Not seen this before about Aintree and Cheltenham Hurdles

A step forward, or just another erosion?

Visually, I don't think they look as good, and not sure how they provide the same jumping test if they are considered safer. Surely the old one's by definition are a more difficult jumping test?

That's the best they can come up with to slow the champion trainer.

Very good decision and should be done everywhere. Bits of birch and gorse can lodge in a horses joints and can even be career ending if getting infected. Nothing to do with an easier jumping test.

The faller rate over the hurdles since it started has been 1.59% — 56 fallers out of 3,525 runners — which is a drop of 0.5% compared to the 10-year average across all hurdles.
BBC Sport.

Lol.

So compared to on a below average year for fallers, there were probably more fallers over the new hurdles?

Somebody could sell ice to eskimos.

sageform, can you provide one quote from a single trainer to back up what you saying? Otherwise it's just extreme speculation on your part to try and justify the decision. If it was a serious problem over such a long period someone might just have mentioned it. I would suggest it's got little or nothing to do with what you have come up with, and everything to do with these flights being an easier option, certainly not the same jumping test as the article suggests.