You are correct about the driving privileges given to women. I was wrong.
I am correct about the control that husbands or “guardians” have over their wives and female relatives.
3 Likes
I was just about to post that article. I have no love for the Saudis, but I read a couple of years ago, things are slightly better than they were. I am making no excuses for them.
1 Like
There is no excuse for the manner in which women are subjugated in Saudi Arabia or in many other countries. Women are still controlled by their male relatives, who the Saudi government (royal family) allows to control women’s lives and actions.
The women of the Saudi privileged class have more freedom because they have their male relatives permission. They are more visible. It is P.R. and it works to a certain extent (for some people) because of the money that the Saudis are offering, that many people from democratic countries can’t seem to resist.
Women who are not of high status in Saudi Arabia are not free to do what the women that are being pictured by the Saudis as being free from oppression can do.
17 Likes
Jamal Khashoggi. Remember that name when you are paid to come to Saudi Arabia. 
31 Likes
Good on them. I work for a company that does work in KSA and it makes me uncomfortable every single time I have to deal with it.
For now our work is limited to “for the good of humanity” type projects (hospitals, etc) but we still have to balance the good of our employees! Many of which are in categories that would be in danger if physically present in KSA.
Screenshot for those who don’t have FB. Mad respect to Skylar. Who says there aren’t any horsemen/women in the next generation?
44 Likes
That’s fabulous to read. Wish there was more of it
2 Likes
I am going to ask a question about this. Please don’t hate on me. I do not follow SJ very much, I mostly follow eventing. IF she felt the course was too tough for her horse- OK I can see that. But I liken it to going to Badminton and deciding the cross country is too tough. No matter that the US spent $$$$$ to get her there. I don’t know, I just don’t follow it. Was she on a team? Will that affect the team status? Please don’t hate. I truly don’;t understand.
4 Likes
Decades ago, don’t know today, but when I was working with Olympic coaches, it was explicitly and very often repeated that, if you are riding for the team, you were qualified for it, you were committed to it, you had to go and show, no if’s and but’s.
In fact, two questioned if I would want to go there, if I had doubts my horse was ready, still go try, as if not the team would be left lacking.
I was told, “you like horses too much, if in doubt you may not have that extra will to try for the team, to push horses that hard, the efforts it takes at that level, consider seriously how competitive you want to be, what risks to take just to be part of the team”.
I decided they were right and changed my goals and became a professional, which at that time meant you were not any more eligible for the Olympic team.
This rider was put on the team because those choosing so and her record indicate she and horse were ready. To now think maybe not is the way it is, but is it really the right decision, on a hunch, to preserve the horse, not to fulfill the obligation to show for the team?
Since the rider and coach/es have agreed, for the horse’s sake, although that is not what is supposed to happen at that level, then retiring in that tricky team situation is best, no question.
Is easier if the horse was questionably sound/healthy, harder when is just a hunch, but those on the spot know best, we can’t judge.
5 Likes
I don’t think this is a team event. Good for her for having a great experience and knowing what’s best for her horse. If she had had a rail or two at this point, no one would be questioning this decision. She said she consulted with several people and this was the conclusion they came to. Congrats to her, her horse, and the entire team behind them both.
16 Likes
I watched both her rounds. The first one the horse was great. The second he was really struggling, over jumping and got a lot of rails. It looked to me like he was over faced and so, IMO, she made the right choice. The final course will be much harder than the prior days’ courses.
28 Likes
That puts their decision in a different light, the horse was not ready for this level and didn’t show until put on the spot.
Then yes, retiring is best, definitely, glad that they did.
10 Likes
Not a team event. She and the horse got some solid experience in an international setting. So quit while you’re ahead and take the experience forward.
I don’t know how the funding works for this; if the riders get any funding from their home federations.
16 Likes
I know that several years ago, a rider who was local-ish to me and was on some teams had to fundraise quite a bit to go compete on the team. It was not funded at all.
In any event, this isn’t a team thing to begin with. People are representing their home countries, but it is a purely individual competition.
(And regardless, if a horse is overfaced, not continuing on is the right thing to do. That might not be a popular opinion, but giving the horse a profoundly negative experience “for the team” isn’t going to help anyone in the short or the long term. Skylar made the complete right decision here.)
31 Likes
Not continuing when overfaced is always the right decision, doesn’t need to be a popular opinion.
At the highest levels, horses are not overfaced, they are asked for maximum efforts you don’t generally find in other venues, a different kettle of fish that, not what seems to be the situation here once clarified further.
1 Like
I beg to differ. A horse can absolutely be overfaced at that level, or any level.
20 Likes
Thanks for the clarification. I thought she had gone clear in both rounds.
1 Like
This makes all the difference. I didn’t get that from the FB page. Yes, she did the right thing.
1 Like
True, but it should not happen, is not common.
On lower levels, more common, I think.
1 Like
