Marilyn Little...do we pretend it never happened?

[BayAreaEq]

Wanted to start a conversation about this Noelle Floyd article that sings the praises of Marilyn Little

http://www.noellefloyd.com/rider-of-the-week-marilyn-little/

Just a while ago riders in every discipline were having a conversation about blood in the mouths of her horses and seemingly excessive tack. I understand that it’s very hard to make concrete changes off of evidence such as pictures that started this discussion, but are we now just acting like this never happened?

This just sits uneasily for me…

[beowulf]

“I have so much support here and so many people that are happy to see me be back over here,” she said. “That makes it a lot of fun when your sport is behind you, and it’s something that I’ve really missed for awhile. I’m really happy to be back here and I’m really happy that they’re glad to see me.”

Little was hinting at the backlash that dogged her over the last several years – it seems that event riders don’t appreciate it when an “outsider” steps into their sport and begins soundly beating them at their own game. Through the years Little has held her head high and continued to excel, but being snubbed took its toll.

an interesting way to word the article… makes eventing sound unsupportive, bitter, and petty… when i know from first hand experience it is anything but.

i like how the article extolled marilyn’s many virtues, and then put event[ers] in the spotlight as being difficult, bitter and unreceptive – makes no mention of marilyn little’s controversial riding and horse management, her unfriendliness in person, or the blood that she has drawn on her mounts.

[NCRider]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8528115]
an interesting way to word the article… makes eventing sound unsupportive, bitter, and petty… when i know from first hand experience it is anything but.[/QUOTE]

Yea, those awful unsupportive eventers, opposing razor sharp medieval bitting combos that cause visual streams of blood coming from the horse’s mouth and dodgy sneaky vets. How dare they. They should just turn a blind eye.

Or those jealous ULR’s, continuing to provide her import business with free perpetual advertising by keeping and showing horses under her fake breeder like prefix she sticks on the horses as they fly across the Atlantic. Better go tell Lynn Symansky and Jan Bynny they haven’t been supportive enough. Remind me again how long it took one of MLM’s BFF’s in the h/j world to change the name of RF Amber Eyes?

Eventing has enough trouble with bad press without importing it from the h/j world, and her faux “woe is me-everyone hates me because I’m better than they are” attitude doesn’t make me like her any more.

And FWIW, most of the bad things I’ve heard about her come from people who know her from h/j land.

[DoubleTwistedWire]

[QUOTE=NCRider;8528139]

And FWIW, most of the bad things I’ve heard about her come from people who know her from h/j land.[/QUOTE]

She’s been eventing long enough now that I’ve heard it from both sides.

Really, it’s odd in either discipline for people to not be encouraging to people who take good care of their animals and work hard. Sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

[tbchick84]

Little was hinting at the backlash that dogged her over the last several years – it seems that event riders don’t appreciate it when an “outsider” steps into their sport and begins soundly beating them at their own game. Through the years Little has held her head high and continued to excel, but being snubbed took its toll.

Did she actually say this, or what that the words of the author? So nice she’s so humble and supportive of her fellow riders. Geesh.

[fordtraktor]

Whatever. Having been a poor working student washing horses in the wee hours of the morning at all the East Coast shows, I can tell you from personal experience that Marilyn and her mom Lynn are some of the nicer/less snobby folks on the circuit, always a smile and a kind word for even a kid with a dirty horse in tow. And they are not above being out there doing stuff themselves either. And my impression is that she tends to get difficult horses for cheap and “fix” them with her skills, and have to deal with their quirks as a consequence. The inventive bitting is and unfortunate incident are a result of that, not because of poor ability. She is an excellent rider.

I am not a friend of hers or anything but stabled next to them a few times, and as far as I can tell she’s never been anything but nice, and kind to the horses. I hate the rumor mill from random people across the country who have no idea other than online pics. I didn’t find her unfriendly. Quiet yes, that is different. I am quiet too, not fair to call that unfriendly.

[pepper1986]

It seems that event riders don’t appreciate it when an “outsider” steps into their sport and begins soundly beating them at their own game.

Pleeese! A reporter’s job is to get ALL the facts - good or bad - and it’s obvious that this reporter didn’t do their job. Why not put in this piece that ML’s horses were seen at a number of events with blood dripping from their mouths? That her horses were wearing abusive contraptions on their heads? But to say that ULR’s are unsupportive and unfriendly is unfair and if a newbie is preparing to jump into this world comments like these are likely to scare them away.

[snowrider]

She’s incredibly lucky not to have been disqualified several times now. I’m not sure I’d tempt fate like this.

[BAC]

As a big fan of eventing, I was hoping she was going back to show jumping permanently, but after reading the article it looks like she is staying in both. :(. I don’t think she’s an asset to either discipline.

[Texarkana]

There is no worse horseman/woman than the child of a great equestrian.

Brilliant riders with terrible horsemanship.

(Of course there are exceptions to everything, but not in this case)

[skipollo]

After the whole FHI bloody mouth scandal, she went to an event (don’t remember which) and tried some bitting change (not sure what, but it was more mild than her usual get up). She posted something about how “people don’t know her horses” and how “the bitting change doesn’t work for them” and how “she knows her horses better than anyone” followed up by a working student of hers snotting off to people about how they “don’t understand how strong UL horses are.”

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

I took all of these at FHI two years ago. Clearly UL horses are all way too strong for a basic snaffle. She really is the victim here

[bamboopole]

[QUOTE=Texarkana;8528364]
There is no worse horseman/woman than the child of a great equestrian.

Brilliant riders with terrible horsemanship.

(Of course there are exceptions to everything, but not in this case)[/QUOTE]

“Great equestrian” HUH? Neither are. :winkgrin:

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=pepper1986;8528248]
A reporter’s job is to get ALL the facts - good or bad - and it’s obvious that this reporter didn’t do their job.[/QUOTE]

I would not use the words “reporter” or “news” to describe NF’s glorified PR.

[Belmont]

[QUOTE=skipollo;8528446]
After the whole FHI bloody mouth scandal, she went to an event (don’t remember which) and tried some bitting change (not sure what, but it was more mild than her usual get up). She posted something about how “people don’t know her horses” and how “the bitting change doesn’t work for them” and how “she knows her horses better than anyone” followed up by a working student of hers snotting off to people about how they “don’t understand how strong UL horses are.”

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

I took all of these at FHI two years ago. Clearly UL horses are all way too strong for a basic snaffle. She really is the victim here ;)[/QUOTE]

Not saying ML is a great person, but not every horse (UL or LL) can go in a snaffle. Each horse is different. Only the rider/trainer would truly know what it needs. These 7 pictures out of ______ show a horse in a snaffle. I’m no eventer, but my friend photographs a ton of eventers every year. From what I see, ML is NOT the only eventer that goes in bigger rigs, and she certainly isn’t the only show jumper to do so either.

However, if you know the horse and it was going around in a snaffle before Marilyn got it, but now he rides in the hack-a-bit combos and such… Maybe you have an argument about how strong ML’s horse is or isn’t.

You couldn’t pay me enough money to take my horse around a cross-country course in a flash and snaffle. That would be a death wish.

[teddygirl]

Hmm. I also remember that ML entered eventing loudly proclaiming that eventers didn’t know how to show jump and she was going to show them all how it’s done. Not necessarily the best way to bond with people in a new discipline.

She’s also known for huddling with vets behind curtains in the FEI barn trying to get her horses sound enough for the final jog. Eventers take their horsemanship seriously and between the stuff in the barns and the bitting stuff she’s just not winning fans.

[findeight]

Assuming universal respect and untarnished reputation on the H/J side might be a reach…

[skipollo]

[QUOTE=Belmont;8528573]
Not saying ML is a great person, but not every horse (UL or LL) can go in a snaffle. Each horse is different. Only the rider/trainer would truly know what it needs. These 7 pictures out of ______ show a horse in a snaffle. I’m no eventer, but my friend photographs a ton of eventers every year. From what I see, ML is NOT the only eventer that goes in bigger rigs, and she certainly isn’t the only show jumper to do so either.

However, if you know the horse and it was going around in a snaffle before Marilyn got it, but now he rides in the hack-a-bit combos and such… Maybe you have an argument about how strong ML’s horse is or isn’t.

You couldn’t pay me enough money to take my horse around a cross-country course in a flash and snaffle. That would be a death wish.[/QUOTE]

Right–not every UL horse can go in a plain snaffle, but that doesn’t mean that none of them can like her working student was raving about.

[fordtraktor]

I just don’t see it. I groomed for many years at all the Virginia shows where the Littles showed regularly and they were always some of the nicer, more friendly people to staff. And they work in the barn themselves unlike most so you see them around quite a bit, though they aren’t friends of mine or anything. But you see people around a lot at those weeklong shows especially since we stabled next to them a few times, and I don’t have anything negative to say about either of them. She isn’t super outgoing but neither am I. She seems to care about her horses a lot from what I can tell and have genuine affection for them, which is more than I can say for a lot of upper level riders.

[merrygoround]

[QUOTE=skipollo;8528446]
After the whole FHI bloody mouth scandal, she went to an event (don’t remember which) and tried some bitting change (not sure what, but it was more mild than her usual get up). She posted something about how “people don’t know her horses” and how “the bitting change doesn’t work for them” and how “she knows her horses better than anyone” followed up by a working student of hers snotting off to people about how they “don’t understand how strong UL horses are.”

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

I took all of these at FHI two years ago. Clearly UL horses are all way too strong for a basic snaffle. She really is the victim here ;)[/QUOTE]

Those poor dumb riders don’t know they are being run away with! Silly people.

[DoubleTwistedWire]

[QUOTE=Belmont;8528573]
Not saying ML is a great person, but not every horse (UL or LL) can go in a snaffle. Each horse is different. Only the rider/trainer would truly know what it needs. These 7 pictures out of ______ show a horse in a snaffle. I’m no eventer, but my friend photographs a ton of eventers every year. From what I see, ML is NOT the only eventer that goes in bigger rigs, and she certainly isn’t the only show jumper to do so either.

However, if you know the horse and it was going around in a snaffle before Marilyn got it, but now he rides in the hack-a-bit combos and such… Maybe you have an argument about how strong ML’s horse is or isn’t.

You couldn’t pay me enough money to take my horse around a cross-country course in a flash and snaffle. That would be a death wish.[/QUOTE]

I don’t disagree that not all horses can go XC in a snaffle, and don’t have a problem with one that’s well ridden in something else.

But Demeter (then Cavalor Demeter) went around Bokelo with her prior rider in a loosering. Scandalous (then Caynoa) went XC in a snaffle as well, with her prior rider. Ingrid Klimke had Tabasco in a snaffle.