PONY Mag

TPO said:
I'm sure riders of both sexes from the Ebony Riding Club would be happy to feature in the magazine
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I'm sure - they're great. There are also plenty of other establishments in urban areas where children of all ethnicities ride, and I'm sure one would be convenient for their photographer...

As for boys... Boys who ride are everywhere. They exist, they're not hard to find, and they even want to buy this ridiculous magazine - why can't they be represented in it too?!
 
Here's hoping the PONY media guru at IPC is reading this thread and goes I to work on Monday with a mass of ideas on how to attract more readers and cover a greater demographic
 
JFTD-WS said:
According to a post on the Facebook thread on the PONY Mag page, another buyer has contacted them previously about occasionally making their give-aways more "boy friendly" - i.e. not always bracelets / pink books about girls who ride. They refused on the basis that the majority of their readership are female. While they insist on giving away rubbish marketed at stereotypical little girls (which is problematic and infuriating in itself - many little girls don't like pink and sparkly!), and only featuring little white girls in their magazine, it is hardly surprising that their readership is primarily little girls. That's a self-fulfilling prophesy - and it's just not acceptable in my book.
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This to me is absolute bonkers marketing on all levels - a pony-mad child is surely more likely to want a hoofpick or manecomb than some bracelet. And more resonant with the totality of the potential target audience rather than a sub-sector of it.

I may be misremembering, but I thought the give-aways always used to be hoofpicks and the like.
 
ah but they weren't much use to use lot who didn't have any ponies to access ;).

I agree it is poor show.
 
I read not that long ago a post a lady wrote about her 9 year old son who had refused to carry on riding, despite being a very accomplished little jumper. The reason was that he was being bullied at school, the others kids were calling him Daisy and, having stolen a few copies of this magazine from his sister, one of the bullies glued the pics out of all over this boy's locker and desk. Same kid also put his sisters pink jods in the poor boys pe bag to embarrass him at pe time.
Poor lad, no wonder he didn't want to ride and his Mum was so frustrated that the horse scene was so blatantly aimed at girls. So sad :(
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
I read not that long ago a post a lady wrote about her 9 year old son who had refused to carry on riding, despite being a very accomplished little jumper. The reason was that he was being bullied at school, the others kids were calling him Daisy and, having stolen a few copies of this magazine from his sister, one of the bullies glued the pics out of all over this boy's locker and desk. Same kid also put his sisters pink jods in the poor boys pe bag to embarrass him at pe time.
Poor lad, no wonder he didn't want to ride and his Mum was so frustrated that the horse scene was so blatantly aimed at girls. So sad :(
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Which is appalling - both in terms of the societal pressure that exists (and PONY Mag are perpetuating), but also because obviously that sort of bullying should be dealt with by school and parents and never allowed to escalate to those kind of levels :(
 
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Oops only just spotted this but have been following on Facebook.

I have posted previously about the difficulty of getting horsey stuff for boys and men. My nephew started riding from 4 and my husband rides. Luckily my nephew went to a riding school that had a decent number of boys, especially at primary age, and has had male staff over the years so he never felt too unusual. It is incredibly frustrating how under represented boys and men are and how much talent the sport must lose as boys are put off in their teens.

My nephew used to want to read horsey magazines but PONY was a bit of a nightmare with all the pink and glitter. The adult magazines are a bit better but still appear as if only women ride. There are no men in the fashion features or men's gear in the gear guides.

Luckily my nephew has stuck with it and is now working in the industry as an apprentice. I have asked him whether I can give his name to PONY if they are thinking of including more boys.
 
Oh and someone mentioned hunting and whether the fact it is so traditional contributed to the "whiteness" of horse sport.

I find hunting is where I see most diversity - we have men and boys out, disabled riders and a mixed race family.
 
Kat said:
Oh and someone mentioned hunting and whether the fact it is so traditional contributed to the "whiteness" of horse sport.

I find hunting is where I see most diversity - we have men and boys out, disabled riders and a mixed race family.
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That was me - and I was judging on the basis of the one and only time I've been out with a hunt. Yes there were men, but all white and no para-riders. I see an awful lot more diversity at alternative sports. But clearly your hunts are a better representation - or I just picked an unfortunate day!

I don't really buy the "we would feature more boys but there are never any at the places we go for photoshoots". I never coached an all female group once (very low level polocrosse with centre members, in a fairly rural area) and I see boys out and about a lot. Maybe the wee lad I see at archery would like to be featured!
 
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SatansLittleHelper said:
I read not that long ago a post a lady wrote about her 9 year old son who had refused to carry on riding, despite being a very accomplished little jumper. The reason was that he was being bullied at school, the others kids were calling him Daisy and, having stolen a few copies of this magazine from his sister, one of the bullies glued the pics out of all over this boy's locker and desk. Same kid also put his sisters pink jods in the poor boys pe bag to embarrass him at pe time.
Poor lad, no wonder he didn't want to ride and his Mum was so frustrated that the horse scene was so blatantly aimed at girls. So sad :(
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Pony magazine have a post on their Facebook page about bullying.

Yet their constant reinforcement of the "ponies are for girls" message contributes to bullying of boys within the sport. Perhaps you could comment on this post about the bullying
https://www.facebook.com/102352493154236/posts/2342318785824251
 
JFTD-WS said:
That was me - and I was judging on the basis of the one and only time I've been out with a hunt. Yes there were men, but all white and no para-riders. I see an awful lot more diversity at alternative sports. But clearly your hunts are a better representation - or I just picked an unfortunate day!

I don't really buy the "we would feature more boys but there are never any at the places we go for photoshoots". I never coached an all female group once (very low level polocrosse with centre members, in a fairly rural area) and I see boys out and about a lot. Maybe the wee lad I see at archery would like to be featured!
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To be fair the disabled riders haven't had visible disabilities so you wouldn't necessarily know unless you got talking to them.

We have a fab teenage girl who rides with us, jumping all the big stuff, and is of mixed heritage, I am very tempted to send her mum a link as she would be an awesome cover girl for PONY!
 
Kat said:
Oh and someone mentioned hunting and whether the fact it is so traditional contributed to the "whiteness" of horse sport.

I find hunting is where I see most diversity - we have men and boys out, disabled riders and a mixed race family.
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It's interesting that you have found such diversity with hunting. It has been my experience with non-horse people that when I say that I like horses, they assume that I want to kill foxes (with posh white people). It has been a struggle to get people to understand that there are in fact many equine disciplines or even that different breeds of horses exist. The disconnect that some non-horse people have is quite frightening.

I have even wondered in the past if the existence of hunting (even in it's trail form) is actually a negative thing for the horse world as a whole due to the historical connotations.

Edited for clarity.
 
I find this so frustrating. I had lessons with a lad who suddenly gave up - his sister kept coming but he stopped because he was bullied at school for riding and not playing rugby like "all the other boys".

Also, it is impossible to find decent horse stuff for boys (and for men that doesn't cost the earth!) My OH cannot find breeches that don't cost the earth (currently borrows a pair of mine that fit!).

Re the giveaways - I used to absolutely love getting a hoof pick or mane comb, even though I never had my own pony. At least I could pretend I had one! I would have had absolutely no interest in pink bracelets or anything like that - even now the thought of winning something like that from a magazine about ponies makes me cringe!

(edited to correct my dodgy spelling...)
 
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Faracat said:
It has been my experience with non-horse people that when I say that I like horses, they assume that I want to kill foxes (with posh white people). It has been a struggle to get people to understand that there are in fact many equine disciplines or even that different breeds of horses exist. The disconnect that some non-horse people have is quite frightening.
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Yep. When in reality all I currently want to do is shoot targets and pretend to be Legolas ;)

Kat said:
To be fair the disabled riders haven't had visible disabilities so you wouldn't necessarily know unless you got talking to them.
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A good point and my previous post was pretty rubbish in that respect. I didn't think that through. I'm pretty biased on that score because the morning I spent hunting was one of the most unpleasant I've had with horses, so I'm projecting a bit! All the people I spoke to and encountered at that hunt were frighteningly stereotypical.
 
JFTD-WS said:
A good point and my previous post was pretty rubbish in that respect. I didn't think that through. I'm pretty biased on that score because the morning I spent hunting was one of the most unpleasant I've had with horses, so I'm projecting a bit! All the people I spoke to and encountered at that hunt were frighteningly stereotypical.
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Come for a visit to the peak district next autumn/winter and I promise to give you an experience that is entirely the opposite 😁 pleasant, friendly, welcoming, diverse people, gorgeous hounds and beautiful countryside.

Faracat said:
It's interesting that you have found such diversity with hunting. It has been my experience with non-horse people that when I say that I like horses, they assume that I want to kill foxes (with posh white people). It has been a struggle to get people to understand that there are in fact many equine disciplines or even that different breeds of horses exist. The disconnect that some non-horse people have is quite frightening.

I have even wondered in the past if the existence of hunting (even in it's trail form) is actually a negative thing for the horse world as a whole due to the historical connotations.

Edited for clarity.
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We're a bloodhound pack which might account for some differences. Though I agree that hunting generally doesn't do us any favours in terms of public perception.

rosemary28 said:
I find this so frustrating. I had lessons with a lad who suddenly gave up - his sister kept coming but he stopped because he was bullied at school for riding and not playing rugby like "all the other boys".

Also, it is impossible to find decent horse stuff for boys (and for men that doesn't cost the earth!) My OH cannot find breeches that don't cost the earth (currently borrows a pair of mine that fit!).

Re the giveaways - I used to absolutely love getting a hoof pick or mane comb, even though I never had my own pony. At least I could pretend I had one! I would have had absolutely no interest in pink bracelets or anything like that - even now the thought of winning something like that from a magazine about ponies makes me cringe!

(edited to correct my dodgy spelling...)
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Totally agree on all counts!

The riding school where my nephew went say they have pretty good representation of boys up to about age 13 when it plummets. It starts to pick up again with adult men but they are perhaps only 25% of participants. The perception is a huge part. My husband has had some awful comments about why he, as a man would choose to ride.

The clothing is an absolute nightmare. Buying riding boots over a size 8 is difficult and expensive. Men's jodhs are difficult to find, expensive and limited choice too. Many shops carry no stock for men despite getting enquiries. My husband is still wearing breeches that are about 15 years old as he can't find a suitable replacement.

Finally I was also a horseless reader of horse/pony magazines and would also have preferred a hoofpick to a sparkly pink bracelet. I wanted my horse fix, not crappy plastic jewellery.
 
Kat said:
Come for a visit to the peak district next autumn/winter and I promise to give you an experience that is entirely the opposite 😁 pleasant, friendly, welcoming, diverse people, gorgeous hounds and beautiful countryside.
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Thanks :D You're missing the very real possibility that the issue is me, not the other people, though ;)
 
fwiw the last trail pack I joined in was fairly diverse.

I do wonder if they just aren't targeting the bits of the equestrian world where boys are most prominent (going fast and being competitive mostly :p albeit if they are doing features at RS they are less likely to come across them as they don't really foster those bits).
 
ester said:
fwiw the last trail pack I joined in was fairly diverse.

I do wonder if they just aren't targeting the bits of the equestrian world where boys are most prominent (going fast and being competitive mostly :p albeit if they are doing features at RS they are less likely to come across them as they don't really foster those bits).
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Most of the coaching I did was centre members at RSs and there were always a couple of boys there - and yes, probably lured by the idea of a fast and mental team sport!
 
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