I would wear the hell out of this…despite generally being a fearful, talentless “professional.”
Dude, you know that I had to design one for dressage in orange, too.
https://www.customink.com/designs/dressage1/kvr0-00b3-9g9q/hotlink?pc=HL-142344&utm_campaign=hotlink_201601&utm_source=hotlink&utm_medium=email&utm_content=viewbutton
See U at X - its almost perfect - but the orange infers the Dutch L’orange and would be a bit of an insult since they acquit themselves very nicely in breeding the top horses and producing riders.
She knows. She loves that awful Dutch color and wore it to Aachen :eek::eek::mad:
The Dutch are very proud of their colour orange, and no matter what the sport, you cannot miss them at a sporting event, where many will have crossed the globe to attend…talk about passion! If she was cheering for the Dutch team then her colour would be appropriate!
Of course she wasn’t :lol::lol: she was cheering for the British!
I cannot help it. Why deny wearing a color that flatters both me AND my horse?!? Especially my horse, because he is, quite frankly, ridiculously handsome in orange. :lol:
The poor people at Aachen must have thought I was going through some sort of identity crisis. I was wearing orange, cheering mostly for the British, and nobody could quite figure out my accent, which truly is 100% American, but I tend to pick up certain affectations easily so some people thought I was British and others thought I was Dutch, but for sure, NOBODY thought I was German, which is quite hilarious since my family actually IS 100% German on both sides.
The poor people at Aachen must have thought I was going through some sort of identity crisis. I was wearing orange, cheering mostly for the British, and nobody could quite figure out my accent, which truly is 100% American, but I tend to easily pick up certain affectations easily so some people thought I was British and others thought I was Dutch, but for sure, NOBODY thought I was German, which is actually quite hilarious since my family actually IS 100% German on both sides.
Oh hell… I would also wear the shirt… at Spruce At the Masters IN the pub!!! Yes and in orange… or pink… I’m not one to blend into the background LOL
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
You would be my hero!!!
My new monogram will be FTA! Love it! And damn proud…I pay my bills, I love my horses, and I try hard within the parameters of my age, my talent and my day job. Go FTAs! Where would H/J land be without us!
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Sob… they do not deliver to Canada… and I had it all ready to in that lovely hot pinky/purple colour!!!
Okay, so thank you everyone who answered the call with the FTA shirt links. Now…who’s going to write the FTA fight song? 
I’m of British heritage, but dual citizen with Canada. However, I identify Canadian and I can prove that because I always cheer for Canadians at the Olympic Games, etc. I don’t have anything with the Union Jack on it, no offence to my homeland, but married a Canadian and have Canadian kids and lived here all my married life.
I noticed this quote from Nicole Shahinian-Simpson in the Chronicle yesterday:
“I did the teams, and I did all that, but the sport really is changing. It’s really hard to be where you want to be without a big-time sponsor and owners and whatnot, so I’m just really enjoying having brought these horses along.”
This is in the context of someone having just won a Grands Prix 1300 miles from her home base, on an embryo transfer baby that was bred specifically for her to develop as a jumper. Someone who won both the Medal and the Maclay as a junior, who rode horse after horse after horse as a catch rider, successfully. Someone who has won a WEG selection trial. Someone who has had far more than the median resources available over all the years.
And she doesn’t have access to the money to compete internationally. (Or maybe it is that she doesn’t want to play the game necessary to have that access any more, which is still in support of my point.)
She’s not the only rider with this kind of resume who isn’t riding for the USET regularly.
On the other hand, she is doing this:
http://horsenetwork.com/2017/01/nicole-shahinian-simpson-giving-back-sport-best-way-knows/
My childhood is one that I cherish, so I’ve always dreamed of creating a place where kids who don’t grow up in a barn or have parents in the business, like I did, can have the full experience. Where they can be barn rats too.
Our goal is to create an environment where parents and kids want to spend time. Part of the lesson is to come a little early and help tack up. After their lesson, they bathe the horses and graze them. We encourage them to hang out in the barn, learn about feeding, to muck stalls, and do as much as they’d like. We also do little camps on the weekend where we’ll do a clipping lesson or a braiding lesson, stuff like that.
But mostly, it’s just fun! We do fun things at the farm in an environment that we create ourselves. That’s what is exciting for me. That’s what brings it back to my childhood.
When I’m in Wellington, I go back and forth between the Riding Club and the show horse stable. I’ll teach the lesson kids then leave for a few weeks to compete. It’s so rewarding to come back and see their progress. And it’s a breath of fresh air dealing with parents who are new to this. They don’t know yet how to go spend tons of money and maybe that’s never in the cards for them. The kids have access to do on whatever level they can do it.
The funny thing is I think the Riding Club is helping my riding as much as it does theirs.
I think Prudent is barking up the wrong tree.
Coming in a little late to the show, but here’s my take:
I think Katie Prudent needs to get off her high horse. Yes, I do agree that parents are pouring in money to get kids the best horses if they have the financial capabilities to. No, I don’t necessarily think that is right.
HOWEVER, she ought to know that every horse comes with challenges. The 100k champion wasn’t always a champion. Each horse is unique and must be ridden differently. Frankly, I think a good, solid citizen is an awesome start for someone learning to ride and going through the ranks. There’s less chance for injury, fear, and improper training of the horse. Once you have the solid foundation, then you can ride the greenies and the touchy horses. And even if you aren’t riding the difficult horses, riding different horses will still teach you those special skills.
Talentless amateurs. I disagree. There are a lot of talented amateurs. Many don’t have the money or the time to be a top level rider. You have to know the right people and have the right circumstances to get up there and stay there. Furthermore, some people don’t want to ride at the top levels. Some people are perfectly happy bouncing around low level jumper courses and have no desire to up the ante. Some of these people may be very talented riders. How high the fences are does not dictate your skill set.
And for Pete’s sake, do we really have to harp on having lower level jumper classes? As stated above, not everyone wants to compete at the Grand Prix, and furthermore, not many horses are capable of it (at least, not your average Joe horse). Lower level classes are a great way for riders to get comfortable showing and for horses to settle in. Showing is supposed to be fun and to test our skills.
I’d like to add that the show culture has also moved to trainers coddling riders to make their money because, as stated above, it is HARD to get into the business! Sometimes people don’t necessarily do the right thing because money seems to be the higher priority.
Last but not least, let’s not forget that this sport is LARGELY populated by amateurs. So don’t go around biting the hand that feeds you.
FYI, I am an amateur that now events. I have a full time job to support my horsey habit, and I ride a wonderful but quirky QH that is better built for his job than most QH are but still has conformational flaws that I must adapt to. There are no quality trainers in my area, so I drive almost 2 hours one way for a lesson. I likely will never make it to the top levels, and that’s okay. I’m happy plunking around the BN courses with my quirky horse that loves jumping because it gives me a thrill and makes me smile. He had an injury that likely makes him unsuitable for these big classes Prudent talks about, though he’d try his heart out and does have the scope. But I’m here for fun. And that’s what riding is supposed to be at the end of the day.
Perhaps I missed it, but have any other the riders called out by name in the podcast responded publicly?
No, I think they’re too busy riding :lol::lol::lol:
