I think the accurate description here is that CD is being made a scapegoat, not that this is a witch hunt.
There are many others like her and worse than her who deserve at least the same level of exposure. Sadly, she got the bad luck of timing and the coverage rendered her a very convenient scapegoat for people who do the same and worse.
I think youāre conflating two things. The reaction of those outside the horseworld and that inside the horseworld.
The general public is upset about CDJ because CDJ was a heroine to people outside of the equestrian disciplines in the UK. Thatās why it made the news, as well as being right before the Olympics which is a very big deal ā¢.
The US doesnāt have any equestrian heroines that are name brand outside of the equestrian community, so itās hard for us to picture. But it would kind of be the equivalent of a Tom Brady, Tiger Woods or a Peyton Manningā¦a household name in sports. Someone that everyone knows, even if they donāt know a thing about the sport.
The general public also gets this upset about racing, which they do not understand in the least, because PETA told them so. They get this upset about any sort of gaited horse because they canāt tell the difference between the gaited breeds, and PETA told them that soring is bad and they associated it with the wrong thing (the gaitā¦instead of the actual abuse that takes place in padded walkers).
That is what caused the news etc - it wasnāt equestrians, it was the general public. They donāt know a thing about anything that we do, but they do know that what she did was bad, and they are calling it that. Because the news told them to.
Inside the horseworld is a little different.
Those of us who do dressage are upset about CDJ because CDJ was āone of the good onesā in our eyes. People guessed that Parra wasnāt nice, and werenāt at all surprised about Helgstrand but WERE suprised by CDJ. Myself included. She used to be the person I wanted to emulate when I needed to pick my hands up (not to have her hands, but remember to pick them up) because I have short upper arms and a long torso, so my mental picture was āride like Charlotteā because otherwise I have a tendency to let my elbows get long and stiff. Nowā¦not so much.
Those OUTSIDE the discipline but still horsepeople, were like, well dressage is finally getting itās comeuppance after acting like jerks about our tools and riding for years.
Iāve got my tentacles in a lot of different disciplines and inside each of them are people who are trying to make progress to make things better for the horses. I see progress everywhere, from the bits that get recommended, to the training methodologies. Itās just slow, and not overnight.
I agree very much with you except that I have my doubts about the progressā¦. I truly believe these training techniques are widely established and acceptedā¦ it was simply bad luck that CP got exposed with this video which included the German trainer. Now people are more sensitive and for me itās amazing how all these horsepeople are condemning CD and the danish riderā¦ I would bet that most of these horse people wouldnāt do anything if this happens in their barnā¦
And my personal observation on FB is that riders get really hostile about any type of criticism. They call anybody who dares to be critical a non expert who has no idea about anything concerning dressage and they say everything is improving so that there is no reason for criticism 
. I do believe they try to quiet down critics and plan to continue like beforeā¦ honestly I believe most of them donāt know any other way to train a horse. A lot of knowledge got lost in the last decades and this type of training was highly successfulā¦. But I am not sure whether it is possible to continue as beforeā¦ the general public is pretty much sensitized to this problemā¦ today I even read the argument that without the equestrian medals Germany would be on the same level as Usbekistan 
. Which was horrible thinking IMOā¦ first itās ok if horse suffer if they collect medals and second Usbekistan did an amazing job at the Olympics 
. So it is going to be interesting what will happen
That Iām very sorry for - I havenāt seen this, although I have seen some questionable practices, and have left those barnsā¦but youāre right it is hard to draw a line between putting someone on blast and just saying āwell, I wouldnāt ride with themā.
Wait, it was ābad luckā that Parra and the German trainer were exposed? I donāt think it was bad luck, I think it was a natural consequence of Parra being a garbage human being who was abusing horses and people alike. I donāt know about the German trainer youāre speaking of.
But, for clarity: when I say CD had the bad luck of being exposed right before the Olympics, I do NOT mean she shouldnāt have been exposed/did nothing wrong and just had bad luck. I only mean that the timing of when she was exposed was much worse than the timing of when others were exposed. Thatās all.
Maybe I misunderstand your post?
I donāt care for the timing IMO thatās a minor addition to the problemā¦
for me the problem is that these horse training practices have been probably common in the last decadesā¦ none of the persons in those videos looked like this was a first time for them. and sorry I do firmly believe they are not the only onesā¦. So it was bad luck that those videos were leakedā¦( for whatever reason at that specific timeā¦)
If itās truly the case that some critical mass of people in horse sport (and I donāt think this is a dressage-exclusive problem) use some version of these methods, then the big obvious question at this point seems to be what happens next?
The Olympics have come and goneā¦now what?
The Blue Tongue Creators got called into the office for a ātongue lashingā of their ownā¦so what? They still got their medals?
Everyone from Big Name Trainers to Big Fish in Little Ponds use unforgiving training techniques and equipmentā¦how or why would any of this change?
I just have a hard time seeing how we are in a different place by the time Los Angeles rolls around in 2028.
Well you got it . Thatās exactly the problemā¦. None of the people involved in the big business with horses donāt want to change anything they are doing. I assume many of them donāt even know other ways to train horses anyhow .
I am somehow surprised that CD and carina Kruth simply suffer through it without dragging anybody else into itā¦ not sure what they expect from the futureā¦ I assume they were told to keep quiet for the next months and then everything will be forgottenā¦ I think until now that workedā¦.
I would kind of make a cutā¦ forget about everything in the past but I would make strict rules for the futureā¦.
First I would require something like safe sport for the non violent training of horsesā¦ make it kind of like a CE for trainer and riderā¦ I would quiz them about all the old Literature (steinbrecht BĆ¼rger Seunig). And then there need to be harsh punishment for everybody caught in the futureā¦ and of course I would involve Anja Beran because she did develope a system to recognize Wrong trainingā¦ā¦
I do very much agree that consequences for many others are lacking. Well said. I also think fairness is not really something achievable in media anymore since many things that should be making headlines arenāt.
I havenāt really had this experience. I really donāt know a lot of people who have a burning hatred for dressage and think dressage riders are getting what they deserve. Most people can recognize that riders vary drastically amongst disciplines and also incorporate dressage into their own discipline if riding English. The classical dressage riders have been the ones IME to spew the most hatred towards competitive dressage.
But are we? Do we really need Olympic dressage? At no point in my lifetime of riding dressage have I ever really needed Olympic dressage to exist. The only positive Iāve maybe benefitted from is seeing stallions brought to GP to be proven and to use for breeding. But they can be proven in far better ways than this.
Also, if Olympic dressage is canceled, the focus will just move to something else like WEG.
What pisses me off is that it is just a handful of riders at the top who are setting the stage for all dressage riders. Everyone now believes that all dressage riders are exactly like CD where we all just unmercifully whip horses to prance. The stereotypes will kill the sport fast.
We most certainly do not need Olympic dressage. I doubt the majority of riders do. Seeing Olympians does set trends for sure but other than that, no.
There are a number of pros though that might be affected in top sport. Olympic glory gets customers, but those customers are like 2% of the equestrian world.
And yes, now because of the abusers running amok we all look like abusers too.
Hyperbolic much?
Give it a year, letās see where we are.
Remember what McLainās dad did? Some of you donāt know what Iām referring to. Hereās a link:
https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/tag/barney-ward/
Did that kill showjumping?
Iām scratching my head that Charlotte whacking on one horse is worse than Parra. Is worse than Helgstrand.
Is worse than the Anky era
Oh, and Kittel.
Who did I miss in the parade of Oh Crap Not Another?
Itās not just the act. Itās WHEN the act was acted upon. Itās the response to the act that varies according to where a culture is at that time. Things that were glossed over years ago will not be glossed over at another time.
And yes I remember the heinous things Barney Ward did and I will never like, support, reward or speak kindly of McLain because of it. Sins of the father.
This good Eurodressage article lists these folks: Parra, Strasser, Helgstrand, Cassoe Kruth, Dujardin. And those are just the ones who have been exposed. God only knows how many others there are who also used harsh/abusive training techniques behind closed doors.
There was also that lesser known rider some years back who IIRC was charged with animal cruelty for a brutal beatdown of a horse. I cannot remember her name or the exact details but I think she was in either Germany or Denmark (?).
That is pretty harsh.
I am skeptical of McLain not because of his last name but because of that incident years back where he was outed at a show for putting plastic (?) shards in his horseās boots to encourage him to pick his feet up. I have always wondered how many other times he has done something like that and gotten away with it.
I never had any doubt he would use Dadās tactics. Sins of the father.
So you think he also kills horses for insurance money?
You missed quite a bit if you think that is what Iām saying. Scroll back up and read the line of convo regarding double standards, how there have been several other players who have done much more egregious things but didnāt make nightly news, etc.
I agree - I think it will be much like this. Hopefully we can make some change regarding the blue tongue issues, but I very much doubt in a year anyone will remember this incident besides in online spaces like this board.
It did attract outside attention, and that feels bad right now (welcome to the club) but Iām sure that will go away too, the public is fickle.
It was the FEIās decision to remove reining in 2021.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
