I think part of doing the work, though, was putting his ego aside and riding the horse like her previous rider. He tried to change things immediately and it did not go well. That’s the thing a lot of people have a problem with. If someone older and more accomplished than me rode a horse before me in a particular set up, I’d stick to that until I get to know the horse and maybe want to change something.
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Guess you are better than him then…
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Well, in the way that I’d listen to the previous rider of a difficult and already successful and spectacularly talented horse, yeah.
In fact, I wish my horse’s previous rider told me her routine and recipe. Instead I had to struggle to figure it out on my own. Not because I thought I was better than, I just didn’t have the contact info for the sponsored rider in another country. Until I did, and I asked questions, and learned. But I didn’t go into it thinking I knew better than the 5* eventer.
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Maybe they need to up their social media skills.
It seems like there is some resentment for Karls ability to support himself from the other riders. I’m sure they all haven’t ridden perfectly forever.
Karl’s article made perfect sense to me. Ride in the position that suits your body and balance. Anyone who has ridden small or really big horses would know all about this. Every instructor I’ve ever had has said it doesn’t matter if you sit or are out of the saddle, what matters is where you are comfortable, balanced and strong.
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While I do agree with this, it is worth noting that some of the concern coming from John’s post (I don’t think it was McLain’s) was that the younger generation will try to emulate these less effective positions, just because it works for a handful of big name riders.
Heck, I know a successful hunter rider who has done some small GPs and is copying Conor Swail’s style and it is NOT working. Much like Karl, Conor is not someone I would try to ride like. But alas, we have a successful pro doing exactly that. Because Conor wins, so why not?
It doesn’t mean I think I am better than the aforementioned, but we have to acknowledge that there are more scary rides from Karl and Conor than Beezie, Laura, Kent, McLain, Jessica, and Lillie to name a few, combined.
It’s about being better for our horses. Not just “looking pretty”.
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This is exactly how I felt!
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I actually like his posts about his program. He seems honest and upfront about his methods.
I am far from anyone who could ever dream about competing on his level, and while there is no doubt there is a ton of money that helped him get to where he is… in my opinion that’s not really all that different from most other professionals at that level.
You either have money or have sponsors at that level.
I for one have learned so much from his walking and talkings, and articles/ posts.
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I don’t know how any of these people could complain about his money. All those trainers/riders commenting make their living off billionaires, kind of biting the hand that feeds you don’t you think? Name one up-and-coming rider we have for our nation that isn’t from a wealthy family? There isn’t one. It almost felt to me like a mean girls/mean boys club. I honestly personally think Karl just isn’t an absolute natural and he has to work hard to have the achievements of some of the natural riders. But I do appreciate that he shares what he does and he seems to do right by his animals. I can see though how people could think he is arrogant, It does come across sometimes as it’s my way is the only way.
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Any concern about an aspiring GP rider of the younger generation “copying” another rider’s “style” to their detriment, can be left solely at the feet of their instructor, if they still have one.
Developing a “style” at that level comes from riding many horses, learning what works well for you, your body type, and what position affects your ability to balance yourself while guiding each horse, not from “copying” another rider’s position.
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I personally didn’t think you were criticizing him for being rich nor did I take your post that way.
I just went off the comment about how people think Karl is above criticism, which is not the case, we (the Karl defender people) are just tired of the criticism of him coming from his wealth or starting off as criticizing him for something he did and deserves to be criticized over, only to ultimately turn it into a wealth dispute. You can scroll back on numerous posts on this thread of people doing exactly that.
I’m tired of the hypocrisy behind keyboard warriors (this is not aimed at you, just on a tangent here), trainers, etc that dog pile onto Karl over his wealth. I said it in a comment on FB that it seems pretty hypocritical that there are AAs and trainers that bash him for being wealthy, all while taking their PJs to Wellington for the season or asking their clients to buy six+ figure horses. I just feel like if you’re driving a luxury car, buying/selling/training/owning high dollar horses, and your tax guy is saying to go drop $100k at the end of the year so you don’t owe a ton of money… You probably shouldn’t preach about wealth being the only reason someone is successful. It comes off as petty and jealous that someone is wealthier than you (again, you being the person not YOU, AH).
I’m also tired of the narrative that you can BUY your want to the top. If that was the case, Jen Gates would have been an Olympian multiple times over and not practically given up riding to become a doctor.
Lastly, I know Kent, Laura, and McLain are our golden children of the equestrian sport, but times are different. They are getting older, and like Beezie, will eventually step down. The only people coming up in their place is the younger generations, that have more comfort and power through social media and were raised with it in their faces. They are going to say stupid things and come off as arrogant. They are going to make mistakes, but instead of people never knowing it happened (unless you were there in person), now it will be blasted over social media for YEARS and never leave their legacy. They are also going to capitalize off their audience with subscription services, merch, and other things that are the “new normal” because its ingrained in us that we constantly need to hustle more money. Instead of bringing up young horses or giving lessons for extra cash, they are going to use social media for profits. They are also all going to come from a lot of money. It’s just our reality now.
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So, without a dog in the fight, question.
They’re all rolling in the money, obviously, be it through sponsors/clients/whatever. What makes a whole bunch of them collectively dislike Karl so much? They don’t dislike others that have single-sourced wealth (gates, springsteen) - what trips the trigger when it comes to Karl?
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I honestly don’t know.
Every time I have talked to someone about it, it always comes down to “well he’s arrogant” or “he had it easy” or “I don’t dislike him, but he gets on my nerves”. It’s never “he was rude to me in the warm up ring” or “I saw him beating his horse in the barn aisle” or “that one round in Rio just really put a bad taste in my mouth that I can’t get over”.
I think I’ve mentioned it here before, but I’ve had some small personal interactions with him and I’ve had two good friends that have worked for him. My interactions, while he wasn’t the Mayor of Thermal making friends with anything that walked, he was pleasant and kind (unlike his ex-wife… who I was always a fan of, until she was really rude to a few of us). My friends that worked for him really enjoyed it. He treated them fairly and compensated them well. He also did a lot of things for them to show his appreciation, and they all had funny stories that made Karl seem more human. Their biggest complaints were the amount of traveling. They both said “he’s different once you get to know him”.
I guess I’d be pretty guarded too if people hated me for anything I ever did and for things outside of my control.
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Maybe it’s his confidence. Confidence comes across as cocky to some, so maybe that’s part of it. And yes, he’s of the generation where social media is second nature, so he uses it. I don’t have a problem with that.
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@endlessclimb Because he talks to much or appears acts like he is a know it all that has revolutionized the sport. I honestly don’t read that deep into what he does or says but that clearly bothers a lot of people. @Belmont nailed it with the icons are getting older and times have changed. Karl is a sign of the times, public social media persona and all.
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You’d think that some of these top riders that have been on teams and such with him would have gotten to know him, gotten past that initial bristle.
I guess, looking entirely from the outside, that when a whole bunch of people dislike one person, there just might be some truth in it all.
Or not, who knows. It just gives me pause.
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A whole bunch of people in the same clique who are all friends.
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Well they certainly had nice things to say about him right after he won them a silver medal at the Olympics.
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IMO I think the objections to Karl are that he’s eccentric. Here’s some examples: he feeds the horses their grain first, based on the belief that it needs to be pushed through the gut quicker, thus, preventing colic. He has been seen walking around a gran prix grass field with a device measuring the depth of the footing. He wears weird looking helmets. I saw his position post 2 years ago and thought it had some good ideas. We all seem to forget that riding positions have changed over the years. There really is no “classic” position. For those who doubt it, look at the positions of jumping riders over the past 100 years. Riders leaning back at the fences, pinching the with knees, crest release versus following release debate, in the saddle, out of the saddle, the list goes on. I assume McLain is talking about a balanced position, rather than a classic position because I would argue that there isn’t a classic position other than one that places the rider in as close to perfect balance with the horse and in such a way that allows said rider to encourage the horse’s movements to best achieve the desired result. It does appear that McLain is not a Karl fan. I haven’t heard him be very vocal about things in the past (I’m no expert however), so his response came as a bit of surprise, perhaps we can put the response and edit down to having a moment. McLain and Karl are just human after all and it’s hard when the spotlight swings around at you. Just saying. . . …
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Skylar Wireman
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And she will need…wait for it…VERY wealthy sponsors if she is going to make an international name for herself. None of these riders are financing their horses with their own money. Someone on McLain’s FB post asked where Karl would be without his parents’ money. My answer is: the same place McLain would be without his sponsors’ money.
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