Child equestrian influencers

I don’t think it’s fair to call a young child ‘pretentious’ - she’s too young to have any say and she’s had her entire life monetised on social media so presumably in a weird way it’s all completely normal to her. The people who should be being called out are her parents and the many companies who are exploiting her and her young fans for commercial gain.
 
The very fact that we’re discussing literal children shows what the problem with this sh*t is. Parents profiting of their children online opens them up to constant opinions and speculation - all of which can be seen by them, peers, and any future employers.

I actually think HLW is one of the “better” ones that are sadly out there, but it shouldn’t exist at all. She’s a kid. Let her be a kid with all the safety of privacy she deserves.

By all means discuss the parents. They’re adults who can consent to putting themselves out there for scrutiny. But we shouldn’t be discussing children.
 
SaddlePsych'D said:
I'm heavily against children being plastered all over SM anyway but the one that gets me really cross is Frankies Ponies, with the mother posting all her child's medical information and even pictures of her unwell in the back of an ambulance. It's gross.
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This! Anyone who thinks Harlow is bad should watch Frankie’s ponies, it’s absolutely terrifying.
 
SaddlePsych'D said:
I'm heavily against children being plastered all over SM anyway but the one that gets me really cross is Frankies Ponies, with the mother posting all her child's medical information and even pictures of her unwell in the back of an ambulance. It's gross.
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I agree, just plain awful!!
One day she’s posting about her being in hospital with awful seizures, then the next day competing?
 
Look up Raleigh Link on YouTube - absolutely incensed by Harlow’s mum. I don’t always entirely agree with RL, but I do like how she just says it as she sees it and is more than happy to stare down critics.
 
SaddlePsych'D said:
Possibly interesting development here, Everyday Eventers has posted about it on Instagram. Apparently Champion gave changed their policy regarding sponsorship/working with influencers under 18. I have contacted Champion to ask if this is accurate but if so I think this is a big positive step forward.
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EE is now getting grief from Frankie's ponies followers as she included them in the screen shot. She actually told her follower to report Everyday Eventers for bullying, the irony is lost on her I feel. EE was not bullying at all, just pointing out that it was a good step forward, Frankies Ponies comes across as throwing a tantrum because she will get less free stuff and someone doesnt agree with them.
Personally I agree with everything EE has said. the young kids dont fully understand what they are consenting to and have no concept on how much of a pit the web can be. Having a go at EE for posting pics without her consent is exactly what she herself is doing and lets face it, you put it out in public, you lose control of it.
I applaud Finest Brands and it is definitely a step forward.
 
If companies supported charities instead of giving people expensive gifts, they would be much more respected. It's very rarely they do.

I can't stand the thanks for the gift I am going to.open it and everyone can be jealous/want the same sort of thing.

Whereas a charity struggling to make ends meet might be able to use the publicity/product to help them with their work.
 
Parents who exploit their children as a way of getting free stuff and attention really are pathetic. The trouble with social media is that it gives a platform to certain types of people who crave the ‘fame’.
I don’t follow Frankie but I’ve heard enough about the mother to recognise the type of person she is. Filming her child when she is unwell and broadcasting it online is disgusting and why any sane mother would do that, I don’t know. She ought to be ashamed of herself.
 
Frankie’s Ponies account is an issue on so many levels. The mother sharing content of every detail about her illness including photos of the daughter in hospital and in an ambulance (she even revealed her daughter had a UTI); sharing intimate details about her (the mum’s) private life on what is supposed to be her daughter’s account about her pony adventures. she does these stories in tears about how they had to flee from the daughter’s father because of extreme domestic violence, how she was made redundant and they now don’t have any money - if she wants to share these private details why not create her own account. It is monetising her child.
 
Georgiagordon said:
Frankie’s Ponies account is an issue on so many levels. The mother sharing content of every detail about her illness including photos of the daughter in hospital and in an ambulance (she even revealed her daughter had a UTI); sharing intimate details about her (the mum’s) private life on what is supposed to be her daughter’s account about her pony adventures. she does these stories in tears about how they had to flee from the daughter’s father because of extreme domestic violence, how she was made redundant and they now don’t have any money - if she wants to share these private details why not create her own account. It is monetising her child.
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Also she films the daughter opening gifts from sponsors and makes her try on clothes and hats. The daughter looks quite self conscious having to do this.
 
stangs said:
(Excuse the not particularly coherent post)

YT still has plenty of examples of parents capitalising off their children, but I think it’s safe to say that there’s more awareness of the damages that being a child influencer can do these days + the exploitation these children face, and more criticism of the genre as a whole.

However, I've been thinking this evening: there’s been a definite increase in child influencers in the equestrian sphere, but I’ve never seen any criticism of it.

Of course, most of the child equestrian ‘influencers’ aren’t making millions of pounds from their ‘work’ (don’t feel comfortable naming any names, but there’s quite a few under 10 show jumpers on Instagram across the globe, and then there’s always the two UK sisters with their plethora of ponies that I’m sure everyone knows), but the bigger accounts will be getting sponsorships, and the various opportunities that ‘influencing’ provides. So there is the space of financial incentive.

I’m sure the parents are doing it out of pride of what their (typically) daughters are achieving, with no bad intentions, but if my parent when I was younger posted videos of 90% of the rides I rode, or spoke about how I’ve been struggling with my confidence, I wouldn’t be very comfortable with it as I grew older. You know what they say about nothing on the internet being deletable.

In particular, the reason I’m posting this is that a certain YT channel (from the New Forest) keeps getting recommended to me. It’s described as a ‘family equestrian channel’ but mostly posts videos of their young daughter. The production is quite professional, very good camera quality and child is miked up too - so not cheap production, which makes you think that they’re not just in it to show how much their daughter loves horses. Watching a video made me quite uncomfortable, but, then again, I’m not the target market.

I don’t know. I can’t say I don’t enjoy living vicariously through the pictures of little girls and their ponies, but, at the same time, most of them are far too young to understand the real implications of social media - if they even know that their parents post these pictures/videos of them.

Thoughts?
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Crikey - have you read last week’s Horse &Hound?! These moppets are the future.....
 
I dont follow any horse related bloggers etc as have no interest in horses now

I do however follow a themepark channel (I hate theme parks and rides but like watching people on them to see how awful they are!)

The couple I follow had a baby 6 days ago. She had a c section.

Today they are at a theme park, with the baby! Now i know babies dont need to be wrapped up in cotton wool, but theme parks are hardly the most hygienic places for such a new baby, and while a gentle stroll can help recovery, walking round a theme park 6 days post c section cant be good. I think they've already realised the baby will bring views, he's appeared in several of their posts already. Anyone who suggests it may not be beneficial for her or baby is vetoed by other followers, in a similar manner to the way SV followers defend anything she does. I think theyre deleting negative comments too
 
Crazy_cat_lady said:
I dont follow any horse related bloggers etc as have no interest in horses now

I do however follow a themepark channel (I hate theme parks and rides but like watching people on them to see how awful they are!)

The couple I follow had a baby 6 days ago. She had a c section.

Today they are at a theme park, with the baby! Now i know babies dont need to be wrapped up in cotton wool, but theme parks are hardly the most hygienic places for such a new baby, and while a gentle stroll can help recovery, walking round a theme park 6 days post c section cant be good. I think they've already realised the baby will bring views, he's appeared in several of their posts already. Anyone who suggests it may not be beneficial for her or baby is vetoed by other followers, in a similar manner to the way SV followers defend anything she does. I think theyre deleting negative comments too
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It’s not the baby I’m worried about but the person who had major abdominal surgery less than a week ago. Babies are perfectly fine in public spaces.
 
The swearing on posts by adults and some children is quite frankly unprofessional and unnecessay. There are some big sm influencers whose posts all have swearing in them. It's a big turn off for me and these people again are sponsored by big brands.
 
This may sound a bit petty but I find it odd/strange/unconfortable? that some kids have multiple sets of matchy match for them in terms of show jackets and sparkly hats. How much is being spent o their show clothes! Probably not helped by me not liking 'untraditional' colours of show jacket etc. Who on earth had a pink jacket for show jumping!!!!! No problem with having appropriately matched jacket and hat (hope no one notices my brown girth with black saddle.....)
 
The latest is a tiny 3-year-old -making content with all the usual brands/influencers with large followings and receiving parcels full of free, gifted stuff several times a week. I started following because I thought it was a more “natural” and non grifting account, just documenting a small girl and her cute share pony. She started riding at 2 and now, at just 3, is getting her own pony and every video is designed to create more interest. It just seems so calculated and prescriptive, and a three-year-old has no idea of the implications - looks very much like they’re trying to copy Harlow’s journey but starting at the toddler stage. I think I’m going to unfollow as I don’t want to support child exploitation.
 
Lady Jane said:
This may sound a bit petty but I find it odd/strange/unconfortable? that some kids have multiple sets of matchy match for them in terms of show jackets and sparkly hats. How much is being spent o their show clothes! Probably not helped by me not liking 'untraditional' colours of show jacket etc. Who on earth had a pink jacket for show jumping!!!!! No problem with having appropriately matched jacket and hat (hope no one notices my brown girth with black saddle.....)
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Virtually all my children's riding clothes were hand-me-downs, some of them had been knocking around for years. They never asked for anything trendy but if they had they'd have been disappointed! Like you, I like traditional gear so even if I had money to burn, none of that trendy tat would have gone near our pony!

Having a pony at all was a massive privilege and I think they realised that at a fairly young age and fortunately for my bank balance it turned out they weren't horse mad, they just like animals rather than horses on particular.

Here's the daughter, vintage bridle, my old hacking jacket (which was god knows how many hand when I got it), my hat, a lovely old pair of Caldene jods that someone had in a cupboard for years unused, hand-me-down boots and her school shirt.

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Look at Frankie’s ponies, she has a different outfit with matching saddle cloth for every event. Aside from that? I’m more concerned that the mother says she has severe health issues, seizures, epilepsy and she (the mother) that she has been in hospital with seizures and the next day the child is out riding a 90cm event course. Either in her own pony that is very green, or another experienced pony she has only ridden a few times. Both occasions resulted in a bad fall for the child. How is this actually allowed to happen?
 
It’s also the over the top consumerism. I’m all for treating yourself now and again, but why does a 12-year-old child need five-six ponies? And ALL the new Lemieux sets every season? Luckily my daughter isn’t impressed. She’s about being with the horses, not the clothes (having said that she does like Lemieux and sometimes wishes for a set - like at Christmas. She only gets a new set when she’s outgrown the last one).
 
marmalade76 said:
Virtually all my children's riding clothes were hand-me-downs, some of them had been knocking around for years. They never asked for anything trendy but if they had they'd have been disappointed! Like you, I like traditional gear so even if I had money to burn, none of that trendy tat would have gone near our pony!

Having a pony at all was a massive privilege and I think they realised that at a fairly young age and fortunately for my bank balance it turned out they weren't horse mad, they just like animals rather than horses on particular.

Here's the daughter, vintage bridle, my old hacking jacket (which was god knows how many hand when I got it), my hat, a lovely old pair of Caldene jods that someone had in a cupboard for years unused, hand-me-down boots and her school shirt.

View attachment 161440
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Lovely pony and she is well turned out in my opinion
 
Georgiagordon said:
Frankie’s Ponies account is an issue on so many levels. The mother sharing content of every detail about her illness including photos of the daughter in hospital and in an ambulance (she even revealed her daughter had a UTI); sharing intimate details about her (the mum’s) private life on what is supposed to be her daughter’s account about her pony adventures. she does these stories in tears about how they had to flee from the daughter’s father because of extreme domestic violence, how she was made redundant and they now don’t have any money - if she wants to share these private details why not create her own account. It is monetising her child.
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My current major gripe is that the mum talks constantly about how tight money is. And yet the kid now has 4 horses to ride, and is out competing constantly. Something isn’t quite adding up there.
 
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