Emily King crowdfunding?

[Bernster]

I’m a part of arts family and I really enjoy it. It is a bit odd but that appeal struck a chord. I saw the EK one but wasn’t convinced, for an unproven youngster. Jonny’s was different I think as They were an established pairing. I wouldn’t want to see crowdfunding generally for this kind of thing but it wouldn’t surprise me that’s it’s already being used for random and pretty unworthy causes.

 

[Kat]

The whole thing is bordering on a scam really isn't it? Who valued the horse, is it really worth £40k as a virtually unproven youngster, would it fetch that on the open market? Or is it a case of that seems a figure that will get sympathy whilst being achievable as a crowd funding project.

Who owns the horse after all this, there is no syndicate, so no sharing of the winnings, no control of when or if the horse is sold on, no sharing of any funds made from selling it.

If the owners are seriously planning to sell Emily should make a sensible offer for the horse and if the owners think they can get more elsewhere then let them. There will be other promising young horses.

I wasn't a fan of the Jonty and Art situation but at least that was a proven horse who was genuinely valuable and there was the issue of keeping a top level horse with a top rider ahead if various top events. I could see why people donated. This is very different.

I actually think this type of thing is going to do the reputation of the sport no good at all and will also distort horse values and the sales market.

 

[glamourpuss]

The whole point of the Jonty & Art one was that here was a rider that had produced a horse all the way from novice to the Olympics. He had done all the graft & got the results.....& then the horse was going to be sold.
That was why it struck a chord with so many people.

Emily’s is very different. It’s a nice horse but still very much unproven, it feels like she wants to keep the ride....yet isn’t willing to take the risk with her own money/a true syndicate who will have to get a cut if the horse is sold.

I think the fact that she openly brags on social media about going skiing several times a year & recently had a luxury holiday at a 7* resort makes the whole thing even more of a cheek.

Here’s a thing....if the horse is really that talented & not to be missed, why doesn’t she sell another horse (perhaps one at a higher level?) to fund it?

 

[glamourpuss]

Horse & country magazine donating £5,000. I just can’t get my head around this.....

 

[Red-1]

I did not donate to the Jonty one, I was busy trying to fund my own at the time, plus there were no 'benefits' as such. IMO it was successful partly because it tapped into the little girl in a lot of people who had lost their first ponies because parents sold them.

I would not normally touch this one, especially with the drink driving thing. A friend lost a child to a drink driver and that I find hard to forgive, especially as she was so dismissive of it.

If I lived near enough though, and if the drink driving had not occurred, and I was local, then I may pay the £20 just to go have a look round the yard and watch the horse work, plus the opportunity to have a course walk. I see the course walk is just at his 'big events' so I wonder what she regards as a 'big event' as in would that be a CCI*? A CCI**? Or, is that reserved for Badminton or the Olympics?

I would not be interested in a lorry visit (plus I do think that could be rather cumbersome for her at competitions!).

I will also be interested in how she reacts when people do turn up to have their yard visit/lorry visit/course walk.

Promising a look at the stables is plain weird, I remember getting 4 wrist bands for access to the International Stables when I reached my pinnacle of CCI*, I can't see the officials handing out any more. Besides, although I did not use all of my wristbands, I would not have given them away for fear of a stranger doing something to one of the horses! I believe that promise to see him around the stables "at ALL his competitions" is plain false advertising as she cannot possibly make good on that one.

 

[Puff]

Who owns the horse after all this, there is no syndicate, so no sharing of the winnings, no control of when or if the horse is sold on, no sharing of any funds made from selling it.
.

Presumably Emily herself will be the owner, as people are donating to her. Nice work if you can get it

 

[Ambers Echo]

The whole point of the Jonty & Art one was that here was a rider that had produced a horse all the way from novice to the Olympics. He had done all the graft & got the results.....& then the horse was going to be sold.
That was why it struck a chord with so many people.

Emily’s is very different. It’s a nice horse but still very much unproven, it feels like she wants to keep the ride....yet isn’t willing to take the risk with her own money/a true syndicate who will have to get a cut if the horse is sold.....

Here’s a thing....if the horse is really that talented & not to be missed, why doesn’t she sell another horse (perhaps one at a higher level?) to fund it?

Exactly this: I did donate to Jonty and Art. It just felt like they were meant to be together - he had taken the horse all the way up from nowhere and it felt sad that having made Art the awesome horse that he was, he was going to lose him.

There was no 'what's in it for me' (course walks visits etc)- it was clear in the campaign that Jonty would 100% own Art afterwards and nothing else was promised. I may be proven wrong but I also feel confident that Art will have a home for life with Jonty no matter what. Plus Art was worth over 500K and Jonty was clearly ploughing everything he had himself to try and buy him but was never going to be able to. EK could almost certainly lay her hands on 40K one way or another if she really wanted to.

Jonty and Art's story struck a chord with me (and clearly with thousands of others). Whereas this smacks of a straightforward business transaction. That's fine. There is nothing stopping her trying to get people to pay for a horse for her. But I doubt very much it will work as people donate to things that move or inspire them - or where there is a clear pay off for the donor. This has little of that as far as I can see. Especially as she is is promising something she is unlikely to be able to deliver - I mean you cannot have 2000 people walking the course with her or being 'part of Team King' and turning up to watch him train!

I am surprised she has got as much as she has already - but that is from 430 people who presumably are already connected with her in some way - ie know her locally etc. I suspect that pool of people will run dry pretty soon and I cannot see this gaining wider traction.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

yuck, just awful-she comes across like an entitled brat. and the horse is being sold because she's relocating? tough, I am sure her family could afford it-sell some cars or something.

 

[ycbm]

The committee venue stables visits is a downright lie, isn't it?

No other competitor is going to accept total strangers having access to their horse for a twenty quid donation, are they?

The course walk also seems unachievable for the numbers involved.

I think someone should report her for fraud, maybe, it breaks the crowd funding rules, for sure.

 

[SOS]

‘Privilege not a right’ springs to mind.

She’s certainly not short of money and even if she was then do what every other person does and work or sell something. Makes a joke of the sport when working people are scraping everything together to fund eventing off their own back and the professionals are asking for donations.

However what sits most wrong with me is how she is promising the impossible. Even if 40 people donated £1000 it’s still an unachievable number to allow into competition stables, onto her yard presumably as they like and even course walking.

 

[SOS]

Oo perhaps it’s all some elaborate joke after all the horse is called ‘Takes the biscuit’

 

[glamourpuss]

The committee venue stables visits is a downright lie, isn't it?

No other competitor is going to accept total strangers having access to their horse for a twenty quid donation, are they?

The course walk also seems unachievable for the numbers involved.

I think someone should report her for fraud, maybe, it breaks the crowd funding rules, for sure.

I’m guessing that at the moment the horse is only competing BE100/Novice so she isn’t lying that contributers can come to every event/ walk courses. The numbers that actually would rock up to a novice event to watch/walk a course is pretty small I’d guess.

Obviously this promise is completely ridiculous when you start looking at international events....but, as we know, it’s a long way from BE100 to international.....

 

[ycbm]

Should say competition, not committee!

 

[ycbm]

I’m guessing that at the moment the horse is only competing BE100/Novice so she isn’t lying that contributers can come to every event/ walk courses. The numbers that actually would rock up to a novice event to watch/walk a course is pretty small I’d guess.

Obviously this promise is completely ridiculous when you start looking at international events....but, as we know, it’s a long way from BE100 to international.....

It says visit stables at ALL (her capital letters) his events and course walk the big events.

 

[DabDab]

Oo perhaps it’s all some elaborate joke after all the horse is called ‘Takes the biscuit’

Haha, now that's actually quite funny. Maybe she should be a comedian instead

 

[glamourpuss]

Do you know what the more I think about this the more it screams SCAM!

This horse has jumped 4 events (ok I appreciate the cancellations haven’t helped) - it’s done 2 BE 90 (both with XC faults), 1 BE 100. This is, what looks like the 3rd pro rider it’s been with - has also been with Izzy Taylor but didn’t manage a run.
It’s had one Novice run.

And they reckon it’s worth £40,000? I’ve seen good, young Intermediate horses with strong records go for that.

The cynical side of me says the horse will be bought for £20,000 & the other £20,000 will contribute to running costs (or another expensive holiday for Emily &#128527

 

[Kat]

Presumably Emily herself will be the owner, as people are donating to her. Nice work if you can get it

Exactly

 

[glamourpuss]

It says visit stables at ALL (her capital letters) his events and course walk the big events.

Yes point taken. How utterly ridiculous.

 

[ihatework]

I think it’s a shame that she has come up through the ranks, presumably with national funding support, and hasn’t had sufficient social media input to see how damaging such a daft crowd funding attempt with have on her already slightly dubious reputation.

The thing is, those really good professionals can’t find enough potential 4* horses (I’m not implying this is, or isn’t one), and if they thought they had one in their yard can often find an owner for it quietly behind the scenes. For true raw talent, 40k for an unproven lightly run Novice horse is actually in the ballpark. The fact she has to resort to crowdfunding is telling me she doesn’t have much owner support.

 

[9tails]

The fact she has to resort to crowdfunding is telling me she doesn’t have much owner support.

Why is that? There are very few decent event riders among the hordes of horse riders in the country, so you would think one like Emily would have sponsors queuing to support her. That said, I'm not sure she's done a 4* yet.

 

[ihatework]

Why is that? There are very few decent event riders among the hordes of horse riders in the country, so you would think one like Emily would have sponsors queuing to support her. That said, I'm not sure she's done a 4* yet.

I wouldn’t wish to speculate on an open forum

But yes she has done 4*, and to give credit rode an extremely classy round at Badminton (? 3 years ago) when she had a fall 2 from home

 

[9tails]

I wouldn’t wish to speculate on an open forum

But yes she has done 4*, and to give credit rode an extremely classy round at Badminton (? 3 years ago) when she had a fall 2 from home

Ah yes, 2016.

 

[Puff]

Why is that? There are very few decent event riders among the hordes of horse riders in the country, so you would think one like Emily would have sponsors queuing to support her. That said, I'm not sure she's done a 4* yet.

She’s done 2 I think in 2016. Which obviously indicates she’s got talent riding round a 4* is no fluke. but she is incredibly lucky with her family connections, what other eventers her age are sponsored by a major car company (Mitsubishi)- really she has Mary to thank for that. Relocating near Chester- is she trying to break free from the Mary connection?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Wrong, this is so wrong. A professional eventer should not go crowdfunding for a horse. Sorry, it is like a GP asking his patients to "crowdfund" his next ultrasound system.

My sentiments exactly - what happened to earning the money herself instead of expecting the public to fork out their money. If you don't have the money to buy it yourself then don't beg for it.

Wrong in many aspects - would rather give £ 20 to a charity

 

[conniegirl]

It says visit stables at ALL (her capital letters) his events and course walk the big events.

yes but in 5-8 years time if the horse does get to 4* level who is acutally going to remember it

 

[Lexi_]

She’s done 2 I think in 2016. Which obviously indicates she’s got talent riding round a 4* is no fluke. but she is incredibly lucky with her family connections, what other eventers her age are sponsored by a major car company (Mitsubishi)- really she has Mary to thank for that. Relocating near Chester- is she trying to break free from the Mary connection?

I think (and this is based solely on Instagram lurking so could be wrong) that she's going out with Sam Ecroyd and he's based up in Cheshire, so presumably moving in together? Possibly accessibility to events is a factor too as living in Devon must mean a lot of driving!

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I have saved for everything I have.

horseboxes
cars
horses
etc

Maybe I should start a fund me page so I can have a top of the range Range Rover.

 

[eventer131]

I think (and this is based solely on Instagram lurking so could be wrong) that she's going out with Sam Ecroyd and he's based up in Cheshire, so presumably moving in together? Possibly accessibility to events is a factor too as living in Devon must mean a lot of driving!

This is what I assumed as to why she was moving to Cheshire; however, if this is the case, would you not just hold off the move for a few months and have longer to find an owner for the horse if he was really THAT special and was going to take you to 4*, the olympics "and beyond"

 

[spacefaer]

She’s done 2 I think in 2016. Which obviously indicates she’s got talent riding round a 4* is no fluke. but she is incredibly lucky with her family connections, what other eventers her age are sponsored by a major car company (Mitsubishi)- really she has Mary to thank for that. Relocating near Chester- is she trying to break free from the Mary connection?

She rode round Badminton in 2016 and the horse broke down when he fell at the second last when she asked for a long one. She was quoted at the time as saying he was going to have two years off - so that's a proper job!

She is moving to Chester to live with her boyfriend, Sam Ecroyd, who owns Boss Horseboxes and they have indoor school, outdoor school, big yard...... she's not struggling to make ends meet.

Entitled much?

Maybe she should have to work to earn a living and not expect to have things given to her, just because she has a famous mother......

 

[Puff]

This is what I assumed as to why she was moving to Cheshire; however, if this is the case, would you not just hold off the move for a few months and have longer to find an owner for the horse if he was really THAT special and was going to take you to 4*, the olympics "and beyond"

I agree why the rush, if she’s moving out of her home yard it’s not like she only has 30 days notice if she were renting. I worry if this succeeds and reaches the target this will set a precedent and every Tom dick and Harry will be asking for donations first world problems indeed