Yes they are implying he’s a late payer or has been.
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I was intrigued by this too, Boyd’s insurance must be sky high to have so much going on on the property. I don’t think having an insured trainer would make any difference in the event of a claim? A friend who had a life changing accident schooling xc claimed through her own insurance who then went after the venues PL as a loose horse from another rider group had caused the accident.
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This reminds me, there was a large hay place near Boyd’s (since closed) that used to have a board where it listed banned customers and I think also posted bounced checks.
While I did read his post mostly calling out CC, it also served a reminder to locals to pay your fees. An effective one or we’ll lose access. It bothered me less than others.
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I’m not sure why this matters. I don’t care if you’re a 1 time, 0 time, or 10 time Olympian. It’s no more or less ridiculous to me. Anyone having to chase anyone down for payment for anything, especially when the payment policy is clearly outlined is ridiculous. Period.
I have the same respect for a small town farmer that opens his field to me for a gallop as a I do an Olympian that owns a facility such as Windurra, but maybe I’m just not the starstruck type. I respect everyone’s time.
Sure Boyd has better things to do, but so does everyone else.
Being an Olympian is certainly respectable, don’t get me wrong.
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This is where I fall. It’s why I got chippy at the beginning of this thread, when everyone was focused on the tone of Boyd’s texts, and how they thought he was a bully and rude. I mean… what do you expect? A friendly text when someone came to school and left without paying?
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Well yes actually I would
I own my own business. Do I spend far more of my time chasing down payments from customers? Absolutely. BUT… A) If I went off like a crazy person at someone, the chance of them getting a tude and not paying at all is far greater and the chance that they will take their business elsewhere is even more so B) If I’ve been letting someone pay a certain way for a long period of time (aka CC was paying for all her rounds via Venmo in the evenings post ride), suddenly trying to change that makes no sense C) Your public image is important in business. For all of the people agreeing with him, there is just as many getting the ick factor now who may take their business elsewhere. And I don’t think anyone can afford to throw away business in this economy over having a come apart on FB.
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I think it’s WAY over the top to describe Boyd as “going off like a crazy person.”
And, I think it’s unlikely people will avoid Windurra because of this one episode. In fact, I doubt even Courtney will avoid it. The fact of the matter is that it is an EXCELLENT cross country schooling venue with EXCELLENT footing. It’s convenient for many people. And it’s very reasonably priced. People who are riding and coaching for upper level eventing prioritize all that over and above how collegial someone is when texting or posting on social media.
We don’t know if what Courtney posted was the whole truth, or if significant context and history was missing. She is a smart person, and can be very calculated with her communications. He sure seemed frustrated in the private text exchange that she posted. It was clear that he scrutinized her presence on the property that day closely, made an head count of horses on her trailer, and followed up closely to ensure she paid in full. That indicates there have been payment issues in the past, and that this conflict wasn’t out of the blue craziness on Boyd’s part.
I don’t think people go schooling at Windurra because of Boyd’s public image. They go schooling at Windurra because of the quality of the facility, the convenience of the location, and the price. There are many people who have been schooling there for years, spending thousands of dollars to do so, and who have known Boyd for years. I doubt this particular episode is going to be the thing that causes them to change their habits and go schooling elsewhere.
His internet fans? Maybe he will lose some over this. But in general, people have short attention spans. I bet it will all be forgotten shortly by the internet people.
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I typically agree with many of your points, but the thing is, if you’ve got a corner of the market (I don’t know that there’s a Windurra equivalent close by) then people likely won’t go elsewhere.
The horse industry is also extremely reliant at times. We rely on vets, farrier’s, trainers, landowners, barn owners, various staff, body workers, saddle fitters, etc. All to be able to ride or reach some goal. Some “pros” can act like jackasses (not saying anyone in specific here) but they can do that because they’re offering something that people need or believe that they need. So they’ll continue to pay for the thing/service.
I do think that if you let someone get away with something for so long, you’re doing both them and yourself a disservice. It’s become a sort of standard practice and if you haven’t enforced your rules previously, the other party probably doesn’t take them so seriously. That’s the thing with rules, you have to enforce them. I know people should just go by the rules, and no one should have to enforce, but that’s just not reality. I’m not saying that’s right, I’m just saying that’s what happens.
You might be surprised (or not) by what people can get away with, especially in this industry. To some, an Olympian can do no wrong. To some, Windurra is their only local option that has such offerings (it’s been awhile since I’ve visited that part of eventing land though). To some, they abide by the rules so this whole FB thing is hardly even a blip on their radar.
While I don’t condone Boyd acting in the way that he did and I do think it was a little over the top, I really don’t think that he will experience much loss from it, but I dunno. I don’t have “boots on the ground” there.
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American’s are extremely uncomfortable with anger. If you didn’t pay at a facility where I’m from that would be considered a measured response, although it would blow over as long as you behaved going forward. Where my SO is from the landower would make a special trip into the village to tell people what you did and it would likely require a gift, some groveling and listening to a lecture to be allowed back. In France you might have to move.
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You’re right, I doubt he will too.
I’m not an eventer either (although I’ve been to Boyd’s facility several times)
but I don’t understand hero worship. I know people will put up with anything because XYZ is an Olympian or whatever.
I have customers tell me they are “high end clients” way too often - it’s so gross.
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I sure agree with this, as an American. When some of Boyd’s posts were described as crazy or going scorched earth I was expecting far, far worse things than I found when I read what was linked. A little over the top, yes, but I was expecting much stronger language or name calling or cursing or something – but it was not that at all.
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Well, yes?
I run a riding school and like many business owners here spend too much time chasing people down at the beginning of the month or reminding them to update the credit card info when payments don’t go through, etc. However, I always send a friendly text/email to remind people to pay - even to repeat offenders. As in “Little Susie is doing so great in lessons. Did she tell you how she cantered on the correct lead for the first time last Friday?! She was so excited. Just a quick note: I noticed her August tuition payment was declined. Do you need me to send you a link to update your payment info? Thank you!”
If it happens multiple times, they end up not paying at all, or they get snippy and I don’t want to keep dealing with it, then there is “unfortunately no room for little Susie in the next session. So sad, her lesson slot filled up right away and I couldn’t hold the spot without proper payment, sorry” (and I am the only riding school with schoolhorses in a 60 miles radius - so I do have a corner of the market).
No point burning bridges + manners matter.
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A professional tone and controlled emotions.
That is really all. It’s not rocket surgery for the love of dog.
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Jaysus, well said. This is it in a nutshell.
And someone ‘up to [their] eyeballs in debt’ needs to worry about everything you so nicely and concisely outline.
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I think you both have excellent points. As someone who hates to be spoken to in an angry / unprofessional way, Boyd’s post was a huge turn off and if I was in the area I would think long and hard before I did any type of business with him. For me all that post showed was that he couldn’t control his temper with a long-term client who ended up paying within 24 hours of the ride. My thought process immediately goes to if he treats her that way when she is spending large amounts of money with him how would he treat little old me if there was a problem with my payment. As I have said many times on this thread, I have no issue with him addressing the issue. Not following the rules shows a total lack of respect for the time and money that goes into running a business. But how you address it does matter, especially on social media.
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Yep. And you don’t see secretaries and event organizers going ballistic on social media when this happens - they approach it in a calm, professional manner OFFLINE.
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That’s really interesting perspective and insight. I think the issues vary too within America, depending on what region of the country someone is in. Especially when it comes to discomfort with the expression of anger. There’s a saying about Southerners in America - “They will tell you to go to hell in such a nice way, you will look forward to the trip.”
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I thought so too. I thought that Americans were uncomfortable with anger to be an interesting observation. In general we seem pretty quick to the ranting and raving and protesting and not just in recent memory.
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wow, I dont allow schooling at my facility without a trainer who has the correct insurance for my property, ie I need specific amount of insruance as well as the correct names of added insured on the certificate before they school. You are saying that is not the case for Windurra? Anyone can just come and school without a trainer? I know that both of Boyd’s and my release forms are written by the same lawyer. I guess he is assuming that is enough to protect himself?
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FWIW, I’m in New England, and haven’t been eventing for a few years so maybe my experience is out of date- but I’ve never been required to have an insured trainer to school xc. A ground person, yes, but no requirements on who that person might be.
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