If anyone has the Devon leadline video with the infant, could you please message me
It’s all over FB.
Google is not finding it for me other than on TikTok and those are requiring a membership there.
I think it’s been pretty well scrubbed from FB but I found it on TikTok:
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YouTube link if that’s easier for you
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Yikes. I didn’t know about this video before coming to this thread. I wasn’t seeing the problem until the head started flopping backwards - omg!
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That was my reaction as well. I know nothing about babies…but I do know you are to support the neck.
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Baby definitely needed a side walker to support him and remove him from the pony if needed. Sheesh.
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If they were trying for cute, it wasn’t.
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I mean… why??? Are you trying to build a case for something?
I know the mother and the trainer. The Mom is a good person and a great horse person. It was obviously not a great circumstance but why keep bringing it up?
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Just out of curiosity, I looked up the class specs in the Devon prize list. The prize list specifically says one handler per entry. So I’m guessing side walkers are not allowed.
I want to click but refuse to give this person my click. I’ll assume infant was head flopping and un supported.
Yeah… not the best, but baby was probably exhausted and nodding off.
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While I totally get that concept, this might be the one time to just bite the bullet in order to get the full effect if you’re curious.
So the rules get changed so if anyone were ever to attempt to do something this foolish in the future they would be stopped. She may be a good mom but this was flat out negligent. Like CPS involvement level of negligence.
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The rules truly do need to be changed. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like there are more babies in basket saddles ever year. Maybe I just never noticed them before, but I swear I never saw that happening until a few years ago.
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I looked at the video. The hardhat was not fitted properly (can this be done on an infant?) and was pulling the baby’s head back, the cowboy hat didn’t help. As we know, the walk is 4-beat and with every beat the baby’s head was nodding backwards until his body was almost horizontal. The baby was definitely not sleeping, and didn’t look like he was crying.
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I think the basket saddles have been around for a long time, but I don’t pay too much attention to that class at Devon, so I have not been keeping up on the numbers.
I do remember asking somebody who worked at a tack shop about a basket saddle a few years ago, and she told me that her tack shop won’t even touch them anymore because they are considered to be such a liability issue.
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Oh, the absolutely have been around a long time. They are a relic from the past. But it feels like they’ve had this major resurgence for leadline. Maybe my perception is wrong.
A few years ago an acquaintance bought one for her infant for Devon purposes. That was honestly the first time I noticed anyone using one at Devon, but who knows. Her kid is about the same age as mine and all I could think was there is not a pony on the planet I would trust for that. And after this year’s debacle, they absolutely need to go away.
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IMO the leadline classes at Devon and Upperville have become more about moms wanted to take a page from the Kentucky Derby type dress and impose it on the leadline class. The dresses are getting fancier, the hats are getting bigger and the kids - just get them on a pony and match outfits in some way, girls with ginormous bows… and be sure to get that highly paid well know trainer just in case the huge hat, the southern belle dress and mega hairbows don’t get the judges attention. And yes, there should be a minimum age - at least 3 IMO
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Yeah I’ve never understood the desire to do leadline at that age, when the child can’t even hold the reins or even approximate a riding position. The amount of prep involved is ridiculous for what amounts to a pony ride in fancy dress.
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