Last I was
I have been unsure on whether or not to blog about this. My intention is not to start an internet lynch mob directed at this lady. Mostly because there already is one. She is an influential Beverly Hills producer, and thus has the money to just keep buying super nice horses and move up through the levels. She is "skipping to the end" so to speak, as the horse she was showing is a CCI5* GP competitor from Germany. So, I'm am sure he probably cost a little more than Hampton.
However, somewhere along the way she neglected to learn the basics of dressage for herself.
I am not defending this lady. Yes her riding was bad, but that's one thing (my riding is bad at times, too). But her outright disregard for her horse was appalling. And even more so, there is a trainer who sent her in like this. And there are judges who let her continue. And a TD her let her continue.
She did get eliminated (I believe for taking her hand off the reins multiple times), but that was after her ride. It was too late to spare the horse.
And THEN the ride was DELETED from the FB page that had the live stream. SHADY.
It made me so sad that no one - not the rider, trainer, judges, TD - NO ONE - stood up for this horse. She was frustrated and took it out on him - multiple times - and it was beyond inappropriate.
I have enormous empathy for people who have bad rides. We have ALL been there. But this was a different animal. I honestly have never seen the likes of it.
But also ... and perhaps it's because my emotions are a little fragile these days - I felt hesitant to blast her on the internet. Does she deserve an internet lynch mob? Does she deserve all these comments you see? (And that's just what I've found on FB). I don't know this lady. Is she truly that abusive? What else is going on in her life that she lost so much composure? Did her trainer tell her it was ok?
I don't know her situation. I know she is being judged harshly by the public on her rides at that show. One of which in my opinion included moments of outright abuse.
But then again ... have I one-handed whipped a horse? Yup. Have I bumped one a little too hard with my spurs? Yup. Have I had moments I instantly regretted? Yup. Not at a show, or in pubic mind you. But yeah, I've lost my temper with a horse. I'm not proud of it. But I'll admit to it.
So what do you think? Does she deserve such public shaming? Was it abuse? What can we do as a sport to prevent this in the future?
More on this topic at the COTH forum. And Writing Riding blog.
The riding was bad, blah blah maybe abuse, but the thing that struck me the most was just the overall picture of show ring unpreparedness. She clearly wasn't comfortable with the reins of the double or using the whip, whatever the fuck she was doing during the first walk where she was adjusting her stirrup and shad (??), and in the first test where she basically blew through the halt to reach down and adjust her stirrup again. Just pure "I've never ridden a dressage test in my life and have no concept of the professionalism expected of me while I'm in the ring." Which I understand she HAS ridden lots of tests before sooo...?
ReplyDeleteI think she deserves the criticism, but I think the trainer is equally or more-so guilty for letting this hot mess go out in public.
I've been following this story all weekend and like you, I don't really know how to feel about it. I don't think the whole equine internet lambasting her is going to solve anything (for her or her horse), but I do think she needs a serious reality check and it's possible that this public skewering will provide that(since clearly no one close to her is). What I am most confused by was her score before they after-the-fact eliminated her. A 52%!?!?! What about that ride deserved that score? (not that it's a great score, but a lot of people are happy with scores in the 60s and those rides look *nothing* like this)
ReplyDeleteI think there are so many things that failed that horse, and yes she needs help, but we do not know her whole story. I am not trying to defend her at all, I just find the article that has been circulating about her is a huge witch hunt and needs a fact checker, stat. (Judges with no competition experience? Fuck off, they competed before the internet and FEI didn't upload every last detail of history). Did she buy her way up? Yes I think so. As successful as that horse is, his trot must be so incredibly difficult to sit, and I would also look like a sack of potatoes. Did she have a mental breakdown riding I2 for the first time, and choosing to do it at a huge show? Maybe? I know another rider who's brain fell out of her skull at her first GP. The test was hard to watch because she was just struggling so badly, but then again, she completely froze and wasn't spurring and one handed hitting the horse.
ReplyDeleteI think there's more to the story. Should the rider use this as a wake up call to take a good hard look at her training? Yes. The test she was eliminated in was an abusive ride (so much one handed whipping, what goes on at home if she's willing to do that in public on a recorded broadcast?), the test she scored a 51 was just simply extremely unfair to the horse (riding like a sack of potatoes with bad timing). I wonder if the other low scores on her record are similar rides? There's only a mob because this ride was essentially televised.
A side note, I suspect some kind of qualification system will be implemented (or at least talked about by more than COTH forum goers), in order to move up the levels- like how eventing has qualifying scores starting at training level in order to progress up the levels without killing yourself.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of the internet lynch mob- I don't know that it serves any useful purpose (like mobs everywhere). I did watch the video of one of her rides and cringed multiple times. It was abuse and I think we need to stand up for the horse. So I am comfortable saying that this type of riding is not acceptable but I refuse to pile on in the abusive way people are doing.
ReplyDeleteI was scribing at a local show last year and there was a rider who rode much like this one but didn't spur or whip like that. The judge was HARSH on her. Very very harsh.
I've been following this, and I am so angry for the horse. How could the trainer let this happen? How can the rider not see what she is doing and understand this is wrong? Why don't the TD and the judges have some way to stop this sort of riding out before it ever gets into the arena? Because let's be real, this isn't the first time she's shown this horse... Centerline Scores has SIX other scores for her at I-2. That's SIX TDs and judges that have let this fly. Not to mention countless other rides on countless other horses.
ReplyDeleteDo I think she deserves public shaming? No, I don't... BUT I also don't think she should have ever been allowed in that arena in the first place. When the system fails, it's time to change the system, and that usually comes about due to public outcry. So here's the public outcry... now let's fix the system so that this doesn't happen to any other horses.
In Germany and Austria, they have a licensing system for showing. You cannot move up to the next level until you have completed a certain number of scores at your current level - and it's harder than getting medal scores is here. Perhaps that's an option, or perhaps we need more stringent rules around abuse.
All I know is that she can send that horse home with me, because I will surely take a 5* GP horse in a heartbeat.
I saw mentions of this all over the place, from Tumblr to IG onward and while I did not see the ride (didn't go out to the festival this week), I am also hesitant like you to go blasting this person. People failed her along the way and those people need to answer for this.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if any of y'all dressage folk were gonna talk about this lol. The rides were definitely atrocious, and I kinda felt a little bad for her until I saw both of the videos from different days. Clearly her attitude and behavior did not improve from Thursday to Friday so it wasn't an isolated incident of poor judgement... if anything her behavior got worse. Kinda the same situation as what happened recently with the hunter rider who fell off in the ring and then kicked her horse in the belly, right there on video for the world to see. She got lynched too.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about internet lynch mob and that we need to be more civilized that that. There are ways to be constructive in our criticism and advice, even, and most especially when, someone is obviously in the wrong.
ReplyDeleteAll I have to say on the subject is that that horse is a saint and worth is weight in gold. Poor thing.
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ReplyDeleteI think it's difficult, riding like this should be discouraged, but we don't want to bully the rider. If you look at her record up the levels it's not far off from her recent rides. I think putting ALL the blame on her trainer or the judges is wrong. If she has a normally functioning brain she should be able to understand that her riding is at the level of her horse. I ride like crap, and sometimes give my horse confusing directions or lack of directions, but I don't punish my horse for not understanding my muddled legs and hands.
I think what people are responding to is the egregiousness of the ride, and how one-sided it was. Any horse or rider can have a bad moment or a bad day. But, this appeared to be a rider who was unqualified and very unfair to the horse. And punished him undeservedly. If it was just a moment, it may have been excused. But it was a full test, on two consecutive days. With six previous outings at this level.
ReplyDeleteYes, social media can be extremely harsh. But sometimes, wake up calls ARE harsh. I'm sure everyone involved (rider, trainer, judges, ring stewards) are examining their part in this, and hopefully some good will come from it.
As a total aside, I really liked the commentator's review of the rides. It was very honest, but classy, and must have been a delicate balance to strike while in the moment.
I watched her rides. This is a common occurrence for her. Would I label her a horse abuser? Not necessarily, though I am not a fan of her aide overuse. Would I label her a shit rider? Yes. She has about as much tact as a 5 year old. I'm not saying I would to any better, but her position is absurd, even at the canter (which looks so smooth!), her hands are all over the place, her legs are flopping everywhere. She looks like she has absolutely no idea what she is doing. This is 100% a bought ride and a failure of a Trainer to tell this woman she has no clue what she is doing. It's even sad that she has been riding for years based on show records. I'm willing to bet she is the type that just shows up, takes her groomed & tacked horse, rides it, then tosses it to someone. Maybe a lesson here or there, but certainly no consistent training. It was so hard to watch. I would be utterly embarrassed if I was her.
ReplyDeleteAlso those judges were way too nice. She needed to be eliminated for all of her rides. I've had schooling judges be meaner to me.
The whole online piling on phenomenon is nauseating. Way more nauseating than that unfortunate ride...
ReplyDeleteDoes the hoopla actually help the situation - an extremely tolerant upper-level horse who has the bad fortune to be very under-mounted? (bless his heart)
Best case scenario the rider (and her trainer) ponder the reaction to her ride and do some serious reflection about why she's choosing to show at a level she is not prepared for - skills-wise or emotionally.
Hopefully she is already embarrassed and regretful of taking her frustration out on that saint of a horse. I don't think it's up to anyone else to shame her...
This is a tough situation because I believe that if something you see is wrong, if you don't speak up, you're part of the problem. So I think in that vein, it's important for people to say something... but on the other hand, I think we also owe it to this rider and horse to admit we DON'T know the whole story... and one video on the internet should not necessarily determine a person's entire character.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I posted a blog yesterday on my thoughts, but to sum it up I really think in *this* particular case, this isn't a case of Internet Bullying, but much rather the advocacy of horse welfare; simple as that! I feel as though Shelley is a victim of a greedy trainer and suffers from a sense of entitlement many of us in the horse world seem to acquire at some point. I hope she can look back on this and see it for what it really is.
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