:lol::lol::lol::lol:
That may be or it may not be. Speculating like this is not helpful nor relevant. Perhaps we should keep the discussion to the ride itself and to how show officials can prevent a horse from enduring a similar situation in the future.
2 Likes
If it werenât for the second ride nobody would know or care who this rider is.
9 Likes
I donât dance or sing or act but I can watch a TV talent show and tell who is off key or a klutz. I can go to an off off Broadway or fringe show of varying levels of ability and pick out the truly talented folk. I donât jump anything beyond crosspoles but I can watch Spruce Meadows grand Prix derbies and predict when a horse is going to crash because it is off pace or sucking back. I can even see when a bullrider is clearly in sync with the animal and when he gets off to ba bad start and is going to be trampled.
I notice when some buff dude at the gym is pumping iron with bad form and I can see where an Olympic diver hits the water wrong. Or a skater wobbled.
In other words I, like most people, have a good enough eye as audience or consumer of various performances that I can make fairly accurate basic judgements about big bloopers committed by people who have far more skills and talent than me.
Indeed I went to an Andrew Macclean clinic once where we were invited to score a demo ride along with a regular judge and someone test driving an alternative score card he wanted to develop. Things went really fast and I had no scribe 
but in fact my scores that I was able to write down were comparable to the judges.
What I canât do is give authoritative advice to the Spruce Meadows competitor or the off key singer in how to improve. Which is why I donât teach these things.
19 Likes
Ironic
ToN, I think we actually agree on HOW a rider is scored, we just disagree on the score she received. Yes, effectiveness is most important (although position IS a component of the score, that is why the USEF tests break those components out). The point I made - when you look at the body of her test - there are a LOT of low scores, 4s, 5s, then a few 6s and even a couple of 7s. So her effectiveness as evidenced by that test was mostly 4s and 5s, yes? There were a few 6s and 7s, and one or two 3s. But the majority of the scores were in the 4 and 5 range - and that tells me her effectiveness is mostly around the 4 to 5 range. Not 6.
THEN you add the less important component of her position - that is a much less important component of the score, but is a modifier that is considered. Most judges donât spend a lot of time looking at a riderâs position, but some do - especially if the position is quite good or quite bad.
3 Likes
Axel posted on FB that WDC Management are now not going to live stream the shows this week- at the request from riders who are afraid to get blasted on Social Media.
Of course many are boo hooing and shaming social media for this. But aside from that, is that a good solution? How about addressing what happened, instead of now just trying to hide it if it happens again.
15 Likes
Really?? Wow, what has this sport come to. If you do not ride like that and kick and abuse your horse during a test. I would think folks are safe.
14 Likes
Yup, if you donât see a difference between SBâs riding and your own, such that you fear social media if your rides are LiveStreamâd⊠well, yikes!
The only other reason you might feel that way would be if you think her ride, and her actions therein, wasnât that bad.
Again⊠Yikes.
19 Likes
I admit I didnât go through all of the pages so Iâll apologize in advance if this idea was already put out there :). There is a HUGE difference between just having a âbadâ ride, which everyone who has ever shown a horse has had, and one that is blatantly abusive.
As a society in general, we call out abusive practices through, yes, what can be described as criticism. It was done, and still is done, in many areas such as rollkur, dog fighting, child abuse, animal abuse, human trafficking, politics, education,and so on. If criticism and ongoing discussion of abusive practices was never done, or allowed, these issues would never have been addressed; or changed/improved.
There was a vid out out there, what, 6 months or so ago, of the girl that kicked her horse in the belly when she took a fall after a jump. That rider was also vilified in the media and as far as I know, no one used the term âbullyingâ to describe that criticismâŠI could be wrong there.
So, what is so different between the criticism of the kick, and the criticism of a mounted rider overusing a whip, overusing spurs and effectively riding two tests using abusive practices? Riders have requested no livestream but, what even they fail to see is it wasnât the ârideâ itself but the blatant abuse that was added to that ride.
Now, if the horse had been acting out in a poor and mean manner, as Hilda Gurney said in a clinic I attended, âif the horse is trying to kill you all bets are off,â but, the rider wasnât correcting poor performance but was taking out frustrationâŠthe same as that rider that kicked her horse. The rider that kicked her horse was sanctioned wasnât she?
Edit: found it, Hampton Classic, September 2017. Jazz Johnson MertonâŠshe was fined $5000 and given a two month suspension.
13 Likes
On the other hand I can see shutting down the feed while this is still a hot topic.
I could totally see some folks invested in this discussion watching the live feed for compare/contrast moments and continuing on to debate riders. Especially since it could be good click bait since the show name is on everyoneâs minds.
The reason for doing live feeds would be PR and brand recognition for venue and sponsors and if the live feeds have led to negative brand recognition obviously it makes sense for the company to suspend them.
For us viewers itâs disappointing but I can see why the venue would want to unplug in the current moment.
3 Likes
Axelâs comment:
Dressage Lost â Bullies Won
Because of the bullying we all witnessed on FB and other sites, WCDF management has decided NOT to stream video for the show this week. Unfortunately some fine amateur riders did not want to show in the big arena fearing âshreddingâ by the cyber bullies. These riders would win praise from 99.9% of all viewers, but they are unfortunately scared by the nasty .1%. I can understand their fear of this new enemy in our midst. I personally canât fathom the ugliness displayed in recent days by people supposedly interested in our sport. For this week they have killed the enjoyment of thousands of viewers eagerly awaiting the next streaming videos showcasing our beautiful sport. What is next?
2 Likes
I understand what he is saying, to a point, however, I believe he is missing the point as well. If that had been a bad ride, someone over-horsed and clinging for dear life to get through the test, it is highly doubtful the rider would be getting the criticismâŠin fact, she would probably be getting congratulations for braving it out. This rider wasnât afraid of the horse, as no one afraid of a horse is going to add to the lack of control through the use of a whip or spurs like she used.
14 Likes
I think the organization was right in not providing live stream. There are many riders who deal with nerves, and to then worry the second they make a mistake, the internet will scream abuse.
SB made many errorsâin her choice to ride, how she rode etc, but I am sure she learned. I donât see why people are calling her abusive based on a FOUR Minute test!!! How many of you have never jerked on the rein by mistake? Gotten over zealous with the whip or spur? She did not lame her horse to go wrong (big lick), she did not fall of her horse and punch in (Johnson heiress), she simply rode badly and made many errors. How is that abuse? The horse is NOT being ridden Rollkurâyou need leg to do thatâin fact, her contact is pretty loose. The horse is btv to stay behind the leg----he doesnât look any worse for the wear tbh. Just going about his day. Iâve seen horses being ridden way worse at schooling shows!!! (who were asked to leave the property btw)
If we took a step back and looked at riding, what we do is abusive. Any whip or spur to propel a horse forwardsâhow is that kind? Smacking a horse that quits a fence? If we break down the industry based on these realities, we are all abusers.
I have contacted SBâs coach to ask for an interview. I will let you know if I get one. Iâd rather go to the source and find out the story from the person/s involved.
If SB or her coach or anyone who knows her read this, please contact me if you can via DM. I have emailed her coach but as they are likely busy with the show, I donât think they will respond right away.
2 Likes
So while I get your point, I also think thereâs a legitimate fear of not wanting random strangers watching and commenting on you - and it has nothing to do with thinking you ride like SB; the SB shenanigans have easily shown how rabid and mean girls like the internet mobs can be.
I wrote an article on this circus and that seemed reason enough for people on this thread to comment about my lack of position in the amateur photographer of my at the end of the blog. Doesnât matter that there are many photos of me online (that you could easily find if you wanted to research or somethingâŠ) that show otherwise or even that it shouldnât matter anyway to the discussion. Some keyboard jockey thought it appropriate to drag in. From a riderâs POV, what is there to gain from letting the random hordes online watch my ride? Nothing. But there could be something to lose.
4 Likes
That would make me question why you would show, is it not a bunch of random strangers commenting on you and judging? Do not tell me that it comes as news to anyone that the stands have people in them judging you as you rideâŠthe internet is just a bigger audience.
12 Likes
This almost makes me think that Axel is saying SBâs ride isnât that unusual. That he sees that kind of harshness/abuse as a matter of course? I just donât understand how he thinks ignoring what happened is good for the sport.
Now, I havenât followed any Facebook postings on this topic, but I donât think this thread has had too many over the top posts. What I have seen is many people very concerned about the welfare of the horse, the complicity of the judges in not stopping the ride, and the future of the sport.
7 Likes
Iâm late to the thread so please forgive me if this has been posted. Here is a link to (I think) the Friday test
https://www.facebook.com/JudgingDressage/videos/1122995927840738/
with scores.
I donât understand the riderâs score.
Sheesh! This ^^^ is a great example of an âover the topâ comment.
The post is pretty clear; and it has nothing to do with the details of âthe ride.â The post says that because of the mob reaction to one rider, others are not willing to share their rides with the general public. As a result, a great educational opportunity is lost.
2 Likes
As a writer and professional I acknowledge people may watch or comment on what I do or say. But if I were just some AA rider, I would not think that nor would I want to be on the internetâs stage.
You cannot seriously think that someone showing at a local (even rated) show expects more than a handful of people they donât know to pay any attention to their ride. And even if a horde came, thatâs not the same as going viral online. To imply that is being intentionally obtuse.
3 Likes
