Okay so they have threatened legal action. I’d still be surprised if that is why we haven’t heard anything by from USEF. As we have seen in other situations, it generally takes time for them to say anything anyway.
Another video popped up and was deleted within five minutes of Different rider in Harrisburg.
That was rightfully deleted because the Harrisburg feed had the wrong rider’s name on screen. I actually reported that one for removal.
ETA because mass confusion has ensued: These are 2 different horses & circumstances. The horse in the Harrisburg video is not the horse in the OP. There is no connection between these two events.
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Horses quit for a reason. Usually pain. I can’t comment on the horse only the abusive reaction.
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Since it happened in November and USEF takes it’s time, the holidays probably slowed USEF’s internal workings even further.
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I actually almost made reference to this video but thought it might be too off topic. The rider whacked the horse and let go of the whip, and then cantered around booting it trying to go forward. Another gross video.
However, the video had the wrong riders name in it. I’d be mortified if I were her - what crummy luck there was a mistake in a video that could very well go viral? Luckily the video was deleted, and rightfully so.
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And other things. Low jumps make me think “green”. Horse could be confused, not understanding what to do next. Or saw something super scary up ahead. Or rider took the leg off (as the horse perceived it). Or horse’s best horse friend let out a ringing neigh behind him.
Horses are reactive. It takes time for a green horse to build focus in a distracting environment.
This lovely horse just looked like he needs some confidence building. If I had been the rider and got dumped, I wouldn’t have been thrilled with what happened, but I wouldn’t have been upset, either. Horse being a horse.
Assuming this lady is a pro – dang, it’s so much easier to explain a spook & fall than it is to explain losing one’s temper and taking it out on the horse!
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Fell off like a green rider, insecure. Reacted to that fall like… well… I won’t even call her an amateur rider. Like a spoiled child. Not a horseman.
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Kate Conover rode the horse the day before and couldn’t get it around. Kate did not do anything wrong at all. Then Morgan Parasher rode it the next day in the video that was posted. I thought the video was awful personally.
In this video it looks like it didn’t like the look of the next fence, which didn’t show in the video in the OP.
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Either that or the shadow. There are a lot of trees and things kind of darting in the background. People underestimate what that looks like to a horse.
Abhorrent behavior, truly, on the part of the rider not the horse.
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WTH? The horse didn’t do anything really wrong. He kind of sort of mildly spooked at something and she came off that easily? Maybe she needs to learn how to ride?
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Amen!
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Thank you for giving context to the video, and maybe explaining why her name was associated with it
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Marieke Slik’s USEF record shows very little competition riding above 2’9" and not much success even at the low levels.
I thought about linking the USEF show record but I’m not sure if that’s allowed. It can be easily accessed on the USEF website under the Search People and Rider Report categories.
I wonder if the frustration exhibited by this rider comes from being way over her head in rated shows, and from advertising as a “pro” when she really needs to work on her own riding before showing other peoples horses in rated shows, even at the 2’3" level.
This professional seldom rides over the 3’ level and is not very successful when she does.
Invest in good instruction, and stop riding other peoples horses until you can make it around a 2’6" course without falling off. When a horse is moving and spooking that slowly, there is an issue with your base of support in the saddle when/if you fall off.
You (G) have to take a good look at your ability and let go of your ego to progress in your riding, before calling yourself a professional and taking peoples money to ride their horses, or it will be a very frustrating experience for all involved.
Stay at the local level and teach up/down lessons (if you ride well enough to do that) and take lessons yourself until you become a better rider.
He looked like a sweetheart of a horse. It’s a shame that he was so mistreated.
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Then the horse had something wrong. Again. I’m not commenting on the horse. Just the ABUSIVE reaction. Beating a horse that does a slooooow half shoulder spin is WRONG.
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Saying that a rider who could not get the horse around the course “did not do anything wrong at all” is a puzzling statement, to me. I take it to mean that the rider showed good form as it is judged in shows. Performed all the usual aids.
Horses are not pushbutton animals. Although a very well-trained show horse might give that impression.
The rider may not have made any “mistakes” as they would be counted in the judging. But a lot of things are going wrong, or the horse would have jumped around. Maybe it isn’t just the ride on the day, maybe it is the preparation, or where the horse is in their training and experience.
Don’t know horse, rider, program, etc., so I don’t know what went wrong here. But something did. Bottom line may be that the horse simply is not ready for the ask. That it is not ready for this show. Even if it looks great at home. It is very common that things at home don’t translate in another location, for a lot of reasons, and more homework needs to be done.
The horse’s performance is up to the training at home and to the rider at the show. The horse is an animal who has zero idea why any of this is happening. It is ALL up to us.
We get excited about what a grand prospect is our lovely horse – and may forget that our horse needs time, exposure, experience, mental development, and the right riding to help it do what we want it to do. Trying to do too much too fast can lead to results like this. Although of course I don’t know if that’s the case with this horse, and this incident.
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I agree. I watched the Facebook video. She hangs on his face and balances on his mouth. No wonder he stopped. You can only lie to even the most forgiving horse so many times…
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Completely horrifying. What is wrong with people? She should never be allowed to work with animals, of any kind, again.
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I don’t really understand why we’re dissecting what may have gone wrong in a round no one here has even seen. This is exactly why the video on Facebook was deleted - it had the incorrect name, and now that rider’s name is being dragged into a discussion completely tangential to them.
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