Weird Shelley Browning blogs?

[netg]

@MissAriel

I am sad to hear this. Hopefully the horses were all evacuated well ahead, but even so, evacuation is hard on the horses. There are also quite a few people there who aren’t part of the SB drama, and equally impacted.

Even given the worst perspective on that debacle, I don’t think anyone deserves this kind of trauma.

Praying for all those in the fire’s path.

@x-halt-salute

No. Just no.

I’m no SB fan, but very few people in the history of this world have done anything horrific enough to deserve to have an inferno sweep down on them and the animals they love. The Del Mar fiasco doesn’t even come close to putting any villains on that list.

My heart goes out to anyone who’s had to evacuate horses in these California wildfires, and even more so to the people who didn’t have time to do so. This article mentions ways to contribute to various efforts to help displaced people and animals, and there are several private efforts on FB to source supplies, volunteers, and funds to care for equines evacuated or found in the wake of the fires, in case anyone feels compelled to help.

Quoting these because they should be repeated again and again.

I thought her riding was terrible. And I thought nothing makes the horses deserve having to go through this, and feel for every single person affected.

I can’t imagine the horror of having to let your horses loose, knowing it’s their best chance of survival. My neighborhood is in the middle of the desert with only one road out - despite the fact I keep my horse trailer hitched, there are many scenarios where release is their best option for survival, and I live in terror of that whenever it’s dry here.

[emipou]

@8 minute biscuit

Karma

I find this extremely offensive to say. Maybe you meant nothing by it, but you have your barn burnt, and see how it feels when someone says that. You have no idea how scary it is until it happens to you. All those people who say things like “god’s will” or “karma”. It’s extremely insensitive.

[emipou]

@atlatl

It just got a little harder; their barn was destroyed in the fire.

My heart goes out to all the trainers, people, barns, homes, horses, goats, giraffes effected by these g-damn f—ing fires. Each year seems to get a little worse in California. It’s heartbreaking.

[atlatl]

@emipou

My heart goes out to all the trainers, people, barns, homes, horses, goats, giraffes effected by these g-damn f—ing fires. Each year seems to get a little worse in California. It’s heartbreaking.

Yes, it pretty much puts things in real perspective doesn’t it?

[atr]

Having been through an emergency, rushed evacuation of my farm and home this summer due to a wildfire, it isn’t something I would wish on anyone. I’m deeply sorry for anyone involved in such a trauma.

[Pocket_Rocket]

I also wish to share deep sorrow and sympathy for those caught up in these horrific fires. In March this year (I am in South West Victoria, Australia), we had The St. Patrick’s Day fire tear through our region. It devastated many farms, including irreplaceable livestock not to mention homes, properties and fences. The fire on our front literally stopped 200 metres from our small property and actually made a virtual horse-shoe shape around us. It was also one of those events where there was NO time at all to evacuate, turn horses free or any such thing. It was ferocious and devilishly fast under conditions much like those in CA at the moment. My horses, 2 calves, dog and cat - as well as myself (I had been alone at the outbreak and there was no power meaning no water pumps, no lights and we live in a “mobile phone black hole”) - were very, very lucky indeed. Our farming neighbours and I stood all night in a ploughed paddock not knowing what we’d find as it raged. My strongest sympathies and shared emotions to all those currently affected.

[vxf111]

@Samantha37

I think this is SO weird:

“She has owned all her horses from her first mount, purchased by her father from a backyard in Sylmar, California, to her current horse purchased in Holland two years ago, and, like most riders she knows and has cherished every one of them…”

Congratulations for owning all of your own horses (even the one purchased by your father)…!!!

I presume what that is (very inarticulately) trying to say is that she made up her own horse and did not sell them on.

[SnicklefritzG]

While I’ll say that the person referred to in this post shouldn’t be riding at I-1 or even close to that, I don’t think they deserve constant ridicule or to be chased in a virtual sense by a lynch mob.

[SnicklefritzG]

I Agree.

having a barn burn down, or being in a situation where it might burn down, or potentially having to evacuate due to fires in the area, is nowhere near the type of “punishment” some are insinuating is deserved for the riding exhibited by the person who is the subject of this thread.

Some of the language used in this thread demonstrates how ridiculous COTH has become lately, making it often look like a gossip rag rather than an equestrian site.

@emipou

I find this extremely offensive to say. Maybe you meant nothing by it, but you have your barn burnt, and see how it feels when someone says that. You have no idea how scary it is until it happens to you. All those people who say things like “god’s will” or “karma”. It’s extremely insensitive.

[meupatdoes]

@vxf111

I presume what that is (very inarticulately) trying to say is that she made up her own horse and did not sell them on.

That would be inaccurate as well as inarticulate, because she definitely did not make up Vorst D.

However, I came back to the thread to say I’m sorry to hear about the fire. That’s terrible and certainly not to be wished on anyone.

[Ajierene]

I watched part of the video and the riding reminds me of someone that boarded at a place I worked at in college. His trainer was a former eventer who turned to dressage and was a local dressage judge. I almost got a job training a pony for her but I wasn’t quick enough with corrections for her taste. The trainer was the same person that helped my step-mom buy her horse and did some training with it and took him to a show…until my step-mom fell off riding English and switched to Western and dropped the trainer because what she really wanted was to trail ride and muck about.

The owner in question had a really nice Irish TB, imported. He rode in a jump saddle with stirrups to short and balanced on the reins while his kind hearted horse went along obediently. The trainer would also ride the horse and take it to dressage shows. The owner talked about one day being a good rider and I just remember thinking if he would lengthen his stirrups so he wasn’t prone to perching so much and spent some time on a lunge line to develop a seat and practiced sitting up instead of forward with a loose rein, he could be. But…I somehow didn’t think that would ever happen because then he wouldn’t need to pay this trainer to ride and show his horse.

In case you couldn’t tell, I didn’t have a lot of respect for this trainer - her game plan seemed to be taking naive adult amateurs for a ride, especially ones with money (my step-mom has money from a lifetime of working for a big company and the other owner was a big time realtor, having helped people like Will Smith buy a house).

So yeah…Mrs Browning doesn’t ride well and was probably a bit embarrassed and frustrated but I can’t blame her to much as it seems her trainer got her number.

[atlatl]

This thread was apparently started as nothing more than an attempt to increase negative internet traffic about something that has already been discussed in great detail. To what purpose, only the OP knows.

In this time of tragedy, how about showing the smallest bit of compassion and let the thread die.

[meupatdoes]

@atlatl

This thread was apparently started as nothing more than an attempt to increase negative internet traffic about something that has already been discussed in great detail. To what purpose, only the OP knows.

In this time of tragedy, how about showing the smallest bit of compassion and let the thread die.

The thread was started because I was wondering what these weird, fawning and apparently self-published blogs were all about. Since I don’t actually stalk this person past noticing she set up several self-congratulatory blogs about herself, I was unaware that the barn was apparently lost to the fires while all this was going on.

I hope all the horses and their people and caretakers are safe.

[emipou]

@meupatdoes

The thread was started because I was wondering what these weird, fawning and apparently self-published blogs were all about. Since I don’t actually stalk this person past noticing she set up several self-congratulatory blogs about herself, I was unaware that the barn was apparently lost to the fires while all this was going on.

I hope all the horses and their people and caretakers are safe.

I am pretty sure your thread was started well before this and was interesting and odd and not at all even close to NP thread territory.

The fact that her facility, along with many others were taken by fire was just mere coincidence.

[netg]

@emipou

I am pretty sure your thread was started well before this and was interesting and odd and not at all even close to NP thread territory.

The fact that her facility, along with many others were taken by fire was just mere coincidence.

Yep.

Raising the question of this odd behavior and posts showing up all over the place was a relevant and interesting topic.

[trubandloki]

@emipou

I am pretty sure your thread was started well before this and was interesting and odd and not at all even close to NP thread territory.

I totally agree with what you are saying in concept. There was no way to know when this thread was started that the barn that the person being discussed keeps their horses in would burn in the horrible fire.
When the ‘how dare you post something’ post was added I went and looked up when this particular fire started because I wanted to post the same exact thing you did. Then I found out that the fire actually started the same day as this thread was started, but at that point the fire was not anywhere near what it is now.

I think this thread covers relevant information… The tragic loss of the stable does not make it any less relevant.

[DMK]

@atlatl

17 posts in 7 years and this is what you come up with.

Wow, just wow. :eek:

When someone shows you who they are, believe them.

[atlatl]

@netg

Raising the question of this odd behavior and posts showing up all over the place was a relevant and interesting topic.

Relevant to what? While some may find it interesting, there is nothing I can identify in this thread that is relevant to a discussion of dressage beyond what has already been addressed ad infinitum.

This thread starts out literally postulating that someone is working to game internet search results with subsequent posts making it clear, to me at least, that others are intending to ensure negative results stay in the top hits. How would one even know about the “odd behavior and posts” unless one was looking for them say by googling this person? How is this relevant to dressage? How is this not stalking? Note these are rhetorical questions.

The thread then continues with posts along the lines of “she’s a terrible rider, the horse is a saint but I’m sorry their barn was destroyed.” Those posts are followed with posts along the lines of “I didn’t know their barn was destroyed when I posted my nastiness so I’m still a nice person.” Maybe you are IRL, but not on this thread.

The above observations, coupled with the continuing posts, mine included, have led me to conclude that people are more interested in being “right” (probably again, me included) than letting this die.

My point is not “how dare you post something”, just don’t expect to post something on such a forum and have it go unchallenged. If you’re going to throw rocks at anyone else’s grammar etc, your post should be pristine or yes, I’m likely to point out the hypocrisy. If you’re going to go down the path of “how hard it must be to be a dressage trainer in Malibu,” yes, I’m going to call you out on that too.

Point out one single post in this thread relevant to dressage as a sport, I dare you.

[x-halt-salute]

@atlatl

This thread starts out literally postulating that someone is working to game internet search results with subsequent posts making it clear, to me at least, that others are intending to ensure negative results stay in the top hits. How would one even know about the “odd behavior and posts” unless one was looking for them say by googling this person? How is this relevant to dressage? How is this not stalking? Note these are rhetorical questions.

The thread then continues with posts along the lines of “she’s a terrible rider, the horse is a saint but I’m sorry their barn was destroyed.” Those posts are followed with posts along the lines of “I didn’t know their barn was destroyed when I posted my nastiness so I’m still a nice person.” Maybe you are IRL, but not on this thread.

If this thread is so offensive to you, you might as well just ride out on that high horse you’re on instead of keeping it active with the pearl clutching posts.

1. People of the internet, when they wander into the uncanny valley of search engine optimization, are likely to comment on the bizarre territory they find themselves in. Fascination and revulsion are pretty well documented universal human responses to computer simulations of human behavior and communication like the SB SEO bots. There’s nothing sinister or CoTH-specific about that.

2. You have no idea how the OP came across the bizarre web materials that prompted the post. And given the resources that are clearly being used to promote these content-void blogs, it seems entirely possible that they could show up in a search that does not include any personal names, and be stumbled upon by someone who forgot about Shelley Browning ages ago and DGAF about her other than wondering why the heck she’s suddenly got a thousand blogs talking gibberish about her horses’ special feed and shoeing that show up in innocent Google searches. I don’t understand how someone can consider jokes about SEO, theoretical discussions about morality and treatment of animals, and expressions of sympathy about a fire tragedy to be ‘nastiness’ and not also include their own thinly veiled insinuation (or as you say, rhetorical question) about stalking in that category of bad online behaviors.

3. None of the posts here can realistically do any material harm to the person whose blogs are being discussed. Jokes about search engine optimization, even those that include links, are no match for the kind of SEO tools that are being used to scrub the Del Mar tests and discussions of abusive treatment of the horse from the internet’s view of this person. CoTH doesn’t even make it into the first few pages of results if you search for the individual in question (am I a stalker for checking that before asserting it here? jk that was a rhetorical question). Once you stop bumping this thread, Google will basically forget about it, and in the meantime the zombie blogs will continue on their path to internet search domination. Besides which, not everyone would agree that the morally superior position is one in which a rich person can buy their way out of scrutiny for their treatment of animals without anyone else ever mentioning it again.

4. There is no logical or moral inconsistency in simultaneously believing that a) nobody deserves to suffer a wildfire tragedy, b) mistreatment of animals is reprehensible, and possibly c) that a pay-to-play world in which the wealthy can simply pay to manipulate their public image and suppress information is not necessarily a healthy or desirable one. You can disagree with any or all of those things, and it doesn’t make you a bad person any more than agreeing to all of them makes someone awful. We don’t all have to agree on everything all of the time.

5. Many would consider it relevant to dressage that a couple of godawful tests could create enough notice of the sport that someone would feel compelled to make fake dressage blogs for the sake of professional reputation management. This board veers at least that far into the margins of relevancy all the time – we recently had a “Nags to Numbnuts” book post, a plea for legal help in a really awful quarantine situation (I’m so sorry, Appaloosa Dressage, and hope things are looking up), a post about Jane Savoie’s health (again, my sympathies), posts about equine growth plate closure timing, and about a number of more off-topic or salacious things. CoTH has mods, and they do a good job of clearing out truly irrelevant threads and keeping posting behavior consistent with the board’s guidelines. If you have different standards for topic relevancy or poster behavior, that’s your problem and I don’t see why you would want so desperately to make it everyone else’s.

[x-halt-salute]

@SnicklefritzG

I Agree.

having a barn burn down, or being in a situation where it might burn down, or potentially having to evacuate due to fires in the area, is nowhere near the type of “punishment” some are insinuating is deserved for the riding exhibited by the person who is the subject of this thread.

Some of the language used in this thread demonstrates how ridiculous COTH has become lately, making it often look like a gossip rag rather than an equestrian site.

Exactly one poster made that insinuation, and they were swiftly and roundly criticized for it. The “lynch mob” you speak of seems to be unanimous in thinking that the fire tragedy is a real shame, and that it’s shameful to suggest otherwise.