A lot of this has to do with (absent) parenting and general education.
Lawās post was shared quite a bit in my feed (in a positive way), so it apparently resonated with a number of middle-aged equestrians. The growing divide between haves and have-nots (not just in the horse world, but its effects on the horse world) and the perception that hard work and knowledge gained from hands-on labor means less and less clearly resonated with a lot of people. Also, she has a lot of fans as a clinician, which generates goodwill.
BUT I will say, as a writer, I hate it when I see blog-type posts (which I do all the time) in horse media, where a big name person observes someone riding in a recent clinic and a show, doesnāt conceal the riderās identity, then uses one or two observed rides to make massive generalizations from personal experience about faults in the industry. Itās not just this post. I see this all the time. I realize the state of sports journalism is a whole ānother āOff Topicā but I kind of see this free-for-all more in niche sports. Even if some points are valid, the complaints about the ridersā expressions and inability to do a turn on the forehand and using that as evidence of holes in their horsemanship sound kind of petty. It reminded me of another much-shared article complaining about weak kids needing a drink of water halfway though a lesson.
10 Likes
I often wonder if there isnāt a conscious or unconscious twinge of jealousy when this happens. Because as you point out, itās a common trope- āoldā person makes snap judgement about a āyoungā person based on a moment in time, and uses it as an argument for what is wrong with ākids these days.ā
7 Likes
Speaking in general āyouā all the way through here.
Itās unfair to gauge someone else based on your level of passion.
I love horses. I love learning everything I possibly can about them, from care to feeding to riding. All of it.
My desire to learn all that does not somehow make someone who only wants to ride less worthy of doing so. In fact, I bet that many could out-ride me!
What the important part is - are the horses healthy and happy? If the answer is yes, then who the heck cares if they can apply a standing wrap, or knows a bounce distance by heart? If they have the $$ to pay someone to do those other parts for them, more power to them!
I know there are lots of āridersā and lots of āhorseman.ā There will be someone to train the horses, Leslie, donāt worry. Just because you thought you saw two āridersā (whether they are or not, is not relevant to what Iām trying to say) instead of horsemen means absolutely nothing.
Take dogs for an example. Not everyone is going to be able to put high-level training on a dog. But they can darn sure enjoy their pup, and if they want the dog trained they can pay someone to do it. No one blinks an eye at that!
22 Likes
No one tells anyone they arenāt allowed to drive a car because they donāt know how to change a head gasket or swap a transmission.
Another way of thinking about itā¦
14 Likes
I swear they should. These young whippersnappers and their turning the key and just driving off. They should also drive a truck and trailer too. When I was their age I had to drive an 8 horse trailer in the snow, up hill, both ways.
34 Likes
Iām like you. I had to laugh at the original article because this is nothing new. Way back when I was young, I was shocked at the people who didnāt know things. Things I thought were just basic horsemanship. I had a powerful thirst to know all that stuff. But, as you say some people are inclined to learn everything they can and some people just like to ride. That is nothing new. We still manage to find new young trainers.
I was a little annoyed at the article for attributing facial expressions to boredom. As one who has often been accused of disinterest when what I am actually doing is concentrating, I find it a little offensive. She has no idea if they were bored, tired or what was going on in their head. She was over the top with her criticism of the girls. Did they have holes in their flatwork? Sure, maybe thatās why they were there!
14 Likes
With some (all?) new cars, you donāt even have to use a key, just press a button! 
13 Likes
This is true. But there is a contingent that will rail against people driving cars who donāt even know how to change a flat tire, or check (let alone change) the oil. The same argument about āback when I learned to ___ā, just replace the horse stuff with car stuff. 
3 Likes
Believe it or not, many cars donāt come with a spare anymore. Not even a doughnut!
3 Likes
Yep, we own one (2016 Dart). It does come with a nifty air compressor, though. Cars these days are also so much more complicated than they used to be, repair-wise, needing specialized tools and computers (and knowledge). Itās not really a surprise that less people DIY.
Frankly, I am sometimes envious of people who can afford to just pay someone to do all the hard stuff. Most days I would love to pay a groom to get the horses ready so I can just hop on and do the riding part!
3 Likes
And it was a stick shift!
3 Likes
My other thought about the original article - you go on and on about what people should know -perhaps the next step would be for you to make sure that you offer an affordable program that provides that and publicize it as such.
I saw another event rider notice that eventing was getting expensive - her response was to offer free xc schooling as a one time thing to newer riders one year to generate some interest. More recently - she offered cheap jump schooling clinics during the week.
20 Likes
Finally got around to reading the two stories.
The first one just seemsā¦unfair. The young riders in the clinic didnāt actually do anything obnoxious. So what if they were struggling with leg yields or turn on the forehand or whatever. Thatās why they were there. I have an ex-feral Highland pony, gentled when he was 8-ish, who I am muddling through basic work with, but if anyone watched us, he would just look like a 13-year old Highland with sh1t leg yields. His owner must be a useless trainer. Kids these daysā¦(I just turned 40, unfortunately, but stillā¦)
And the comments on the riderās facial expressions, as if she is a mind-readerā¦Oy. Maybe someoneās āconcentrating faceā looks like an āI donāt give a sh1t face.ā Mine probably does. I donāt know. Neither does Lesley.
I think the rebuttal was more or less saying, donāt be a cā, as we would say in Glasgow, but nicely.
Lastly, with the article and this forum having an American focus, we canāt forget that the United States is big. Really big. You canāt watch one clinic or meet a couple people, and then proclaim how useless young people are, in a country of 350 million people. You donāt know that there arenāt people under the age of 30 or 40 or 50 becoming great horsemen and women. Maybe you havenāt met them. Maybe they are not at that clinic you audited. Maybe they are but you are so set in your own narrative that you donāt notice them. But it doesnāt mean they donāt exist.
In fact, I know they do! I follow a lot of horsemanship Facebook feeds, because Iām into that sort of thing, and there are many young trainers out there doing some amazing work, pushing those knowledge boundaries with equine psychology, physiology, and putting it all together.
On the more ātraditionalā end of things, with the Olympic disciplines, younger riders are at the top, winning or placing at some serious competitions. Charlotte Dujardin. Lottie Fry. Jessica Von Bredow-Werndl. Ros Canter. Laura Collett. I know none of those women are Americans, but thatās just due to my geography, and I know whoās at the top here (and in sports I sort of follow). I am sure people switched on to the American scene can name names as well.
But nostalgia aināt what it used to be.
17 Likes
Interesting discussion. Once way back around '79-'80 I rode in a clinic with Mike Plumb. He was strict? Harsh? Impatient? I dunno. We were very low level eventers, in fact the kids I rode with were hj kids, I donāt think they even evented. I remember he set up a grid that was amazing. He had set it for a one stride to a bounce and it could be changed by moving poles. there were about 5 jumping efforts. He was quite hard on the hj kids. Probably did nothing to encourage them to want to event. But I have thought about that many times over the years. They were good kids and they could ride, but he was very tough on all of us.
2 Likes
Iām way over ābeing toughā for toughnessā sake. Had those trainers as a kid. Manned up through it, but used to feel sick before lessons. I loved horses so much that I struggled on. Was it character building? Did it make me into a better rider? I doubt it. Shouty, grumpy trainers put me into āfreeze modeā and I ride a hell of a lot worse than I otherwise can.
āI had to deal with abuse so you should tooā is just not a great approach.
41 Likes
He is still tough. I wouldnāt ride with him in So Pines bc I found his methods too harsh, and I am not one to be treated that way. We enjoyed chatting with him and he was always lovely to us, but I knew I would snap back if he snapped at me or my horse. I donāt really care who you are, respect goes both ways.
20 Likes
Same, I have no patience any more for the hardass trainers. I learn so much more when I feel comfortable stopping a lesson to say āI actually have no idea what youāre talking about, can you explain it again like Iām five?ā without worrying Iām going to be crucified. I need to be able to admit when I donāt actually feel the change my trainer is pointing out, or that I know I got the result but have no idea how I did it, or whatever. Otherwise Iām not really learning and I may as well light my money on fire.
Thatās not to say I donāt want my trainers to push me or that Iāll fall to pieces if they tell me to get my s*** together when thatās what I need to hear, but there needs to be a level of trust established first. If Iām not getting something, yelling louder isnāt going to help and a skilled teacher should know when and how to adjust their approach. At the end of the day itās their job to teach me and I expect a good trainer to take at least partial responsibility for my learning. Plus thereās a fine line between pushing someone just out of their comfort zone and pushing someone to do things they arenāt ready for. I really canāt emphasize enough how important trust is to me in deciding who to train with these days.
22 Likes
