[QUOTE=flyracing;8562988]
Aside from this facebook comment, I don’t understand why there seems to be so much angst against her. Is it because she’s bought nice horses? Other people buy great horses and fail to become anybody. It’s not like all the other top horses were cheap horses and brought up by their riders. Laura brought up her horse, yet has FEI experience on exactly 1 horse (and hasn’t shown another horse in years at any level). Yet, she’s well respected by the community. I guess I just don’t get it. Same with Kasey and her recent success. Why aren’t we happy for their success and hoping they can continue and become great team members in the future?[/QUOTE]
You know, I don’t think there’s a great deal of angst against her really; in fact I think many people wanted to support her as an AA with the resources and drive to pursue her goals as an international rider. I do feel though that some people are perhaps a bit miffed by her, but it has little to do with that fact that she bought nice horses. I’d wager that most of us would do something similar if we had her budget. So the issue doesn’t lie there. Instead I would say that the people who aren’t enamored of her feel that way because she (or at least her online persona and self promotion) gives off a sense of entitlement and self-aggrandizement.
Essentially, she’s a relative newcomer who bought lovely horses and seems to expect that she’ll be received the same as those with far greater experience, time, talent, and work in the industry; it’s almost like she just expects to be put on a team because she’s got perhaps the highest caliber string of FEI horses of anyone in the world and can afford top training. That idea totally ignores the whole artistry and partnership aspects that are integral to dressage and said idea certainly has the potential to irk people (and no, I don’t deny that there is an insane amount of politics involved, but that’s a different beast).
Laura Graves also has minimal experience but is better received because she’s trained Diddy herself (certainly with mentors and help, but she still had a large part in the bulk of the work) and clearly put in the time to develop the relationship with him (correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe she basically just has him as her main partner where Charlotte has five or six superstars). She also doesn’t seem to come across as arrogant or entitled in any of her posts or interviews–or none that I’ve seen anyway. It’s all about the horse for Laura and it’s clear how much she adores him. I think people can get on board with that. There’s also the fact that people love the archetypal American Dream/rags to riches story, and Laura certainly fits that image quite a bit more than Charlotte.
Having said that, I’m not taking anything from Charlotte or her goal to ride in the Olympics; props to her (and I mean that sincerely!). But I do believe that while she is a good rider she still has to develop her artistry and the relationship with her horses if she wants to get everything out of them and produce an Olympic caliber ride. Dressage isn’t just about who can buy the most fabulous horse and ride a pattern, it’s an art just like playing the piano or painting a picture. Have you ever heard someone who can play all the notes in a song but impart no real feeling? They may be technically proficient but no one is going to hear that and think “Wow!” I feel like it’s the same in dressage; fabulous rides evoke a visceral response. It takes time to build the relationship with a horse to be able to do that.
In the meantime, and more on topic for this entire thread, displaying better sportsmanship would likely be a good start towards producing the sort of image people can relate to and helping navigate the inherent politics associated with playing in the big international sandbox.
