I really can’t believe people could say such horrible things about an 8 year old child. The pic is cute, pony doesn’t look affected, but jumping in excellant form… Judging by the look of determination, she has to work for the trip the pony gives her, but she is obviously getting the job done. For god’s sake let the child enjoy her picture being on the cover.
the people criticizing this 8 year old child are just ridiculous. leave the poor child alone! she is very cute on an adorable pony! the pony cleary does not care that her spur is in it’s side. I am sure half you you couldn’t look as good as that kid on a good day. if you are “saddened” by the cover of the dover catalog, you NEED to find something better to do. like maybe riding without sturrips…
2ndyrgal - I invite you to readread every post I have made on this thread. You will quickly learn that I have continually stated that this child is a beautiful, determined girl doing a fantastic job. You will also learn that I said this young girl will be a dynamite rider as an adult. However her trainer/parents should take the steps necessary to help this girl strengthen her leg and base of support. It’s really not that shocking of a statement. Unless you’re a drama queen.
Another thing…
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Scaramouch:
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by CFiona:
And 10 yr olds that “Laughs her head off and think no more of it” don’t really appeal to me. Makes for snotty pony riders, which turn into snotty adults, which give this sport a nasty reputation. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree, but I’d prefer a snotty child than one who would burst into tears at the sight of this thread, as that would be just a little pathetic. After all, it’s the Internet, anyone could be saying anything. I would personally hope that the kid would see this, think about it and ask her trainer/coach if there’s any truth to it and to explain why if she doesn’t already know, before either taking it seriously or discounting it completely. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Do you honestly believe an 8 year old would have the emotional capacity to just shrug off people being so rude and critical of her as a lot of the people on this post are? Honestly! That is a RARE find to have a child who would not care. Sure, she may not burst into tears that form a river, but I am sure she’d be a little pissed off about it. She’s EIGHT! Kids that age still cry over someone calling them a “snot face.”
I don’t understand something:
There are a few riders out there whose equitation can be called “perfect.” However, the girl pictured on the cover of Dover, IS YOUNG. She’s showing in the small pony hunters and is a tiny, tiny child. She’s remarkably good considering her size and age. Honestly, I’m sure a bunch of you have photos of yourselves that you love where there is a lot to be desired, either with you or your horse. Perhaps the people at Dover thought that instead of publicly crucifying an adorable little girl on her pony, maybe people would look at the overall picture and realize how cute it is.
No one is perfect. It just seems to me that you all have standards that are far too high for one picture of one girl and her pony when you don’t know what happened prior to the picture being taken.
Maybe you can lay off a little and just look at it overall, see that it’s a very small child on a very small pony, and it’s cute! I mean, honestly, lighten up a little.
Why do we have to critique a child that never asked for it? What if the parent of that child comes on this site and sees this?
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by C.Boylen:
The pony may require spur off the ground or in the air. Ponies are rarely as pushbutton as many people think they are. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Granted. But I do contend the choice of photos is poor for a huge cover shot. Though a cover photo may just be a cool action pic like so many of Dover’s gorgeous previous covers, this one is just too blatently YUK with that spur. Her leg looks totally off the horseand her foot angle is scarey. 
I know stuff/training issues happen, but let’s not advertise it big time on a huge forum! Surely there were other pix of adorable lil gals & their TDF ponies which didn’t have a spur sticking into them for a cover shoot! 
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Two Simple:
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Uberraschung:
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Two Simple:
Stalking?? Um…how about a single 3 minute search on the internet to find other photos of the riding style in question. Lay off the drama. 
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>It’s her personal webpage. She’s an 8 year old kid. How about you lay off your unsolicited online critique of a small child? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If you have any sort of comprehensive reading ability, you would clearly understand that I am in no way critiquing this child. Rather, I am critiquing the trainer and or parents who should remove the spurs, strengthen the leg, and then put the spurs back on. You don’t like my opinion? Get over it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If you have any sort of comprehensive reading ability, you would have noticed that the site you linked is the child’s personal webpage with a link to her email…just what she needs, a bunch of COTH nutcases emailing her to tell her to take off her spurs and strengthen her core
What’s to say one of her friends won’t see this and the kid won’t come here? Obviously she has internet access.
Talk about a lack of class on the part of many of you here. Just disgusting.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by CFiona:
And 10 yr olds that “Laughs her head off and think no more of it” don’t really appeal to me. Makes for snotty pony riders, which turn into snotty adults, which give this sport a nasty reputation. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I agree, but I’d prefer a snotty child than one who would burst into tears at the sight of this thread, as that would be just a little pathetic. After all, it’s the Internet, anyone could be saying anything. I would personally hope that the kid would see this, think about it and ask her trainer/coach if there’s any truth to it and to explain why if she doesn’t already know, before either taking it seriously or discounting it completely.
Sweet baby Jesus, two simple. Stop stalking the poor kid.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Julhar:
Nobody’s perfect, for sure…but now I know why the old concept of “winning your spurs” was the old way of doing things. People didn’t get to wear a spur until they could be relied upon to have a super leg position that would never accidently spur the horse. To see that on the cover of a huge catalog just makes me so sad…
Again, I don’t remotely mean this as a slam against Dover, I love shopping there! I’m just really perplexed & saddened by the choice of using that pic. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Couldn’t agree with you more.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by hunter00:
Think about it, would YOU want your picture on a popular magazine like so, with YOUR spurs digging into your horse, toe turned at a 180 degrees angle, and overjumping? I know I wouldn’t…I guess thats all we’re trying to say, they poorly chose the cover shot and better luck next time. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
If I was that young and I got my picture on the cover of a National Catalog… I’d be THRILLED even if I was falling OFF the horse. Little girl gets face splashed all over the country in people’s mail boxes. Nothing wrong with that. It’s not an equitation magazine. If the picture is of a happy little girl on a happy little horse, then what’s wrong with that? Let the people at Dover choose their covers. They obviously choose certain covers for a reason.
When I was a little girl and just starting showing hunters, I was on the most forgiving horse ever. I have this picture that I got blown up because I thought it was incredible at the time. My leg is WAY behind me, I am lying on the horses neck, my back is roached, but the horse is jumping very well. She’s round, she’s square and she’s happy. But I LOVED that picture, until I realized just how much my eq sucked. Everybody has a learning curve. If someone had posted that pic of me on the cover of a catalog when it first came out, I’d be equally as thrilled.
I’d be less than thrilled if I came on a public bb to realize people thought that it was a bad picture and not deserving of a cover shot. JMHO.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Charlotte:
If you don’t know the whole situation, it’s probably not best to assume things.
The girl on the cover is a lovely rider, and her pony is a typical pony-- can be good, but is often quite bratty. The spurs, for this pony, are necessary. And cut the child a little slack, please, she’s still young! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, but its not the child, persay, that we are talking about…rather the choice of cover shot to put in the 05-06 catalog. Simply what some of us are trying to say, is that a big commercial catalog such as Dover, shouldn’t have poorly selected cover shots such as this one. Yes, the GP and past Olympic shots are excellent. But don’t put a shot of a small child and her pony on the cover of a national catalog, especially when there are ‘glitches’ in the eq that really don’t do much justice at all…Think about it, would YOU want your picture on a popular magazine like so, with YOUR spurs digging into your horse, toe turned at a 180 degrees angle, and overjumping? I know I wouldn’t…I guess thats all we’re trying to say, they poorly chose the cover shot and better luck next time.
This needs to stop… and for Lillie’s sake I hope this thread gets deleted and she never has to see it. It is so unbelievable to sit around and watch a bunch of grown adults, who clearly have nothing better to do in their lives, rip a poor little 8 year old girl to shreads.
For those of you “critiquing” the trainers… you are really just highlighting your own ignorance. When you can run a barn that consistently turns out many of the top horses and riders in the country (just read the most recent COTH) then you can talk.
Since I am the queen of thread killers here goes…as an aged adult I’ve seen kids of that age and size put there heels down, and ride like they were competing for olympic gold, complete with spurring the little buggers and a one-handed riff with the crop if they even thought about stopping. I am glad I don’t have to give up what is left of my dignity showing against them. The thing I find most appalling about this “thread” is that people confuse “child” with a novice or inexperienced rider. I can assure you, that if adults were given the horse-sized equivelants of the ponies that most of these kids ride, most would either quit or spend many more hours in the ER. Dover has a right to put a cute kid with a “go gettem” attitude and a happy stylish pony on the cover. I actually had to go rummage about to find the catalog to see what all the fuss was about. There are no spur marks on that pony, his ears are up, and if she jabbed him as hard as she could for crying out loud she probably doesn’t weigh 60lbs with her boots full of water, she couldn’t hurt him if she wanted to. Do not bash CHILDREN who do not ask for a critique, it is cruel, stupid and anyone who indulges it further probably has issues that, insightful though this board is, it is not qualified to address. Perhaps Dover should auction off the rights to be on next years cover and donate the money to charity. I would have thought they probably sold the cover position, other publications do.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by Hasty:
the people criticizing this 8 year old child are just ridiculous. leave the poor child alone! she is very cute on an adorable pony! the pony cleary does not care that her spur is in it’s side. I am sure half you you couldn’t look as good as that kid on a good day. if you are “saddened” by the cover of the dover catalog, you NEED to find something better to do. like maybe riding without sturrips… </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Amen to that!
Lillie is 8 years old for crying out loud, back off and leave her alone. She IS excited about having her picture on the cover, as I would have been (and I’m sure all of you) at her age as well! She is an awesome kid who rides really well, loves her ponies, and works VERY hard! She is one lucky little girl, but I do have to say, of all the kids w/ her “means” I’d say she’s one of the sweetest most down to earth kids out there. I KNOW she would be devestated if she saw this thread (and I pray that she doesn’t)… wouldn’t you be? She’s a lovely rider w/ a lovely string of ponies, and is in VERY capable hands… back off and let her have her moment in the spotlight. She might very well turn out be the next Addie so for those of you bashing her eq. let’s see what you have to say in a few years when she’s winning in the big eq. ring.
I second that, CFiona!!!
This is by far the stupidest, most irritating thread I have read on here yet. I can not believe that some of the people posting have: 1) such obvious jealousy issues
2) the time to p*ss away griping about the kid, the photographer, the tack shop, life in general, etc etc.
GET A LIFE AND LIGHTEN UP IN THE MEANTIME!!! Maybe those that are being so negative would be better off channeling their energies in a more positive manner - such as making yourselves better riders (and better people)!
Proving yet again how good people are at following directions around here.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-title”>quote:</div><div class=“ip-ubbcode-quote-content”>Originally posted by StephDoesJumpers:
Is it just me here or are many of us ovverreacting? Nobody is accusing this girl of cannibalism, prostitution and rampant drug use. The issues pointed out with the magazine cover are not “HORRIBLE THINGS” being said about an 8 year old girl. This kid is good, good enough to land a huge magazine cover. This has been acknowledged repeatedly. Some people feel that the photo is not textbook perfect, and when a catalog is sent to hundreds of thousands of people, some of us expect the “perfect” cover picture, if it even exists.
We’ve critiqued pictures of many riders/horses which appear in publication. It is not personal, it is just a discussion of where our sport is going and why certain errors are/are not overlooked lately. Nobody is attacking this girl! Relax, pleeeeaaaase. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, you are quite right. Commenting that a rider can strengthen their core and improve their leg position is a very benign observation, especially when kept in context with the MANY raving compliments this rider has received on this thread! 
Thank you for being rational.
i honestly think this thread should be closed. this child did not ask for all of these people to critique her. not to mention the fact that she is very young and probably very excited to have her picture on the front of the dover catalog. she doesn’t need some old cranky people talking bad about her because he leg isnt perfect…
