What did the owner do?
Popping in here with my two cents worth.
I saw this on FB before I knew there was a COTH thread.
Two horse world friends jumped on to denounce it (and market their own kinder gentler ways). Neither were h/j world. I popped in to both feeds to say that the language was ugly but it was clearly cherry picked hyperbole and I saw no instances of actual horse abuse in the clips. The children werenāt even using their crops. I saw moments of frustration on all sides (horse, rider, coach).
I got shouted down, and defending KP wasnāt a hill I cared to die on.
I do think itās a public relations disaster for equine sports because a lot of non riders follow horse SM for entertainment.
And Iām noticing more and more trolls that will jump on any IG or YT that doesnāt show either a horse standing in summer pasture or a bridle less beach gallop, and scream āhorse abuseā because your horse is bucking in turnout or playing bitey face or standing in snow etc. Let alone being shock gasp ridden. Or competed
In some ways, kinder gentler trainers have created this monster by growing their brand through showing the nonhorse folks how to critique bad riding or management. I do feel.there is a larger audience out there, whether coordinated or not, more and more willing to jump on almost any horse post from an anti riding perspective. I feel this has grown over the past year.
Going forward we do need to not let ugly language loose on broadcast events, thatās an easy enough fix. Nothing that KP said on the highlights reel was necessary or perhaps even useful.
But Iām still mulling over how we deal with these moments. I think we need to realize that in any SM discussion we are performing for the nonriders and the PETA types who follow horse discussions. And while we obviously want to distance ourselves from this kind of language, the shock.horror exaggerated response actually models a response that the nonriders/PETA type have learned to use against us.
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I opened up Instagram looking for something else I swear ā¦ just here for the cats and other peopleās fancy custom scrims and coolers and show set-ups (The Clothes Horse needs more content because thatās how I self-soothe)ā¦ and the first thing, the FIRST post in my feed was someone referencing that video and how, if you want to learn another way āfollow me!ā
I just wish CMH would take the red āvideo unavailableā message down on the original. You can press play and it will play.
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After reading this EnablerFest itās clear humans canāt be trusted to universally act responsibly with their horses. The gaslighting here is terrible.
This bodes badly for big league shows in the future.
Good.
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You do understand that the vast majority of āhorse abuseā by any definition occurs at unregulated, unrated shows and in lesson barns and backyards everywhere by people who wouldnāt know Katie Prudent if she walked by wearing a sign?
And that the big league and big money, whether itās in showing or racing, benefits everyone right down to those same people. Thatās what drives your horse health researchers and products and tack shop retailers, your publications and websites and advertising and legislation. The horse industry has power as a whole and value as a market because of big events and big money. You might not be going to the Olympics, but we all benefit because horses do.
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And there it is.
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You betcha. Do you really think there wonāt be substantial changes?
I still stand by my posts.
Newsflash: I hear this very same sentiment that i have all over.
And if your theory that most abuse happens in backyard barns (classic whataboutism) then maybe get rid of it all or make penalties huge. Or, since we canāt regulate ourselves go full out PETA and donāt even ride them.
As for myself, I prefer to keep on riding and showing. If you do too, (general you) then you should be all over getting rid of cruelty.
Not my theory but thanks for the attribution.
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I refuse to let the only thread Iāve participated in for the last three years end on this incredibly cynical and harmful note. So, Iāll tell everyone a bedtime story Iām sure we can all relate to.
When I was a little girl (around 11), I cleaned roughly 25 stalls on weekends at a boarding barn in exchange for one lesson per week. Our riding teacher was wonderful and I adored her. She made us tack our own horses, groom them and always, always be kind and compassionate partners first. She took us to local shows, and if we couldnāt load our own horses or get to the barn at 3:00 a.m. to braid (for what I know now was the rinky dink local show), we didnāt go. She wanted to be an FEI Dressage Rider but didnāt have the resources so she ran her barn with the highest standards and her kids were her legacy.
She took us to the largest horse shows in our state and when I saw those horses and the fantastic, talented riders, I might as well have been watching the Olympics. It was all I ever wanted to do or be. On Sundays, when the television would rarely air showjumping, Iād watch Margie Goldstein Engle and run upstairs to tell my parents about every stride. My parents bought a horse for me and I worked off his board in high school. When I had to sell him to go to college, I wept for weeks and drove several states away on a āsurpriseā visit just to ensure he was safe. When I went to college and joined the equestrian team, I wasnāt the best rider but I was the most dedicated and I earned a spot.
When I graduated (on a full scholarship), my parents said - 'Youāve done your part, what would you like for a graduation gift?" I stupidly yet predictably replied - a horse. They scrimped up $2,500 and we bought a coming 3, green-broke TB/Perch mare named Molly. Sheās 22 now, tucked into her double stall with deep bedding and all-she-can-eat orchard grass. She introduced me to dressage, took me up to third level and has been in front of Axel Steiner, Jennifer Baumert and some of my own personal heroes in dressage. She has been there for every significant heartbreak and victory in my life. Sheās introduced me to wonderful people. She and I danced for my Dad during a lesson on a warm day when he was dying from cancer and it made him smile.
I used to watch Debbie McDonaldās and Brentinaās dressage freestyle in Las Vegas and imagine it was me when I was riding my horse. I cry every time I see it.
Iāve watched John Frenchās rounds and cried.
I saw Popeye K in person on a working round and cried.
Iāve watched SnowMan videos and cried.
Iāve watched Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester and cried.
Iāve watched Jessica Von Bredow and Dalera and cried.
I guess I cry a lot.
For every ābadā practice Iāve seen, Iāve seen many more acts of wisdom, kindness and integrity. For every horse that Iāve known who has had a tough owner, I know many more that have lived long and fulfilling lives as top partners. Who have been retired with dignity and the best possible care. Top sport is top horsemanship and Iāve seen it lived at every level of the industry.
When youāre a poor- to middle-class horse crazy kid, all you want is a glossy pony and to be like the greats. You watch every pat they give their partners at the end of a round and you think - that horse does this because he loves that person. And whether or not itās true for that partnership at that moment, you donāt need it to be. Because it makes you better, and it will lead to improvements in the lives of the horses youāll love and care for in the future.
Iāll never advocate for a world without heroes or equine sport or expect perfection from imperfect humans. I choose to create the world I want, with the horses I own and with my friends who feel the same. There have been immeasurable gains in welfare for the horse in the last several decades. And those gains should continue with a zero-tolerance policy for abuse. But ignoring gains made doesnāt make them disappear.
Now, I look at the younger equestrians and have great hope - for the horse and for our future. I enjoy their social media presence, their sense of humor which dispels some of the tension and fear that comes from pushing our limits, and their innocence. Some portions of top sport may have unsavory aspects to it, most competitive pursuits do, but horses need humans and god knows we need horses. Our brightest days are ahead.
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Do people read? My comment made it clear that the riding phase was on borrowed time in the MP anyway. My point was that it was the global outcry from the general public over a clip of one person beating her horse that tipped the balance.
But those of us who get it canāt keep banging on about the fact decisions that are now being made by governing bodies on the strength of non-rider reaction to very short video clips or a careless use of words. Its exhausting and demoralising that so many are still, as someone else so succinctly put it, putting in the blinders when they hears the words social licence.
Over and out.
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I canāt love this post enough. What a lovely tribute to all of the dedicated riders who have done the best they can with the resources they have.
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Beautifully said. You put into words what so many of us feel. 
COTH should run your post as an article.
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Go to about 1:30 in this video. It is the start of the section where she says, āI donāt want to see you pulled forward like a weakling.ā Be sure to listen to what she says after that.
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Start at the beginning of this one. āToo bad for himā is a minute or so in.
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Both videos are great but, the āsound bite hystericsā only listen for something to take out of context. In this video you hear how KP is working with the rider to get the horse to listen, she tells the rider āif we had several days we could get this horse better.ā
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And the part where she says, āHe doesnāt know so weāll teach himā and she modifies the exercise so it is easier for him to succeed.
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And says, ācarefulā¦ gentleā
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One of the gems that stuck out to me was when she (kindly) told Amira, who was the one having trouble stopping the gray horse, āthereās a difference between strong and rough. You were too rough there.ā
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I just watched the two video clips posted by Midge and saw or heard nothing in those two clips that offended me. I thought she was pretty kind and although firm about what she wanted, she was not at all demeaning or bullying or abusive. Even the āsmack and backā comment to one rider seemed to me that she had already explained the concept to the kids and they knew what she meant.
I agree with @Aussie_2020 about the āsound bite hysterics.ā Too many folks these days are always looking for something to be offended by.
Granted, I havenāt seen the other clips - including the one where she said something about flipping a horse - but based on what I saw in these two short videos, there was nothing that would make me shy away from riding in a clinic with her (other than that I donāt jump - 
).
Edited to add that what DID offend me was the camera operatorās inability to focus on the horses as they were jumping the panel near the rail. Iām not sure what he/she found so fascinating about that empty spot in the ring. 
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Now Midge, you need to stop this whole āin contextā thing. Shame on you!
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