Forgotten your jodhpurs, girls? Showjumping's desperate image bid

What else is there to say but what a load of pants!!!

I wouldn't be overly happy with the pics if I were them, not exactly classy, how embarrassing!!
 
I only looked at this forum to see what was happening not to enter into a war. I guess we all have our own opinions (thank god) and I truly see no harm in the pictures I saw. If small minded people cannot see the lighter side in life I do not see the point in endlessly posting negative comments. I am sure Georgie and Laura are enjoying the sensation this has turned out to be - it's got you lot buzzing. I sincerely hope this creates open doors for them in one way or another! Perhaps people will realise that the stuffy image of showjumping HAS gone and its not just a sport for elite. I can remember days when the image of riding, not just showjumping, was that of a stuffy old DC and that only those who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths took part. These girls have brought a new look to the sport and GOOD ON THEM! Regarding the Super League, I am sure the BSJA are not playing for 'giggles' that is purely my reaction to the stir this has caused. Any avid follower of this sport realises the seriousness of the SL - it is probably the only time any foreign countries bother coming to the UK to compete. I am sure our counter-parts in Europe will look at this in the way it should be taken and actually think the Brits have finally caught up with the rest of the world!
 
Oh dear me. Tacky.
crazy.gif
 
you are quite right about people having their own opinion and i have no problem with you having yours on this. sadly having spent much of the last year in europe including working for one of the leading young lady showjumpers there, i think they will be sniggering not laughing with us. In europe showjumping is an extremely 'serious' sport already and if the powers that thought of this had thought for two seconds about this, how impressed will samsung be this week at hickstead that instead of talking about the best in the world coming to compete in the class they sponsor, the media will be more concerned about finding how if ther are anymore 'revelations' to come from Britains showjumpers.
the girls brought an new look to the sport for sure but frankie dettori did the same for racing a few years back without a posing pouch, and i think its fair to say (from the responses i have seen on other international forums) Zara's new landrover commercial is doing much the same for eventing. it just seems sad to me that in the same week our olympic horses go into quarantine that this sort of cheap stunt was deemed nessescary so close to hickstead and the olympics.
Laura and Georgie are both lovely attractive young women, who did this with the best intentions i am quite sure. it is not their fault they were badly advised by people who should know better.
 
Each to their own. I still don't think it has done either of them any harm what so ever. It would be interesting to hear their comments. Good night!
 
great idea NOT lets just highlight the fact horsey girls wear long boots and carry whips ....
and its right to oogle them.

crikey how many times have you had a lewd comment about your weekend wear ??
sad really
 
Oh Jiffy thank you for that mental image...
But seriously ,I think it is really sad that young sportswomen like these seem to find it acceptable or positive to be seen in this light. There was a truly noving article in H&H the other week about Caroline Bradley about how influential and dedicated she was, and guess what? she never posed in her pants, and guess what? I bet I could ask any-bod in the street and they would probably remember who she was, a true guardian of the sport who never had to take part in cheap publicity...Laura who???
To the people that have posted the 'lighten up' stuff, how can the sport survive going forward? Baby steps have been made recently in terms of trying to garner the sort of coverage showjumping had in the '70s, it won't take much for it to be seen as something laughable that should just be relegated as unimportant and trite. If the sportspeople involved are seen as they are, dedicated and utterly serious, the non-horsey public might take it seriously too!
 
This is so sad !! Has showjumping really come to this, where the powers that be think the only way of attracting the public is by showing scantily clad girls. And if so what sort of people are they trying to attract anyway other than scanky old men.
 
What a shame, the women are very pretty, but the photos - everything about them is so amateurish. It could have been done so much better, the photographer clearly has no idea what he/she is doing.

No they don't do them any good at all.
 
The comments from this in the US have been that they look like girls off "chat lines for sex" commercials that are on USA cable tv late at night. I have to agree it is truely the worst case scenario of an amature photographer trying to start off a career photographing page 3 hopefuls.

If the BSJA wanted sexy they could at least have hired a professional fashion shoot team to make it tasteful. Even the clothes look seedy.

As lucretia said SJ in Europe has a very classy image, many high class, wealthy owners who would possibly if they were domiciled in the UK be drawn to racing as a sport. But SJ is there so highly respected they put their money into it. You only have to look at the lavish events held all over mainland Europe to see the expense and quality lavished on it. This just makes a mockery of the girls and the sport in the UK.

Does nothing at all to encourage sponsorship for which the sport is in need of at present.
 
I so agree with you, people are saying they are ' pretty' but they are stereotypical bleached blonds who look trashy in these photo's. Dressage is seen as so much classier then SJ and coming from a city background I know a lot of guys would go to local lap dancing clubs to see girls like this but no-way would they invest money in them or their sport. They wouldn't take it as a serious business proposition.
 
There was a really funny Ch4 documentary years ago when Jilly Cooper's "Riders" was first out (the book and TV movie). It cut between scenes of the TV movie and descriptions of the glamorous and sexy "Riders' characters, with real life horsey people, e.g. groom talking about low wages, working hours, etc. while shovelling muck. I *think* Geoff Billington was in it, which was a good choice of a no-nonesence, get on with the job kind of horse person, juxtaposed with the main "Riders" character who was a dashing, super clean and super sexy stud!
 
I agree the pictures are tacky and cheap and does not potray the right image to many but when was the last time showjumping got coverage or even a mention by a Sunday paper (even they mention David Broome from 30 years ago)?

To attract sponsors to bring money into the sport, it needs joe public spectators to get back into the sport (like the 70's/80's), and not just horsey people. With regards to showjumping, how many sports can you say to people that you can go down to a local arena and watch top class action from world class leading competitors for FREE (especially in this day and age?). Why is the sport not more popular with spectators? It is about image, and the showjumping image is not good now as it has been dominated by the same faces for decades, which is now changing. It either has to be portrayed as a more upper level sport and would have to compete with polo and dressage, or as a more general sport (although seeing riders prancing around in their primark pants is most probably not the right image).

How many people would go an watch Katie Price if they knew she was competiting? What has she ever done in reality. Not a great deal,she is a personality with big assets! The sport needs personalities and although the pictures are wrong, they will be remembered for wearing cheap knickers (will people start throwing them better ones)?

For all the people wanting to see Geoff and Tim in their posing pouches, that is just soooooo wrong!!!
crazy.gif
 
I agree...the idea *could* have been a good one, and *could* have been highly amusing....and they didn't even need to lose their breeches (jods.....how tacky
tongue.gif
) to make it so....

Showjumping is full of PYT's so why not use them to good effect.....BUT.....what I can't understand is this...the article appears in the FEMAIL section of the paper...which is presumably aimed at the fairer sex
crazy.gif
Why do women readers want to see pictures (tacky or otherwise) of scantilly clad girls
tongue.gif


One other thought I had too....how are Laura and Georgie now going to be viewed by their male compatriots on the circuit following this stunt ? I reckon there'll be some p155taking going on at Hickstead this week
grin.gif


Another opportunity wasted I fear...
 
I think another thing that should be considered is that in the quest to attract more people into the sport with this approach you may put off existing horse people from going to shows. One of the big problems with SJ is that it is boring to watch after the initial few rounds, when you only have one person in the ring at a time you can never build up any adrenalin or excitement as they aren't in direct competition at the same time, look how the pairs at olympia gets the crowd going, even my horsey friends struggle to watch too much.
 
oh my god i am absolutely disgusted let alone ashamed that i actually work for the company sponcoring the british masters !!!!!!

I think i may go to HR immediately !!!!
 
Totally agree as even when our horses are competiting we try and time it so we just see the classes. If there is a big show say at Towerlands, we would only go and watch the GP and these are the classes that should be adverised with a start time to 'introduce' people to sj. It is possible to turn the sport around ( I have compared it to Speedway which was a sport that was the second largest spectator sport in the 70's disappeared for 20 years and now has prime time slots on sky).There is no quick fix but is possible and as it becomes ever increasing in costs to compete in, i can see it becoming a bigger spectator sport rather than a competitor sport it just needs to be sexed up and less boring!
 
i dont disagree at all about what you are saying about image and the image of showjumping but i am afraid as i said before that not all PR is good PR and though if this had been in the News of the World it might have fitted in the fact that the mail picked it up and clearly were not impressed has probably alienated more people than it would attract.
its funny but i had a conversation with a showjumping contempary of these ladies a couple of months ago and i said that i thought it was a shame showjumping (and eventing as it happens) did not make more of some of their young and personable competitors. however i can think of some better ways than this. if i was a sponsor of the chester show in particular, i would be horrified.
and as for british showjumpings image in europe i cant imagine christina liebherr doing this and she is already on a current billboard campaign for the olympics.
and as Rambo said there are plenty images about that portray that showjumping isnt all about stuffy old men and horse faced women, below is a picture i took at the Derby meeting of Clare Robertson (?) who had just been dropped at the bank, i think it is a happy real life picture, there is nothing 'posh' about the image and she has her clothes on. there must be loads of others.
thereisalwaysthegymkhana.jpg
 
I'm only 17 and I think that these look awful and so so tacky. I would much prefer to see real action shots with 'all' their clothes on. Breathtaking shots that would make you go hmmmm, how exciting and impressive does that look.
Ok these got in the Mail and it's being talked about but it is because it looks so tacky and nothing more. These images would not in anyway entice anyone into the sport, how could they. Tomorrow's chip paper is all they'll be and if I were them I would be horrified and very embarrassed. They should have insisted on a spray tan and decent knickers at the very very least. Awful am speechless. Totally classless and cheap looking regardless of the blonde hair, maybe they didn't realise they'd look quite as bad feel sorry for them really if they didn't realise???
 
They could of at least worn decent underwear! Chewing gum white Bidget Jones knickers?!?!!! Come on, if your going to disgrace(sp) our sport, at least do it properly!
 
Whilst I agree thay are obviously not the classiest of shots... please give them a break!!
I happen to be very good friends with both girls and they agreed to do these shots with the best intentions for our sport and obviously to raise their own profile. However this may have back fired slightly, but I do think having an opinion is one thing but damn right insulting them ie "sterotypical bleached blondes" is another!
 
yes i agree with tammy because its hardly their fault as i have said before that they were so badly advised by the BSJA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top