right (as a competitor) to question a quite blatant discrepancy in the way one of the judges marked his test (4 others got it right)
		
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Putting aside personal comments about Lee himself - why the assumption that the low marking judge was wrong and the others were right?

The horse was noticably unlevel in the trot work and the walk wasn't always  fluent. 

Lee himself commented in press reports "Gentleman has struggled this week physically. It is quite unusual for him to compete every other day over six days, so the guys backstage have been working hard on keeping him sane and sound."

Perhaps the judge in question was right to put her head above the parapet and mark exactly what she saw, not what she hoped to see based on past performance?


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## Mike007 (9 September 2012)

Cant see what the fuss is about. Lee could be as gay as a box of frogs but he is still a blokes kind of bloke. I would love to down a few pints with the man. I think the problem is entirely with those that want to steriotype him into some kind of neet box. Get real , get a life.


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## chris_j (9 September 2012)

Whether you like the guy or not, how would you feel reading this thread if it was you being ripped apart by the Internet experts.

Have some bloody class & compassion people.


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## DragonSlayer (9 September 2012)

@chris j - Id be saying WHO has won the medals??? Me! 

The man deserves to be at the top, I greatly admire him, I hope his success continues.

I remember robbie Williams getting shredded once by the tabloids, and on an interview he said "I don't care, I have £28 million in royalties...'...class answer.

'Love thy fellow man...'...yeah right, that one went a bit wrong!


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## HashRouge (11 September 2012)

I don't mind Lee, and I was cheerfully supporting him going in to his final test. I thought he did a decent test (though was I the only one who thought Gentleman looked rather *ahem* fat? ) but Pepo Puch did by far the best performance on the day. And as far as I can work out, even if the low marking judge had equaled the score given by the highest marking judge (78%), Lee wouldn't have beaten him. I didn't see the test by the woman who came second, however, so I can't comment on that. But I certainly don't think there is any shame in Lee losing the gold on that occasion, as Pepo Puch did a stunning test and it would have been a scandal had he not won gold.


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## Rollin (11 September 2012)

I can't believe this.

I listened to his mother on Radio Four describing his birth and early start in life and how disabled he was. It was his own will that started him riding.  He still needs crutches to walk.  What a wonderful young man he is to have done so much.  If he has a high opinion of himself he deserves it.

I have a son with  Dyspraxia - Clumsy Child Syndrome and have the greatest admiration for our equestrian dressage team.


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## cruiseline (12 September 2012)

Sagittarius said:



			Putting aside personal comments about Lee himself - why the assumption that the low marking judge was wrong and the others were right?
		
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Because at international level you would expect all judges to be professional and singing from the same hymn book! That is a huge gap between the marks for the judge at 'M' and everyone else.

If 2 or 3 of them had scored similar marks to judge 'M', then there would have been no need to question the result, but as you can see the other 4 judges were very similar in their opinion of the test. It's not rocket science it black and white.


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## Alyth (12 September 2012)

From a completely impartian viewpoint!!  Remember each judge has a completely different viewpoint from the other judges.....and remember you need to look at the judges scores for all competitiors....if one judge is consistently lower than the others that is fine.  It is when one riders score by one judge is "out of character" that you need to start worrying!!


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## Stateside (12 September 2012)

I must say  I really admire Lees achievements ,he has done us proud but why has nobody around him  not employed a decent PR person to put him in the right direction, he comes across as a bitter old Queen with a chip on his shoulder.When I saw Judy Goodyear on Big brother I thought of Lee.So much talent that is being distracted by the way he comes across.
If someone in high places decide to give him a Knighthood or any other honor good BUT I think he has blown his chances now .except with grace but never demand .


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## combat_claire (12 September 2012)

Rollin said:



			I can't believe this.

I listened to his mother on Radio Four describing his birth and early start in life and how disabled he was. It was his own will that started him riding.  He still needs crutches to walk.  What a wonderful young man he is to have done so much.  If he has a high opinion of himself he deserves it.
		
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^^^^ This


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## Sagittarius (12 September 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJi1OMxBso

Judge for yourself.

Take off rose coloured glasses and ask yourself honestly, is that horse 100% right?


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## shoeey (12 September 2012)

Sagittarius said:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJi1OMxBso

Judge for yourself.

Take off rose coloured glasses and ask yourself honestly, is that horse 100% right?
		
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Thanks for that Sagittarius. This video is quite distant so not that easy to see but i remember when watching his test on the telly thinking the horse did not look level.


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## cruiseline (12 September 2012)

Alyth said:



			From a completely impartian viewpoint!!  Remember each judge has a completely different viewpoint from the other judges.....and remember you need to look at the judges scores for all competitiors....if one judge is consistently lower than the others that is fine.  It is when one riders score by one judge is "out of character" that you need to start worrying!!
		
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Here are the score for all judges 

http://www.london2012.com/externalparamodules/EQ/pdf/EQX212101_C73DD.pdf


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## cruiseline (12 September 2012)

Sagittarius said:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJi1OMxBso

Judge for yourself.

Take off rose coloured glasses and ask yourself honestly, is that horse 100% right?
		
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I do not wear rose tinted glasses  but I would need a magnifying glass to make an honest opinion based on that video


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## Maesfen (12 September 2012)

shoeey said:



			Thanks for that Sagittarius. This video is quite distant so not that easy to see but i remember when watching his test on the telly thinking the horse did not look level.
		
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Glad I wasn't the only one.  After all this hoo-ha I was beginning to think I had imagined it when I saw it on Ch4 (what little they showed admittedly)


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## splashgirl45 (14 September 2012)

i am another one who saw an unlevel horse in the first half of the test and i was very surprised how high his mark was and wonder what the other judges were seeing that i wasnt..  however i am amazed at his riding especially  considering how disabled he is and feel sad that he is being picked on even though he has perhaps bought some of it  on himself but not admitting that gentleman was not quite right on the day.  the winner was amazing and i dont think lee could have beaten him whatever he did.    what a shame that channel 4 did not give equestrians the same importance as the other sports, i would have liked to see the other tests to get more of a feel for the events,surely they could have made them available  online!!


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