FWIW, the riders dont care what non riders think.
I think that’s a pretty important point.
The money in the horse industry isnt really from spectators at horse shows. At all. It’s not at all from that.
I have never ever ever at an FEI show heard any rider lament that there weren’t more spectators.
As far as boots and breeches? They have a function, I’m not giving them up. If a pro wants to stick a logo on their leg? Go for it. But I’m not riding in leggings and running shoes so that some guy from the city thinks it’s a sport.
Want to put us in “athletic wear” t-shirts with our names on them? Fine.
But the eventers already have colourful, athletic outfits, but I don’t think that has drawn the public in.
I can think of a number of other sports which are accessible, participants wear athletic clothing, and yet it has low ratings. Only the biggest events being televised. Running, nordic skiing, swimming, diving, etc. Cycling only gets aired during the Tour de France. Even the “cool” sports like snowboarding usually only get air time during the X games, Dew tour, or the Olympics. Even then they usually only televise mens half pipe and Big Air.
In Canada horses are on par with these sports. CBC airs the big events from Spruce Meadows a few weekends per year.
Horses aren’t on tv because they’re expensive and inaccessible. A tiny percentage of people have sat on a horse, let alone participated in the sport. You don’t get to try it out in gym class, or join a pick up league for $50. Most people don’t live close to a barn or competition venue. There isn’t betting like with horse racing. And I for one am not interested in having bleachers full of drunk fans like at a hockey or baseball game.
I would be interested to know how many BNR and venues have reached out to sponsors like Nike, Underarmour, etc. How many venues have tried to get competitions televised on big networks?
And then as far as TV goes. Many people don’t have a cable or satellite subscription anymore. For the last five years we’ve just had internet and Netflix. We’re still able to watch Hockey Night in Canada for free on CBC.
The main reason hunter/jumper sport is seen as removed from reality is because it is. Top showjumping and hunter competitions are not just for the top 1%, but for the top .01%. While a kid with few opportunities might get lucky in golf or tennis, this is highly unlikely for equestrian sport unless one has BOTH great luck and exceptional natural ability. The clothes are the least of our problem.
I would not criticize someone for what they wear, unless they look sloppy and like they didn’t try to clean up themselves and their horse to be presentable for the level of show and/or class they’re competing in. I expect to see people at D shows in a paddock boot/half chap combo, a cheaper helmet model, and not sporting custom saddles. As long as things fit properly, are clean, and the helmet is approved, no problem with that. As you go up to B, A, and AA shows, I think the quality of your tack and attire somewhat naturally improves because your riding should be improving. As you get better, you need breeches in a fabric that isn’t slippery and has well-placed seams, so you can sit tighter in the saddle. You need a better helmet, because you’re more likely to have a fall trying new things. Your saddle needs to fit you and your horse better, because more is being asked of both of you physically and you need to be comfortable doing it.
I believe this is the reason why fashion in the industry is ever-evolving. Newer fabrics, newer patterns, newer styles and safety standards. All of this to try and give riders the most comfort and best ride possible. But all of the changes now are fine-tuning what’s worked pretty well for ages, so you only see relatively small advancements that, for the most part, are only going to potentially make any difference to those at the top level of the sport. The majority of riders just need to learn to look ahead towards the next fence. Riders like Christian Ahlmann already instinctively look ahead to the next fence. They now want to have the ear piece of the helmet strap removed, so that it doesn’t block their peripheral vision, so they ride in https://gpa-sport.com/en/shop/evo-pl…concept-evo-2/ to the tune of 2,800 euros.
I was saddened when the GCL was forced by the FEI to put the team riders in jackets. I think riders should look more like their cross country brethrens in terms of uniform. I would even add safety vests as well, but that is another discussion.
Your comment about quality is part of the problem. Should I not show the AAs in a pair of $50 breeches, a used non-trendy saddle and a borrowed show coat? Helmet cost is not related to safety btw.
I dont think anyone needs to criticize anyone else’s clothing choices unless they are personally being paid to do so.
Seriously, who cares? My dumb luck/2020 means that I’ve yet to go to a rated show this year. Hell, the last thing I went to wasn’t even really judged (I judged my double clears as worthy of many margaritas later on). Should I have gotten rid of my apparently higher level tack and “fancy” clothes and gotten a pair of rubber boots and a cheap saddle? Although, apparently I am a styleless baboon as my hats are all COs; they are the only helmet that really fits my weird little pinhead.
I wear what I like and what suits me and my horses. In all of my years showing I’ve never noticed anyone I respected sneering at or really noticing anyone else’s choice of clothes, unless you include the phase in my early junior years when skintight men’s breeches were in fashion and it was all too easy to see who was going commando.
Regardless of those who don’t like the jackets (you will pry my Sarissa IIs from my cold, dead hands), I have still not seen an argument for why or how making us look like an ad for Nike is going to magically increase viewership.
And it’s a perfect demonstration as to why we need to separate H/J from the jumpers in this thread. Last I checked no one really over analyzes clothing in the jumper ring. Hunters? Well clearly, there are posts that say as much.
Because you won’t. An attitude change is needed and god forbid that happens. We have been put on display for the world as a community that supports sexual predators. The comments in the various NYT articles show that. Random readers calling it disgusting and horse people defending the person.
I think that focusing on what we look like as a path to any kind of success is misguided. Viewership of horse sports in the United States is minimal because we have no real horse culture here. In various parts of the world, most notably parts of Europe, horses have been a deeply ingrained part of their history and culture for centuries. Even as recently as 20 or so years ago one could still see horses at work on the streets of Dublin. Irish travelers use horses and breed them to this day. The best sport horses in the world are bred in Europe due to centuries of careful, educated and selective processes. “Non horse” people in Europe follow the sports of racing and show jumping and have knowledge of horseflesh and scoring. In Mongolia the horses are an integral part of the nomadic herding life. In the Bedouin cultures the horse meant life and were a part of the family. People in other parts of the world are actually interested because it is part of their DNA, not because of what the riders wear or how athletic they look. Americans are all about appearances, money, violence, the rich and famous, and being seen. It is our culture and why we like football, the Kardashians and golf instead of show jumping. We cannot change our culture. We compete in a niche sport and in our culture it will most likely never gain a broad audience, no matter what we wear. To be honest I am thankful for this, as my personal take on attire is pragmatic and I will wear what I can afford that suits the job needed and looks tidy without distracting too much from the animal.
No thank you, I like the way we look already.
This. Anyone remember the Devon Grand Prix jump off a few years ago when McLain Ward and Rothchild were about to win it when the crowd at the rail got wild and spooked the horse? McLain was a great sport about it, but the likelihood of that happening will increase TONS if we somehow fill the stands with fans who are used to sports that don’t involve the players sitting on 2000 lb animals whose innate survival mechanism is to flee from danger. In other words, be careful what you wish for.
Not gonna lie but quiet civility is why golf is boring to watch. Not that I want drunk fans but horses spook and when we are perceived as more uptight than golf we have a problem.
I don’t understand what your argument is with regards to my post - can you elaborate? Golf is absolutely boring to watch, yet there it is all over television all the time, and the spectators understand the importance of keeping quiet. I saw a real life example of raucous fans at a major grand prix changing the outcome of the class. Are you saying that riders should just man up and deal with loud drunk fans and get used to the fact that they will lose big money classes to these drunk fans, for the sake of spectators? And what does that have to do with the fact that golf spectators understand the importance of keeping quiet?
Sadly, none of the equestrian sports are popular because they’re not accessible. How do we fix that? The conservative attire allows the horse to shine… all that power you saw as a kid…
Building on this - I have substantial experience in two sports communities - distance running and hunter-jumper. In many ways, the two sports could not be more opposite - one is very expensive with high barriers to entry and very specialized equipment; the other is cheap and available to anyone with a pair of shoes (or not) and a sidewalk. One sport has enormous levels of lower level participation - many people do the sport a few times a week just to do it; major events pull 50,000 or more competitors. The other sport has very limited participation at all levels.
And yet, both sports have the same complaint - lack of media respect and television coverage.
Figure skating is similar to equestrian sports in many ways. It’s expensive, and hard to get started in the sport. Figure skaters wear showy outfits that are far from practical for the sport (anyone remember the Olympics wardrobe malfunction from a few years ago?), and the scoring is hard to follow.
And yet figure skating is a huge draw on TV. Why is that?
I dont think people involved at the highest levels of show jumping complain about lack of tv time. At all.
I think the people here complaining are not show jumpers, but people who would like to watch more show jumping? Or riders who wished their cousin’s boyfriend watched their sport more, and stopped making them defend their sport at the family’s sunday barbecue.
Like he’s been mentioned before on this thread, but Jan Tops simply addressed the desire of riders to watch riders by streaming all gct shows. Same as the FEI…except tops does it for free, because tv viewers isnt how he makes his money.
is there something I’m missing in this “problem”? Cause it feels like it’s only a problem for people outside the sport.
@ladyj79 the way I see it is not that it really matters so much whether or not horse stuff is on tv, but that the lack is a symptom of the lack of marketing of the horse industry by the ptbs - to keep the sport alive we need new riders,for groups to get funding, and to survive animal rights activists and zoning changes and whatever other political challenges we do need the general public to be aware of horse sports and hopefully interested and supportive.
Ok but horse sport, and by which I am talking about fei show jumping, as well as national federation shows in europe, south america, aren’t really struggling.
Are we talking about mid level, middle class amateur riders in the United Unites wanting more opportunities?
Because that is a long standing concern on coth that really doesn’t have much to do with the profile of the sport sport, which is to say the world of professional show jumping, which is quite robust.
I have also mentioned multiple times that national federation shows outside of the US are cheap. So so so cheap by USEF standards. There are ways we can address why this is, but they have nothing to do with the profile of the sport, and everything to do with as mentioned several times in this thread and a thousand times in others the reality that the united states is 300 odd million people, many of whom dont have an interest or heritage of horse sport. also our zoning laws. Also usef mileage rules. But zoning laws are huge in restricting where people have horses and where shows can be.
And the people with the funds to build the types of accessible year round use facilities that you see in Europe have mostly preferred to just go to Europe where the infrastructure is already in place.
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