The issue here is not about how she rode - heck, we all fall off at some time or another.
It’s about the post-tumble aggression toward her horse, taking out her embarrassment and anger on the animal that was so awful. After she kicked him and started hauling on his face, that poor horse had the total look of, 'Uh Oh, I’m in for it now - would rather not go with you if it’s all the same to you…" While I’m glad she apologized, she will forever be known as the mother of all poor sports and that must be hard to live with.
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Joe Cool looks off in his trot on the front in the video and then off again in the canter. I still didn’t see where the trainer tried to kick him for his “trick” honestly that’s what the issue is with, not her riding. Even though that pro was way over on his neck with her butt way forward. If its a known trick either put someone one that can stick it or retire the horse.
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Glad to see an apology from the rider and interesting to see a video of the horse doing the same thing to another person.
I would imagine (hope) that JJ feels an extreme amount of embarrassment at her behavior and will strive to do better in the future. The situation has provided for interesting discussion on the sport, horsemanship and sportsmanship.
I finally did watch the first video and watched this second one posted above. I did notice him swapping leads right before the fence where he dropped his head and lost his rider after. Seeing that it isn’t the first time he’s pulled this stunt and something’s NQR, I’d hope he gets a vet workup and/or some Dr Green or a job change or nice retirement.
I’d say he’s actually being fairly pleasant as far as protests go. Each rider landed softly and apparently unharmed. He could be a dirty stopper and crash his rider into a fence, he could rear at the in-gate, or he could take off bucking like a bronc and launch his rider into the air.
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I think my favorite non-apology apology is “mistakes were made…” :lol::encouragement: :ambivalence:
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Nah, my company does press releases in house and we can get one out in a couple of days. The “wait and see” is hoping it will blow over and no statement will be necessary. Day late and a dollar short in my opinion.
Also, I had a huge issue with her claiming she was afraid. She was safely on the ground and ran at the horse to kick it. That was NOT done out of fear. It was pure anger fueled aggression on her part. She needs to stop making excuses.
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Thanks for posting the video. He swaps leads right before the jump quite often it appears. Might be dealing with soreness. Constant low grade pain can be debilitating in the long run. Gorgeous mover tho.
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If you weren’t the person dumped I don’t think you have the right to say what her feelings were. Sometimes a simple tumble hurts worse than it looks, especially if you are already injured. I’m not saying that’s the case, but unless its your body hitting the ground …
And perhaps you can give her the name of your company’s PR so she can have good coverage. :rolleyes:
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Pain is not the same as fear. If a dog growls at me, then turns around and walks away, can I kick him in the ass and claim I was afraid? No, because the situation was already over. Same here. She might have been afraid while she was falling, but once on the ground and the horse is stopped and not endangering her, fear is no longer a valid excuse.
If you cant handle falling, you shouldn’t be jumping, or probably even riding. Falling happens when you ride (especially if you jump), just like crashes happen if you’re a race car driver, or concussions if you are a football player. It is part of the sport.
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Well, pages with names like “Atomic Vegan” are now sharing this on facebook so, ya know… fabulous.
Oh yeah, my post stickies, since I have to reiterate before speaking:
- I do not condone her behavior.
- I think she should be sanctioned.
- I am concerned that if we don’t properly define “abuse” PETA will do it for us.
- I do not condone her behavior (just for good measure…)
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Don’t see how you can judge how a middle aged Ammy rider you don’t know is feeling when they fall off or how long it takes to shake it off just by seeing a brief video… Comparing her to how mostly much younger professional athletes handle getting hurt is quite a reach…especially when even those hang it up when they get older and get tired of being hurt.
No excuse for her reaction, not defending that. But no reason to delve deeply into a personal attack on a strangers emotional history and life challenges or make the sweeping statement she should not ride at all.
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The horse did not do anything dirty, she lost her balance and fell off, then pulled a temper tantrum and took it out on the horse, who looked like she’s done it before since he went right to flight/panic mode as she aggressively came at him.
Once trust between horse and rider is gone, it’s over. Pathetic and am sure she is embarrassed, which is its own punishment.
Check out Dailymail.uk … it was a featured story a few days ago and the non horse public’s comments ( some of which were funny),showed more regard for the animal than what I see here from some posts which excused her behavior.
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And there you have the glory of the internet.
From its humble, important beginnings as a way for the US Military to keep in connection during a total, all-out, planet-destroying nuclear holocaust; to Cat Videos, to Buying Lots of Crap 24/7 in your pajamas (in order to keep the economy alive because the Nuclear Arms Races became too expensive… gotta repurpose the 'net); to the pile-ons on COTH that the medium invites, to “Atomic Vegan” fans coming to school us on our own sport…
We should have stopped at Cat Videos.
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Must have missed those posts buried in the universal opinion she behaved very badly and there was no defense for her action. Can you quote or give the post # of the ones defending her trying to kick the horse in the belly?
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I see I missed a number of pages and most posts do hold her accountable for her behaviour
yes! No one here is saying it’s ok, no way.
It’s just funny how some think they know the motivations of the horse, rider, trainer, and PR firm when in fact NO ONE HERE DOES unless you are those parties.
Spout off all you want, sure, but I don’t think that really gets to the heart of the issue, which isn’t even about this person. It’s about the reporting.
I’ll call this a lesson learned by everyone, and I dare say those who truly abuse horses will not do it in the ring, lest this happen to them.
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ok…how did that rider even fall off? Laying on the neck and the horse pulled the reins down? That horse was cantering so slow my dog could ride it.
Maybe the horse has a special cocktail before its ride it disapproves of.
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“Inappropriate emotional response” initially reminded me of that and then I realized it was more like “conscientious uncoupling.”
Literally.
But I can’t help but spew my professional 2-cents in what makes for a satisfying apology.
If she were my client, I would insist on cutting the crap and going to straight to:
"I lost my temper and took it out on my horse.
That behavior is never acceptable—anywhere or at any time.
I have no excuse for it but assure you [it was an isolated incident] that I regret deeply. My treatment of my horse at that moment is not representative of the horseman I strive to be.
I accept whatever penalties the USEF feels are appropriate."
Head on, no excuses. “Inappropriate emotional response” may be true but it’s also couch-y and weasel-y. And no, we don’t know if “I was scared” is bs or not. The important thing is that it could be perceived as bs.
There you go. Free template. May you never need to use it. (but if you do, donations welcome)
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totally not the same thing. she didn’t get growled at she got dumped and maybe at the immediate time after being dumped it shocked, scared or hurt her for a moment and her fight or flight took over.
let me know when you’re going to be giving a clinic, you sound very knowledgeable about everything.
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I am really not trying to rub you the wrong way. And I am sorry you are so upset about my opinion. You have made a few little jabs at me, and I am really not meaning to aggravate you. I am just giving my opinion an a public, online forum. I am not sure why you dislike me so much.
We clearly see this differently. I don’t think she “got dumped”, I think she fell off. And I don’t think offering an excuse (fear) was an appropriate addition to her apology. If she was legitimately afraid or not, its irrelevant, it doesn’t excuse her behavior and therefore should not have been incorporated into her apology. That seems to place blame, at worse on the horse (he scared me), at best on the situation (falling scared me). Neither excuses kicking at a horse.
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“There are only two emotions that belong in the saddle; one is a sense of humor and the other is patience.” - John Lyons
There is no excuse for kicking at the horse like that. If the horse is a known dirty stopper and she can’t handle it, she shouldn’t be riding it or it needs a new job. I’m glad she apologized, but she needs to have a consequence from the USEF too and so does the show steward.
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