Ellen Whitaker

Ok, I get your point. Personally I would've nudged on with my heels (I don't wear spurs
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) but I suppose she knows her horse FTR I think calling her 'evil' is also something of an overstatement, but unless I'm mistaken (and I don't think I am on this occasion
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) she does have something of a record for brattish behaviour, does she not? She IS, like it or not, a role model for young riders and if she's seen to do something, it will be imitated. 8 swats/a jab with the spurs... not behaviour that should necessarily be imitated, not least because I'm not sure young children are able to apply such discipline in the correct context.
Anyhoo, that's just what I think
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I thought Guy Was fantastic, when he fall off he was more concerned in re assuring the horse

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I think it's very interesting that a huge majority of top riders really do treat their horses as the 'professional's they are. Giving them the respect they deserve for the job they do.
 
I am not a big watcher of the sport but Guy really made me smile. I would like to think all the horses are treated with such respect and care....
 
I am not going to get into this argument, however having watched the round I feel that the klaxon should have sounded a long time before it did.
It appeared to me that the judges gave her a lot of leeway on the top of that bank.
If she had been eliminated sooner I suspect a lot of this would have been avoided.
 
Thought I may as well add my opinion to this thread as have been discussing it since going to watch the Derby on the Sunday with those that were there with me at the time.

I watched the round again on BBC iPlayer when I got home and therefore have the benefit of eye witness and secondary source info (sound like I'm writing a history report again lol!)

Just looking at her behaviour on the bank, she was pulling the horse around from side to side constantly whilst stood at the top and it seems like no one has noticed the big smack she gave the horse with her hand off the rein right on the edge - she's very lucky IMO that it didn't leap off the top just from that as she had to grab hold of her reins and hold it back once she had smacked it!

She didn't give it a chance to look down the bank - a lot of riders stopped at the top, let their horses have a bit of a look then asked quietly for the horse to go down the bank and most were successful with this tactic, Ellen almost seemed to expect Ladina to go straight down and I think the shock in the horse was evident with the way it came straight back up the first time.

The way she was using the whip whilst holding onto the reins actually looks very severe and sharp, pulling the horse in the mouth as she does it and then there was an obvious clout with her hand off the rein that I mention before.

As for the dig in the ribs that occurs once at the top of the bank and secondly as she turns for the exit these were completely unnecessary. A lot of people who have written on here don't seem to understand that most people who have said the jabs were unnecessary are taking into account the other riders' reactions to things going wrong - I think just about everyone who was eliminated or retired patted their horses, namely Guy Williams' behaviour after falling off and Geoff Billington when he decided to pull up after finding it wasn't going his way. No one else set about with a dirty look on their face and jabbing their horse in the sides, pulling it about from side to side just like Ellen did.

Another note about that first jab she gives when coming off the bank, she was nowhere near the side of the bank she came down to get off when she did this jab so it was purely out of malice for not going down the original route and not to encourage it to come down that side as a lot of people seem to think. There was most definately no reason for the second jab in the ribs except for a reminder that she wasn't pleased with what had happened and it only served to wind the horse up more.

It annoys me on here when people criticise others for having an opinion. No, most of us probably wouldn't be able to achieve some of the things Ellen has; no we probably wouldn't be able to jump round the Derby and yes some of us have probably reacted in the same way now and again when things haven't gone right for us with our horses, however the criticism is for her actions in the situation she was in (public forum, lots of kids around, television coverage etc etc) and the fact that no one else riding reacted in the same way when things didn't go right for them. It is not purely a dig at Ellen Whitaker although she has been known for her temper tantrums in the past.

I'd have loved to be a fly on the wall as she walked it back out the arena and to the box to see what she did out of sight of the crowds and cameras due to the look on her face and the way she reacted in the arena but of course this is pure speculation before I get jumped on for voicing this thought.

Ladina B does not look an easy horse to ride and I can understand that one would be very upset for being eliminated in a competition that costs over £400 just to enter, however it does not excuse the behaviour of someone who is supposed to be one of our main ambassadors for the sport.

End of rant and opinion, no doubt someone will have something to say about it lol!

Having just previewed it, kudos to anyone who manages to read the whole lot!!!
 
JJ1987 I'll accept your kudos because I got to the end but wine or choccies are much more exciting :-)

I agree with your post wholeheartedly. I only watched it last night (I sky+'d it) and after reading this thread was keen to see what she did. Initially, after reading this thread, I thought I would see something appauling (what you imagine is sometimes much worse) but whilst it wasn't that bad, it still wasn't a nice thing to watch.

I can't remember who said it but I'll agree with them when they said it was bratish behaviour. I've seen jag her horse in the mouth when it refused in the past and was shocked at that at the time because I haven't seen much of that sort of behaviour going on with the other "professional" riders (although I will add I don't watch an excessive amount so please correct me if I'm wrong).

Like it or not, when you are in the spotlight, for whatever reason, your actions are scrutinised by others and you have to be aware of them. If someone at my local BSJA did that I probably wouldn't post it on an internet forum because HHO members wouldn't know the person I was talking about!
 
Bossandbelle it's at 2 hours 7 mins she comes in. On the whole, the rest of the round was fine and I agree Ladina B is not an easy ride, having seen her being competed at other shows, namely one of the first big show puissances I think Ellen did with her at the British Open in 2008 where she was bucking and skipping everywhere.

However, no amount of a difficult horse deserves punishing for something that they're obviously unsure about - I don't think Ladina B can be labelled a wimp for the heights she jumps in puissance!

I believe it was genuine shock on the mare's part at being asked to go straight down the bank rather than being allowed a look first - it was obvious just watching her on the day even from where I was sitting that she was genuinely like 'Omg you seriously want me to go down that!'. For a horse that was doing it's first derby I think Ellen could have approached the edge of the bank a little more sympathetically. Some say she has no doubt practised it at home and whilst I have no qualms this is probably true, it's a totally different ball game when you're in a new place and with the atmosphere that always surrounds derby day!
 
As a funny aside, if you watch Geoff Billington's round, right at the start as he comes in and Mike Tucker shushs with his commentary, you can hear me shout 'Go on Geoff' really loudly!! With all those with access to BBC iPlayer it is around 2 hours, 4 minutes and 20 seconds
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(Sad but in my opinion, still cool hehe!)
 
OK, have now watched it, and I'm my (very unprofessional) view, horse looks really uncomfortable in the mouth, and her 'head' wasn't in the SJ mood, and i think that's something they need to address before asking the mare to do any more.

I do think Ellen lost her temper a bit BUT, no more than i do when my horse naps, yes i have given him a good few wallops and kicks when he refuses to go forward, but I HAVE to win, or when we come to the same spot the next day, he'll do the same.

I don't see the 'brutality' that come across in this thread.
 
Bossandbelle, i agree that she wasn't 'brutal', the problem is that she is now a role model for thousands of kids, and if they see her looking petulant and punishing the horse (even a little bit, which i agree it was) with her spurs, they will think that's acceptable. it was unfair on the horse and unprofessional - and she is a professional now. also, she isn't a kid any more!
what you do with your horse is different in that respect, you aren't on national t.v. with loads of kids going "ooooh, Ellen did such-and-such to her horse, so i can do it to my pony".
she wasn't brutal, and i do think some people on this thread are carrying on as if she'd beaten the horse around the head or something (which, i stress, she didn't!), but spurs are never supposed to be used as punishment. i can understand her giving the mare a wallop and growling at her maybe, she was obv frustrated, and she wants the mare to go down the bank next year!
 
I have to say, I saw her get cross with one of her horse at Olympia a few years ago. It stopped, IMHO I think she turned it too tight. She then hit it a number of times in front of everyone. There were loads of small children there it was so unprofessional, the commentators tried to laugh it off but you could tell they were unimpressed. I wasnt really surprised to see her lose her temper just disappointed that she hasnt learn to control it in the last 3 years. I hate to think what she does at home.
M xx
 
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