[QUOTE=JumpHigh;8201749]
I
I’m surprised she’s not here yet! Maybe she learned her lesson last time.[/QUOTE]
No such luck, she will appear sooner or later. I have nothing against having rich parents, some of my favorite younger riders are supported by their family’s wealth (Lillie Keenan, Brianne Goutal, Jessie Soringsteen, Georgina Bloomberg, Katie Dinan) and good for them, they are a bunch of hardworking and talented young women. But nothing about Reed’s many interviews makes her come across as nice or humble IMO.
I have no interest in following Reed’s career after the way she handled the situation with Mika in that one show.
you don’t hear people having these types of debates about McLain or Kent because, to my knowledge, they haven’t treated horses out in public the way Reed did.
[QUOTE=SweetTalk;8202078]
You don’t see posts like this about someone like Mclain or any other young people on the circuit really.[/QUOTE]
You just haven’t been around long enough. Your specific example is in fact very wrong.
Being young and successful in the public eye is wonderful but it is not always easy. Most of us have the good fortune to go through our young adult phase outside of the public eye and make our mistakes in private. Time, and the horses, will tell.
I can see why many people see Reed as a spoiled brat. She’s from a wealthy family and has numerous top horses who her parents no doubt paid top dollar for! However, a person’s attitude about that is much more important. Reed is sweet and kind, well spoken and always thankful. Everyone loses their temper sometimes, as she did with Mika. I did see the video and it was far from pretty. But I think its exceptionally hard to be in the spotlight at such a young age. If that had been some random rider NOBODY would have ever cared. It’s just because its Reed.
No, not everyone loses their temper with their horse at a premier show with tons of people watching. A thought that comes to mind is “if someone will do that in PUBLIC, what do they do in PRIVATE.”
Well, one reason we see so many posts could be from behavior she’s demonstrated. However, I do wonder how much of the outcry has to do with gender and age. There are plenty of big name riders and trainers who are divas to say the least. I think we could all name ten men off the top of our heads we might not expect to be “nice” people deep down. I expect someone in the high pressure cut-throat world of show jumping to act nice and be professional especially when on the horse, but I really don’t expect any of them to be nice. Maybe I’m cynical in that regard. But I do think we should think about the fact that we - mainly a group of women - are castigating another woman for not being “nice” enough. We really don’t consider the issue so much when talking about young or old male riders.
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8202088]
I have no interest in following Reed’s career after the way she handled the situation with Mika in that one show.
you don’t hear people having these types of debates about McLain or Kent because, to my knowledge, they haven’t treated horses out in public the way Reed did.
There is no excuse for that type of behavior.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately McLain is not a good example. He’s been suspended before for abusive behavior including (but I’m sure not limited to) putting plastic chips in his horse’s boots.
[QUOTE=carroal;8202160]
I expect someone in the high pressure cut-throat world of show jumping to act nice and be professional especially when on the horse, but I really don’t expect any of them to be nice. Maybe I’m cynical in that regard. But I do think we should think about the fact that we - mainly a group of women - are castigating another woman for not being “nice” enough. We really don’t consider the issue so much when talking about young or old male riders.[/QUOTE]
This is the most insightful post in this thread, IMHO.
[QUOTE=HWS;8202194]
Unfortunately McLain is not a good example. He’s been suspended before for abusive behavior including (but I’m sure not limited to) putting plastic chips in his horse’s boots.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=HWS;8202194]
Unfortunately McLain is not a good example. He’s been suspended before for abusive behavior including (but I’m sure not limited to) putting plastic chips in his horse’s boots.[/QUOTE]
I used McLain and Kent as an example because of how they behave in public. Regardless of what they are or aren’t doing behind the scenes (and I’ve followed them for a while), you don’t see them having temper tantrums and hauling off on the horse’s mouth.
Look at them over the last few years and you aren’t going to see public temper tantrums like what Reed did. Just her being “young” isn’t an excuse for her behavior.
Why does Reed have to be “nice” and why are we talking about that as expectation? Why don’t we talk about how she seems to be focused, disciplined, and willing to take a chance. Yes, her parents have money and that certainly helps but with it comes a different kind of pressure that I know I don’t have.
Well Kent is often riding pretty rough…
And on the live feeds you just do not see how they Act when they leave the ring
And If i remember correctly in Germany we did not forget McLains Aachen incident
[QUOTE=Darkwave;8202197]
This is the most insightful post in this thread, IMHO.[/QUOTE]
Oh please. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Could it be possible that someone is called out for acting self-centered/spoiled because she does act that way and not because it’s a gendered social commentary?
She doesn’t HAVE to be nice… but that was what the OP commented on. Out of all the attributes, that’s the one the OP focused on. How it’s hard to be negative about Reed because she’s so nice. I see no evidence of that overwhelming niceness, not in this “article” anyway. I don’t personally care how nice she is. She’s talented. That counts for a lot. She’s also well-funded. Also good.
Plenty of top showjumpers aren’t particularly nice. But they also don’t go around putting out press releases about the new farms they buy. If you don’t want people to think you’re entitled, don’t promote your new “business” by doing a glossy lifestyle piece about how pretty it is and how great you are. I can’t remember the last time any big showjumper did a sua sponte pictorial about a new property they bought (or that someone else bought for them).
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8202242]
I used McLain and Kent as an example because of how they behave in public. Regardless of what they are or aren’t doing behind the scenes (and I’ve followed them for a while), you don’t see them having temper tantrums and hauling off on the horse’s mouth.
Look at them over the last few years and you aren’t going to see public temper tantrums like what Reed did. Just her being “young” isn’t an excuse for her behavior.[/QUOTE]
Yabbut the calculated and private act of putting chips in a horse’s boots works is preferable?
[QUOTE=LowerSaxony_Jumper;8202436]And on the live feeds you just do not see how they Act when they leave the ring
[/QUOTE]
I spend a lot of time at or near the International Ring ingate at WEF, and have never seen eye-rolling or temper tantrums from either Kent or Mclain (or various other upper level riders) upon leaving the ring, even after a disappointing trip. Sometimes you can tell they’re not happy, but they don’t go full-baby and pitch a fit about it in public.
I think the reason there are threads about Reed and not other young riders is because she has achieved every horse crazy young girls’ dream. Reed was on the Olympic team, at 18. I recall telling people that I was going to be on the 2000 Olympic team. I gave that dream up around '98. I think most of us give up on that dream long before we hit 30 and when someone in the 30’s or 40’s makes the team we recognize their hard work and talent, and are long past jealousy. My guess is that there are many riders who either haven’t given up on their Olympic dream and are jealous of Reed, or who want to discredit her to soften the blow to their own egos that resulted from someone else achieving what they did not (of course there will be at least 5 of you that respond to this by saying “I’m not jealous I just don’t like the way she treated Mike that one time at WEF” which will mean nothing to me because I have seen much worse behavior, publicly, which hasn’t resulted in threads such as this).
The bottom line is that it matters not whether she is nice, spoiled, humble or that one time she displayed poor horsemanship in public (thank goodness there wasn’t live stream at the state fair in 1999…you guys would have strung me up in the town square). Whatever character flaws this young woman has pail in comparison to the absolutely vile and alarmingly obsessive behavior of her “haters.” Reed has absolutely been the subject of internet bullying. The attacks on Reed, on this forum and others, have not been of the simple criticism of an athlete variety and they shouldn’t be tolerated by anyone in the equestrian community.
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8202468]
no one said that. We are comparing public behavior of various people.[/QUOTE]
Of course, but the other topic was the double standard we hold for women. So she’s repeatedly called out for not being “nice.” Someone holds up McLain Ward as an example of someone who’s preferable or “at least doesn’t make a scene in public.” They ignore the bad behavior he does do. By comparing only “niceness when on display” and ignoring the rest, it seems to me that you maintain the double standards. Or…. we’d have to point out that Kessler is great because “at least she hasn’t been caught cheating and causing pain to a horse.” That would even things out.
[QUOTE=busylady;8202508]
I think the reason there are threads about Reed and not other young riders is because she has achieved every horse crazy young girls’ dream. Reed was on the Olympic team, at 18. I recall telling people that I was going to be on the 2000 Olympic team. I gave that dream up around '98. I think most of us give up on that dream long before we hit 30 and when someone in the 30’s or 40’s makes the team we recognize their hard work and talent, and are long past jealousy. My guess is that there are many riders who either haven’t given up on their Olympic dream and are jealous of Reed, or who want to discredit her to soften the blow to their own egos that resulted from someone else achieving what they did not (of course there will be at least 5 of you that respond to this by saying “I’m not jealous I just don’t like the way she treated Mike that one time at WEF” which will mean nothing to me because I have seen much worse behavior, publicly, which hasn’t resulted in threads such as this).
The bottom line is that it matters not whether she is nice, spoiled, humble or that one time she displayed poor horsemanship in public (thank goodness there wasn’t live stream at the state fair in 1999…you guys would have strung me up in the town square). Whatever character flaws this young woman has pail in comparison to the absolutely vile and alarmingly obsessive behavior of her “haters.” Reed has absolutely been the subject of internet bullying. The attacks on Reed, on this forum and others, have not been of the simple criticism of an athlete variety and they shouldn’t be tolerated by anyone in the equestrian community.[/QUOTE]
Well said and I agree!
I don’t understand how people can form such strong opinions of someone who they’ve never even had a conversation with. But I guess that is the culture in which we live.
