Is it just me...

Hmmm, very interesting thread.

My instincts on reading the original thread were very similar to Baydale's, hence the fact that I didn't comment. It is also the case that I do know a lot of the riders involved personally - sorry, I'm not name-dropping, it's just a fact, probably because I'm ancient and I've been eventing since the Middle Ages :D So I do find myself taking some of the tactless, inaccurate and rude comments personally on their behalf, so to speak... I think the point for me is that how many of our rounds at ANY level would stand up to the sort of scrutiny that these riders are being subjected to? Every mistake is pinpointed and analysed, sometimes with a rather glib solution being offered. Thing is, it's not like these riders posted a video, like we do on here sometimes, inviting CC, these comments are uninvited.

I am quite happy with the concept of a good debate on here and everyone being free to air their opinions of *things*, be they products, ideas, locations, concepts etc. I'm less comfortable with people being able to air their opinions, whether fair or unfair, moderate or extreme, well-put or clumsily put, of *people*, especially when it's completely uninvited. I honestly and genuinely think that some of these threads - and this year's Badminton XC one is by no means the first - may start with the best of intentions, so K I'm by no means "blaming" you (if it's a question of blame at all), I've started the odd thread before now and been a bit horrified the direction it's taken. But I agree with Baydale that the pack mentality sometimes takes over, and it ends up leaving a nasty taste in my mouth.

I too find myself feeling rather embarrassed at being a member of HHO and would generally not choose to mention it within BE/eventing circles. I'm not sure what that says about me, other than perhaps I'm a bit of a coward not to either try to make the forum a place I'm proud to belong to, or defend it to those outside, or indeed just to quietly leave if I don't like it :( I think, like several others have said, I just find myself posting less and less these days...
 
I feel a little awkward commenting on the riding techniques of the pros. I console myself, however, by remembering that my (non rugby playing) boyfriend screams unprintable abuse at the ability and technique of the England team whenever they are not playing to his exacting standards. So armchair criticising is clearly acceptable!

On a more serious note, I find it really interesting to see what people have to say about the riding techniques of others. I have learnt snippets on here from reading such threads and I hope that by taking on board different comments and examples, I can improve my riding. (Frankly, I need all the help I can get).
 
kit279 said:
Ladies, let us also get some perspective. The HHO forum is just the female/horsey equivalent when the World Cup happens - all the guys immediately morph into Thierry Henri or similar and shout at the television - "Nooo, idiot, pass it down the centre" as if somehow they are about to be signed up and paid squillions by Arsenal... When in fact most of them can barely run for the bus...

We all have opinions and we're entitled to say them - it'd just be a real shame if some of the experienced helpful HHOers felt rather alienated by the rugby scrum...
Click to expand...

Fnarr fnarr fnarr yes exactly, you put it far more eloquently and wittily than I did!
 
Baydale I agree with what you are saying generally as I read all of the thread and thought at times is was bitchy. I have ridden at 4* level although not for some years and I know how hard it is to acheive the standards required . I was not a top professional but probably put as much blood sweat and tears into it it as anyone. Although everyone is entitled to there own opinion and how easy it is to be an armchair critic (myself included!:) ) I think some people need to be careful what they say, as has already been stated on here, as we don't know the full facts behind what causes riders to make decisions about what they do, sometimes we don't even know ourselves as it has to be done in a split second and we don't always get it right, I know I didn't.:) I know I constantly beat myself up about mistakes, position faults etc, and I'm sure all riders at Badminton this year will watch videos of their rounds and do the same to themselves. I think what I'm trying to say is be constructive in critisism without making it too personal as if I was on the end of some of the comments I would be having a right confidence crisis!!
 
I also think that people have a tendency to think 'oh, they're riding at 4*, they must be supremely confident in their own abilities and therefore they won't care if I (as jo bloggs amateur eventing enthusiast) criticise them' - a sort of mentality that because they are at the very top they are immune to any kind of confidence issues and repeated slating by the general public etc will have no effect on them personally as they will just brush it off.

The trouble is, how many interviews/autobiographies etc do you need to read to find top level riders with confidence problems? Not many, and it's why Team GBR have a sports psychologist on retainer - so it isn't terribly fair to use the 'no 4* rider would care what I think' approach because clearly many of them are hyper-critical of their own riding and have confidence as fragile as the next person....
 
I think what I find is that nobody reads the other posts they just fire away with their comments without any reflection on what other people have written. I think that is what I find so annoying. So every comment is like a machine gun of negativity with people only reading what they want into things. For instance you could say Joe Bloggs rode the round of their life but they looked unstable in the saddle after fence X and everyone would just focus on the last bit.
 
SpottedCat said:
and b) I think people get some really duff advice here now too - one which springs to mind is a thread I read earlier where people said that anyone who rides with only one rein on a dutch gag is clearly clueless....I wanted to post a pic of the people at Badminton who did it!

(
Click to expand...

Im one of the one-rein-on-a-dutch-gag haters! I actually watched with interest many of the horses ridden in various gags at badminton with one rein and there were alot of unhappy horses. So they may be competing at badminton, but imo they would go better if ridden with 2 reins ;) I wont start on that topic though as i wont stop :rolleyes:

As to the bitchiness- horsey woman are! Not saying its right to be bitchy but the analogy to blokes watching football was spot on. And i find i learn from threads like the ones mentioned, due to the discussions and different points of view. I do agree that some people have no tact though, and that can be upsetting for the people commented about.
 
I am just gobsmacked that I actually wrote a coherent reply to this thread last night - wow, I was rather inebriated at the time LOL!

At the end of the day I think it is safe to say that all we want to see is happy horses, ridden by happy riders coming home safely. I am positive that every single member of HHO has the utmost respect for all of the competitors and their teams, for even getting to Badminton in the first place.
 
Baydale said:
Sorry if I've offended you pinktiger, but anyone walking the walk that I know of (I'm not psychic, so they need to have posted a report usually for me to know about it) on here gets my utmost admiration. It matters not whether that's leaving the ground, hacking on their own, competing or whatever, it's just the hyper-critical Badminton comments that particularly riled me.
Click to expand...


baydale you have not offended me in the slightest at all chic, I just feel that people whether we like to hear it or not have the right to say what they think, and what is their opinon at the time, just because they havent had the oportunities to get to 4* level should not detract from them saying what they see, as alot of people have done! I compare one rider at that level to another, and tbh, there were some differences between them,which were very very clear to see, my 5 year old picked out one such scary moment!! But who ever has a perfect shot, perfect round xc, we all have the odd ugly moment as said before they all qualified to get there and deserved to be there, if on the day it didnt go so well, every single one of us has that in common, horses are the best levellers!!! (just to add one of my best trainers had never set foot on a four star, n yet she trained eventers all over world, she had an awesome eye and super talent, but did it all from the ground)!!!!! I like this forum for its total honesty, and sometimes i dont want to hear it, but appreciate it for what it is, an opinion based forum!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
Great thread.

There have always been armchair critics. Every event has at the siedlines people saying how they would have ridden that fence, or commenting on some part of the rider's approach. The forum just allows it to be typed and shared with all now.

No harm done - personally I don't comment on 4* riders - Even though my considerable experience of miniscule XC courses and the high skill level required in navigating my horse round the local bridleway would leave me perfectly qualified to comment on Mary King's XC technique.

Has made for good reading.
 
Eeep. Reading this thread has made me realise that I may have thrown myself into the deep end by dipping my toe into the Badders XC forum. Foolish newbie error, must learn from my mistakes.

I'll admit I was horrified by some of the cutting and personally attacking posts but if I couldn't come up with a convincingly eloquent argument myself I just chose to ignore them; not that I ignore every post which is not in line with my views, I'm always interested in the opinions of others but sometimes people do get carried away and take it too far.

That said, HHO isn't half as bad as some of the rugby/ football forums where things can get *very* heated- I only posted on a rugby forum once, never again, evidently we females should know nothing about it.
 
Okey dokey Baydale here I am. I have to confess that I only made it to page 4 of the Badminton XC thread (and a similar point in this one). With the prospect of 14 or so pages more to go and having put the wine back in the fridge in favour of a cup of tea I found it all rather heavy going. I watched every XC round the BBC showed (barring when I had to go and get the washing in!) and I have to say that I drew my own conclusions. I enjoyed it much more than the previous two years and felt that you could see which horses were going to run out at any of the corners several strides before they got there, and even sometimes by the way they'd jumped the previous fence.

No-one's riding was immaculate and I don't think that there was a rider there that wasn't helped out at some point, even for a fraction of a second, by a generous horse. What's the old saying? You don't know you've got a 4* horse until you've jumped round two 4*s? I suspect that there were one or two there who might not live up the the criteria at the end of the day. However I don't think it's my place to openly criticise anyone.

I watched. I was entertained. I learned.

That's what Badminton's about for me, not about tearing someone (anyone) to shreds on a public forum. Heaven forbid that any of my XC rounds are ever videoed in full and shown on the BBC!
 
Through personal preference I tend to follow the live commentary dressage threads and those tend to remain quite civilised. These threads tend to find a good balance between making interesting, constructive comments but without becoming personally hurtful.

Some of the threads commenting on live eventing do tend to include comments which people would never make to the rider's face and I think that is bad. Feeling anonymous and thinking that the person you are talking about will never read your comments can make anyone harsh and cruel.

I don't know why this happens more in the eventing threads (am I right it doesn't happen as much in the dressage threads?) - is it because mistakes x-country are more evident and potentially more dangerous?
 
Awwwww I feel bad now describing Gorgeous Gauntlett's riding style as rough 'n ready :o

But its only cause I secretly fancy him :D
 
I'd never admit to anyone that i was a member of this forum. It's embarrassing to be associated with some of the people and comments that are on here - and believe me, the pros read them and talk about them. Luckily they can usually discard and laugh about them, but sometimes criticism sticks in your mind and eats away at you. As someone else said; just because they're at the top of their game doesn't mean they don't care what people think or are too arrogant to be affected by such harsh words. They're only people trying to do their best, after all. Jealousy is a sin...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top