The Gordon Elliott Photo Thread

As usual, this namby-pampy , hypocritical society wants to wallow In sensationalism and castigate anyone who has made a mistake.
What Gordon Elliott did was wrong and disrespectful. Full stop,
But where on earth has perspective gone?
Man has used and abused animals since time immemorial. It’s all right to blow up and maim horses in war and that’s justified as being “for a higher moral aim.” Yet only mechanisation stopped that.
Modern society utters no complaint about zoos and birds being kept in cages but, personally, I deem both as being infinitely worse than any man sitting on a dead horse.
Make no mistake, I’m certainly not excusing what Elliott did- just offering a sense of perspective to the whole situation.
In reality, Gordon Elliott will suffer far more than adequate mental and emotional punishment for the rest of his life, even if no further punishment is meted out by the relevant authorities.
To desire much more than that would simply be “sticking the knife in.” Yet doubtless it will happen from a society which donates millions to the RSPCA and a pittance to the NSPCC!
The person who took and circulated the photograph is typical of the mindless, sick individuals who pervade our society, seeking self-attention.
Today, everything is out of kilter.
The real furore is yet to come- from authorities where perceived image is more important than human reality.
How sad!

 

Yes Morgan. He died in 2019 according to the RP database, winner of 4 races from 21 starts.

I can’t comment on the rumours about GE’s personal life, though there must be a reason why this photo has surfaced now and not before. What I would say about Twitter, or any SM platform is that anyone can claim to be anyone they like, there’s no way of knowing if what they say is the truth without any evidence.

 

Tam with all due respect this isn’t about society, it is as pNkt said it’s about the whole racing industry and how it operates.

 

To your first point, if there's any evidence of animals in Elliot's care being mistreated, then by all means throw the book at him. But the one - disrespect of a dead animal - is not evidence of the other (mistreatment of a live animal).

As to your second point, yes, in the court of public opinion he'll be hung drawn and quartered.

 

Sentimental nonsense. It's a dead animal. Like the ones your shoes are made out of, or the ones on your plate.

 

The difference is those industries probably respect the animals much more than was shown by GE. So yes, thanks for pointing that out.

 

Yes, Nass, but society, likewise the racing industry, is about people who happen to make mistakes.
It’s all right to have pages debating the correct punishment for Elliott and image of racing but, at the end of it all, a decent human being will probably be destroyed.
That will always matter more to me.

 

I very much doubt that's the case at all tbh.

 

Not forgetting the livelihoods of all the people who work for him.

 

I am sorry but I’d be with you had he not put out such a ridiculous statement and has now played the sympathy card with the Racing Post.

He tried to excuse that photo stating it misrepresented what was happening. I have yet to find one person who believes his statement as being even a smidgeon likely.

It took him two days to admit it was real, he came out said it wasn’t what it looked like and now he’s saying that he is really sorry.

The only thing I can see he is sorry for is being caught.

Now what I want is anyone who has worked with GE to come out and tell the IHRB if they know any other issues at the yard. If that happens and nothing is found then fair enough, I’d respect the sport allowing him to be back in it.

The issue is two fold, I don’t expect many will believe the authorities will get to the bottom of it, and secondly I think with IHRB already looking at a second case around a jockey in Ireland that this isn’t a one off case for the sport.

 

That’s fair enough, Nass, but Elliott compounding the mistake for two days- probably out of fear- doesn’t warrant further investigations and questions to other racing personnel.
That simply a double reaction to Elliott’s initial mistake and prolongs the furore. Won’t the media love that!
Good heavens, Nass, the fellow sat on a dead horse. He doesn’t deserve to die for it!

 

Same as Jim Best and the many many others before, he could step down, move out and let the assistant trainer take over.

 

Out of fear? Now who is playing the cards? Who says he deserves to die?

He didn’t just sit on a dead horse. He posed with a dead horse in a picture that is scarily akin to trophy hunting. Are you going to deny that?

It has to be something that needs proper investigation, we do not know if it’s a one off (I sincerely hope it is) or if it’s something more. Similar was done around the drugging of horses.

My view is he should be banned and not allowed to get a licence again. I don’t buy this stuff about livelihoods. If a police officer is found to have done something against his organisation standards then he would be fired and not allowed back into the authority. As would I or many others would.

 

Well let's hope he does that then. And let's hope he learns from his mistake.

In the meantime, until I see evidence of cruelty or mistreatment of a living animal, I won't be as quick to point the finger as most people seem to be.

 

Honestly what is the difference between a dead horse and a live one in terms of treatment?

 

I’m not for a minute suggesting that Gordon Elliott mistreats the horses in his care, but the point is that he has made a massive error of judgment in putting himself in this position and he has brought the name of racing into disrepute. We have absolutely no right to claim that we have the highest welfare standards and that racehorses are treated like kings when images like this exist and people attempt to excuse the behaviour.

If he is not punished in a suitable manner then we are condoning what he has done as acceptable. To my mind a hefty fine and a minimum 1 year ban, unless the investigation turns up additional evidence in which case the punishment should be harsher.

I have every sympathy with his staff and owners, but the fault does not lie with the racing authorities or the general public, the fault is solely on Gordon Elliott - it was his own personal actions that have led to this situation. And yes I think the other person in the photo and the person who took the photo, if they are traceable, should also be subject to a charge of bringing racing into disrepute by not reporting the incident to the authorities. We have to have a zero tolerance approach to this sort of thing or very quickly we will find our sport under a very uncomfortable spotlight.

 

Sorry, what? I genuinely don't understand the question. Unless you think a horse can suffer when it's dead.

 

Yes, out of fear that he’d get caught and punished.
“deserved to die” was obviously hyperbole.
“Trophy hunting?”
Nass, that’s the most ridiculous comment you’ve ever made to me.
So you’d take away a man’s livelihood for doing something stupid, eh?
It’s a good job we don’t do that for all the UK’s population.
There wouldn’t be enough stones in the quarries to throw at the fifty plus million glass houses.

 

The point is if you don’t show respect to the animal in death then how can you claim you respect them in life? Again this isn’t sitting on a dead horse, this is posing astride a dead horse with a V sign.

 

have you seen the picture? He is sat astride the horse doing a V sign.

If I did something that brought the name of my organisation through the mud I would be sacked. As would everyone else.