This. And it takes no time at all to comment on your own post and tell people to knock something off. I’ve done it.
Sometimes, I’m glad to not be an active member of the h/j world right now.
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Absolutely - I love watching Karl and Caracole. She is spicy and opinionated like my mare (wish mine was as careful…I digress), and such a trier. A truly spectacular horse. I do appreciate what it takes to get along with that type.
Rails happen, classical riders get off-balance, horses sometimes don’t pick up their feet, etc. but you seldom see rounds that are scary from the “classical”/eq riders…I can’t say the same for others who seem to have more b@!!$ than they do tact.
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I’ve seen some “scary” rounds from Ward. The one where he shattered his knee on the jump standard being one of them.
This whole mess seems to be an egotistic exercise in sour grapes on Ward’s part.
Too bad other riders at the national and international level are feeding it. That’s the really disappointing part.
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I am sure her vision of him is colored by the fact that she heard him while he was watching a class of juniors and openly trashing the riding. Another adult man saying crappy things about (mostly) teen girls.
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Is that an excuse for her to publicly trash his riding? This is ridiculous.
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I’m not a fan of Karl’s merch, so I don’t buy it. Karl’s sweatshirts can be offensive and in bad taste and McLain can be a jerk all at the same time. One has nothing to do with the other.
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It is not a excuse. It is another facet to someone’s feelings.
It’s too bad she couldn’t have acted like an adult and asked him nicely to be more respectful of the kids in the class, in the stands, and the parents of said kids who might have been within earshot. You know, set a good example. Based on this story and her online behavior, maturity doesn’t seem to be her strong suit. Unfortunately, that seems to be true of a large part of the global jumping discipline community).
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Here’s an Instagram post link of one of the other gran prix riders missing big time. It’s not just Karl.
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EVERYONE misses sometimes. Literally everyone. Some of us (raises hand) miss more often than most pros. But everyone makes mistakes.
Karl seems like he tries to learn from his mistakes. His operation is definitely not the traditional model that most of the industry follows. This seems to have created a lot of jealousy and it just has not been a good look for many people. Yes, he has tremendous advantages but not like he’s the first ultra wealthy top rider.
This is like the middle school mean girl clique who sets their sites on taking down the leader’s most hated rival. I hope Karl ignores it all and kicks ass in 2025.
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And it’s not just disrespectful to Karl, it’s also hugely disrespectful to his coach.
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One thing does not make the other ok. It makes it just as bad to hear that and decide that instead of pulling him aside and saying something, the correct response is to trash him to the world.
The irony is that the only one coming out of this not looking like an asshole is Karl.
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I was…surprised, given the timing, to see her daughter (and Mclain’s long time student) post a tiktok yesterday of slow motion clips with the horse’s neck hyperflexed to the point of rollkur in draw reins. A rider looking beautiful while the horse’s chin is tucked to its chest seems to be supporting Karl’s point?
(And I say this carefully, knowing that despite this being a publicly posted video, this is still a teen. And, to be clear, a rider I think is an incredible rider and the future of the sport).
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What?!
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Since I don’t belong to facebook I’ve re-read this thread to try to see how prevalent the anti-Cook sentiment is on COTH, and why, and wondering if we are a microcosm of the facebook comments related here.
There is something about Cook that brings out a very unkind reaction from some people and from what I can see, it seems to come down to his wealth.
The posters on COTH who are the most critical of Cook, really dwell on Cook’s family money, yet they are, from reading their posts here, far from riding and jumping at more than a basic level. Their comments reflect a lack of understanding of what is required to jump at the level attained by Olympic riders, as well as what our international riders are actually doing, (“It’s a pity Jessica Springsteen isn’t doing more” 
) and seem to think that if someone bought them a very expensive horse they’d be instant Olympic show jumpers.
On this thread, which began with congratulations and a video of a great ride from Cook, @bluemoon1231 came here, after a 2 year hiatus, to bemoan that “trust fund babies” will be the downfall of show jumping in the U.S. and referencing his bad round in Geneva, even before the Ward debacle began.
@Demerara_Stables admits that they are not a fan (which has been made very clear in the past) and posts their “annoyance” that Cook “only went to the Olympics because Mom spent 7 figures on a horse.”
Some negative posts can be expected here (though usually without the real vitriol shown in the posts about Cook.)
I’m guessing that from what has been related here, many of the facebook posts are unkind and ill informed, and that Cook’s wealth somehow makes him an easy target for them.
Most COTH members are knowledgeable and think their criticisms through without being downright ugly. I can only imagine the comments on facebook and I’m glad not seeing them. It’s too bad that some of the people there, who actually understand what it takes to ride at the GP level, are egging this on.
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He addressed this drama in the very beginning of his latest walking and talking. He very much kept it classy 
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The one thing I do appreciate by Karl Cook is he does seem to care about his horses and he’s owned up to mistakes that he’s made. I just don’t think he has the natural talent as some of the others. I’ve never thought he rode spectacular but at least maybe he’s not the one that is abusing the horses which is becoming a huge issue in our sport.
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Just watched the beginning. Hilarious. Makes me even moreso #TeamKarl.
I don’t know what was my favorite part. Having the dictionary and thesaurus on his lap, saying he’s been looking up “colleague “ or stating that if you look ok up words sometimes you realize you are saying the same thing.
Now, I’m sure it makes his haters hate him even more. But I loved that response.
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I don’t see his social media, but I’m glad he’s taking all of this with a grain of salt and a sense of humor. It doesn’t mean that the guy has no feelings and doesn’t wish that his teammates, as well as people who don’t know him, would stop being so hateful.
I remember the real difficulties experienced by wealthy young people, even before the internet age left everyone open to hate and criticism from a world of people that don’t know them.
No matter how easy people who don’t know them think their life is, wealthy people have problems like everyone else.
Every difficulty in life cannot be solved by having great wealth. It creates it own difficulties. Especially, it seems, having to deal with the feeling of entitlement by some, that don’t know them, to be horrible to them.
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I soured on him when he made a very tone deaf post about how he didn’t get where he is because he has money, it’s because he’s willing to work hard and others aren’t. The general sentiment seemed to be that us poors simply aren’t willing to put in the hours, work, sacrifice, or travel the way that is necessary.
The thing is, for people without money, those sacrifices involve meals and healthcare. I seriously doubt Karl Cook has ever had to miss a meal because he couldn’t afford it. There are a ton of people who would love to travel internationally showing horses but can’t afford it.
It’s not that he HAS money, moreso that he (in the past at least) acts like it’s ONLY hard work required to succeed at the top level of the sport.
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