Spoilt Kids

I think the parents are as bad.....I was recently dragged into helping judge, of all things....handy pony at a local show. The first class was LR/First ridden, and I have never been faced with such a bunch of pushy obnoxious parents. Ponies ridden in pelhams and gags and then parents having a go at us for not placing Snottynose Mcspoiltbrat in first place. I didn't know any of these parents from Adam, but they were so pushy - shouting and screaming at their kids all the time. It's no wonder the kids turn out the way they do. They hear their parents shouting and swearing at them and think it's acceptable to do the same. I will NEVER EVER judge anything ever again. It was the worst day with horses I have ever spent!
 
Have seen many badly behaved spoilt grown ups at shows and many well behaved polite kids.
And to those of you with no children , it isn't easy. If you ever have any you may not be so quick to make judgements about other peoples parenting skills. :)
 
That is hilarious!!! PMSL.

Serves her bloody right!!!! She's probably been abusing that poor child since she was 3 so now she's grown up decides to get her own back probably... an acquaintance (loosest sense of the word) of mine's daughter has just started talking back to her mum and I can't stop laughing when she does. All those years her mum pushed and pushed. Poor L can't wait to leave home and leave the horses behind.

Whoever said bad parenting deserves the outcome is so right.

You know what? Doesn't matter what you have in this world, the fact is you get taught to appreciate it and learn the manners that go with it. THAT does not cost a single thing.
 
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We would all, of course remove the pony from the child, wouldn't we? Well I would, if you wouldn't!

The real point is that I'm just wondering how on earth the child referred to by the OP, ever got into the position of power which it now enjoys. I suppose that the reality of removing the pony is a case of "Shutting the stable door........".

Now that I'm a grandfather, my own children see things from a slightly (or possibly majorly!), altered viewpoint. They now think that their old dad is wonderful, and I have to say that I agree with them!!

Alec.
 
frazzled said:
Have seen many badly behaved spoilt grown ups at shows and many well behaved polite kids.
And to those of you with no children , it isn't easy. If you ever have any you may not be so quick to make judgements about other peoples parenting skills. :)
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I am a mum of two so I do speak from experience. Parenting isn't easy but if you don't lay the ground rules from the start it only gets harder. Being treated with common courtesy is something everyone is able to expect, especially when you are paying the bills. I teach my children to speak to me civilly and reasonably so that it becomes second nature outside the home. They are young and they get tired or excitable and some times they forget their please and thank you's. But they would never dream of speaking to me or anyone else the way the young lady on my yard spoke to her mother. I also do not speak rudely to them, so its a two way thing.
 
I know of one young girl, who although not spoilt, has her own pony, and whatever that pony NEEDS (ie no extras, she has to work for those). She's been given fabulous opportunities by the YO which her parents take for granted.

One day, being a typical teen, she back chatted her mother on the yard. I stood there, with my children, other people's children, YO.... as this mother turned round, gave her daughter the v sign and went "Oh ******* off" :eek::eek: before stomping off to her car.

Even from age 2 my daughter was brushing her pony whilst I mucked out. As soon as she was able to muck out, she did. She also helped sweep the yard, clean tack etc. She'd come to work with me and help the other girls muck out, help with the horses, help make up feeds, and sometimes she was rewarded with a ride on one of work's horses, her treasured memories being having ridden one of YO's colts (he was soft as mush!) and having ridden her TB. This was all before school age... she also witnessed castration, covering, scanning etc.... But she still loves it.
 
indiat said:
I am a mum of two so I do speak from experience. Parenting isn't easy but if you don't lay the ground rules from the start it only gets harder. Being treated with common courtesy is something everyone is able to expect, especially when you are paying the bills. I teach my children to speak to me civilly and reasonably so that it becomes second nature outside the home. They are young and they get tired or excitable and some times they forget their please and thank you's. But they would never dream of speaking to me or anyone else the way the young lady on my yard spoke to her mother. I also do not speak rudely to them, so its a two way thing.
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I was just observing that I have seen some pretty appalling behaviour from adults at shows ( not parents but competitors).
I have 4 kids and most of the time they are well behaved and polite but at times it can all go wrong. If anyone was judging me at those moments they would be "shocked".
Thats why I prefer not to make comment on other peoples parenting skills.
 
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See... don't give chavs a horse!!!! LOL!!!

Disclaimer: I am obviously joking, please do not kill me with a pitchfork.
 
redmone said:
2. Riding school - a very annoying little boy, hitting pony repeatedly with crop (very well timed as instructor didn't see most of it) - I estimated 30 times the little xxxxx hit that pony - and for what? Nothing! Pony was doing exactly what was asked of him - better than child anyway! When instructor finally saw him doing it, he walked over to boy (aged 7) took crop off him and hit him with it!!!! I was amazed! I've described this to non horsey people and they were horrified with nasty instructor! Me - I wanted to pay him double!!! I'd be interested in your comments!
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I think the riding instructor should be given a knighthood. How else was the little s0d going to find out what it felt like to be smacked with a whip?
 
They are about :)

I know one girl who throws a strop and shouts that she doesn't want said horse every time she gets placed but not 1st!

Worked at a riding school and one girl made her parents sell her pony when it started to knock the odd pole when competing. She came for a lesson on one of our school horses, he didn't knock a pole...so then she said to her dad to buy him! Well...he wasn't for sale, but the dad sheepishly tried to make us an offer. When we declined said girl threw a strop and tried to lead the pony out of his stable and out of the yard...screaming "I hate you both (mum and dad) why don't you just die, the pony is mine!"

Needless to say we did stop her and she didn't come back for more lessons :P

But I have seen this sort of behaviour from children and adults!

I am 21 and STILL don't have my own horse, but if I had one when I was younger I would have never acted like that....I would have got the belt across my arse!!
 
i was 15 when i got my first horse and tbh im glad i was made to wait.

i did miss out on PC stuff but im not to bothered tbh.... but i want to be out competing now as now im older (20's) i would be paying for everthing myself, therefore its apprecaited.

as for the brats..... i refuse to go to local shows anymore as im sick of watching brats kick off.... i prefer Bs(ja) and dressage etc.... affiliated.....its not *as bad*
 
Theres a girl on our yard who's comes down in the afternoon to muck out and feed her mare (that the girl bought herself as her mother is reminded every so often) even though the girl is down in the mornings. In her defence she does muck out her colt that she was bought, but the way she talks to her mother - who is loverly and does nothing to deserve it - is unbeleavable.

The girls is then amazed by the fact that i'm always the one who mucks out the boys, even if i've not ridden them that day, i keep having to explain to her that it's how i earn Blue.
 
when my daughter was about 11 she rode with a spoilt child who used to order her mum about,she did try it once ONLY i promply knocked her clean off and told her to get some manners befor she got back on...worked a treat. bit over the top i no but had to listen to friends daughter all day and couldnt do the same very tempted
 
My mother would give me one warning i.e. do not speak to me like that, and if I did it again I would hypothetically (as i didnt havea pony) have been off that pony, taken home like a shot and grounded for a week!
 
On the very very rare occasion my son loses his rag with the horses and gets a strop on he is given one warning to calm down and be patient, if he continues to be an a**hole he is dragged off the horse and banned from riding for a few days until he thinks about how lucky he is to have 2 horses of his own (he is then cordially given a royal lecture about the kids his age that would love 1 horse let alone 2 etc, etc, etc,) but he always knows when I mean it and to be fair he has only ever done it once or twice, he's a pretty good kid and very good with his horses.
 
"2. Riding school - a very annoying little boy, hitting pony repeatedly with crop (very well timed as instructor didn't see most of it) - I estimated 30 times the little xxxxx hit that pony - and for what? Nothing! Pony was doing exactly what was asked of him - better than child anyway! When instructor finally saw him doing it, he walked over to boy (aged 7) took crop off him and hit him with it!!!! I was amazed! I've described this to non horsey people and they were horrified with nasty instructor! Me - I wanted to pay him double!!! I'd be interested in your comments"

yes i think he deserves a medal :) if i saw my daughter hitting a pony like that the instructor wouldn't have to do that anyways.. i would be in the school giving her a smack with the crop myself!!
 
UnaB said:
My parents would have taken me home and sold my pony for behaving like that!! I was always made very aware that my ponies were a luxury that i should be grateful for and they would soon disappear should i become a spoilt brat :D The benefits of having non-horsey parents!! Very much underrated :)
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Mine too! Mine were also non horsey. I was so grateful to have a pony, especially when my parents said they couldnt afford it. I never got any help from them with the care or feeding, I also walked the 2 mile to the yard and back even when I was really tired. And the day before shows, I would be at the yard morning til evening washing tack, horses and getting everything ready, then return home with blue feet from being trodden on at bath time. My parents always said the horse was very expensive and a luxury for being well behaved if I was to ever side-line the horse, not bother with it or become a brat, it would be in the papers the next week. And im glad that was the case, because I look at some parent-child relationships and wonder why they let it get so bad, my parents would stot my head off all for walls if I was to even back answer.
 
gracey said:
"2. Riding school - a very annoying little boy, hitting pony repeatedly with crop (very well timed as instructor didn't see most of it) - I estimated 30 times the little xxxxx hit that pony - and for what? Nothing! Pony was doing exactly what was asked of him - better than child anyway! When instructor finally saw him doing it, he walked over to boy (aged 7) took crop off him and hit him with it!!!! I was amazed! I've described this to non horsey people and they were horrified with nasty instructor! Me - I wanted to pay him double!!! I'd be interested in your comments"

yes i think he deserves a medal :) if i saw my daughter hitting a pony like that the instructor wouldn't have to do that anyways.. i would be in the school giving her a smack with the crop myself!!
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Never mind double, he deserved triple, I know people go on about not hitting kids, but it never did me any harm, I had the belt a few times, not for being mean to horses, just being naughty. I learnt my lesson
 
frazzled said:
Have seen many badly behaved spoilt grown ups at shows and many well behaved polite kids.
And to those of you with no children , it isn't easy. If you ever have any you may not be so quick to make judgements about other peoples parenting skills. :)
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I haven't got kids and I can understand from watching nephews and nieces and cousins grow up that yes, things can go wrong. And yet I go to the same shows, and see the same children behaving in the same appalling manner doing nothing short of screaming at their parents, hitting the pony (across the face with a whip in one case) - and of course their parents give it the same old "now now darling (pony) didn't mean to trip over and get you off" - no need.

On the other hand, I've seen far too many pushy, bad mannered and bad tempered parents who force their children into doing what they never had the chance to as a kid...they'll stand at the side of the ring, shouting and bawling to their kid sat in tears on the pony in the middle of the ring because they don't WANT to jump and they're frightened. I've even seen a little girl in this situation being dragged off her pony and towed towards their box being told she'd never see her pony again after "showing her up like that".

When did showing become such a highly stressed, crazy environment with everyone striving to win and throwing their toys out of the pram if they didn't?! Is there anybody left out there who just enjoys it for the day out?? :confused:

In a way I'm glad I don't have very horsey parents - they used to come down and do my stable jobs whilst I rode but that was more "come on hurry up, it's late!" and they knew if they left me there and said get on with it I'd do it. It also meant they never forcefully pushed me into doing something I didn't want to do.
 
il just tell you of two incident with spoilt kids ( i could be here all nite but you'd be bored) firstly whilst i was trying to tack up a very upset horse (mine) at a show and desperately trying to stay calm in all ways I heard
child - aaarrrhhh that's it I've had enough !!!! cue a bridle appearing flying through the air and landing several feet away from a trailer.
mother -- and you can go and fetch that bridle young lady or your going home
child -- NNNOOOO
mother --- Now !!!!
child looking just like a dejected thelwell rider appears from behind trailer and picks up the bridle dragging it behind her.
mother -- now get in the car and stay there till you've grown up !!!

i was thinking the pony would probably be a veteran by then !! but god almighty did it make me laugh .
if you don't find it funny then maybe you had to be there i couldn't see through the tears of laughter to finish tacking up.
Mother 1 kid 0
 
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Whilst I would probably would'nt take a crop to someonelses (is that a word) child, I once dragged a boy backwards by his collar for repeatedly kicking his pony in the ribs from the ground, when it came third!
 
Friend has two little boys and their pony lives at our place. The children have only had the mare since easter, but they have been told from the start that the pony has feelings and thoughts of her own, that she is a 'person' in her own right. They have also been given a strict set of rules to follow with regard to behaviour on the yard. The agreement is that any adult seeing them misbehave has the go ahead to set them straight. :)
They are so concerned about the pony and her well being that during a thunder storm the other night the youngest wanted to ring me to check that his pony was ok. His mum reassured him, and lightheartedly said that the taller horse was more likely to be struck by lightening than his :D This did not work as then the child was even more upset as he didn't want any of the horses he knew getting hurt.
The boys also learn by example, here the horses are set right before the people get a drink, take coats off etc, so the boys know that they must do the same. At shows they know that they must thank the judges and the stewards (something that few adults manage to do!)
 
Ther are 2 kids (not related) on my yard and they are spoilt brats. They are 14years old and one of the mothers does the mucking out. The other one was complaining the other day that she wasn't going to the pony club because her tack was awful and Daddy better get a new saddle or she's not going.
 
I too have seen both sides of the arguement. I was very lucky to get a pony aged 7 when my Dad took redundancy, he foolishly thought I'd be bored after 6 months, 22 years later the horses are still here although he stopped paying for them along time ago!! For the first 7 years the pony lived out 24/7 and whilst my Mum would go and feed / change rugs in the morning this was more because she didn't want to be dragging a 3 year old and a 7 Year old to the field before school each day. However I went every evening to feed / do jobs etc and when ever we rode we groomed, tacked up and did all the other jobs involved in their daily care and we loved it. I remember being really pleased when I was allowed to go to the field on my bike alone, spent hours poo picking, grooming, building jumps etc. Got my 14.2hh at 14 and my Dad said right theres the pony, you buy the tack etc, so got a part time job and beggged and borrowed. My horses have always come first and my parents have always ensured that I look after them properly from day one. Sure I went through the usual teenage stroppiness but was always firmly put in my place and it was made clear that the pony would be in the paper if I carried on.

I see so many children these days who turn up ride and then leave all the other stuff to their parents and I can't help thinking how much they are missing out on. I do sometimes think that it stems from parents pushing children into showing etc so riding has a different ethos. As kids we had endless hours of fun going pony games etc and it taught us so much, my friends have children and all they do is go round in circles in the school and are plonked on the pony just before going into the ring. They never hack, have fun and so unsurprisingly don't deal very well with disappointments / falls.

Just to add I have nothing against showing etc, have previously done county level as a kid but it was my choice not something I was pushed to do and have always combined disciplines depenidng on what I and the horse enjoy.
 
I think most of the problems are they have it to easy, the pony and every thing is paid for them, I have been lucky enough to have had a pony when I was young but my parents brought me the pony then I had to find a job to keep him, and pay for everything myself. My parents always said it not the buying of the animal its the keeping of it, so I had to do everthing mucking out etc. I know that things have changed and children can not get jobs now untill they are 16, but they could do more to help.

We have a couple at our yard who do nothing mum does it all and they get to ride, and compete, but some days they are not happy because they are asked to ride when they do not want to !! They way and the things they say to their mum I would have been given a slap, but would never have said those things in the first place.
 
ebonyallen said:
I think most of the problems are they have it to easy, the pony and every thing is paid for them, I have been lucky enough to have had a pony when I was young but my parents brought me the pony then I had to find a job to keep him, and pay for everything myself. My parents always said it not the buying of the animal its the keeping of it, so I had to do everthing mucking out etc. I know that things have changed and children can not get jobs now untill they are 16, but they could do more to help.

We have a couple at our yard who do nothing mum does it all and they get to ride, and compete, but some days they are not happy because they are asked to ride when they do not want to !! They way and the things they say to their mum I would have been given a slap, but would never have said those things in the first place.
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I agree with this!! The minute I got a job, I paid for Kelly's stable fees and everything she needed myself and the same with my car. I cringe when I'm in my stable mucking out and am listening to one of the girls on the yard screaming at her mum because she hasn't filled the water bucket up enough or something daft like that!
It makes me wonder if these children will ever learn to appreciate what they've got and whether they'll carry on keeping horses as they get older?
 
RedRed said:
Had the worst experience of a spoilt kid at a small jumping show this weekend. i was making my way to the entries tent when i heard a mother and daughter arguing as i was passing them the kid was shouting to her mother 'im gonna kill you if you do that' and proceeded to run her mother down with the pony several times. I regretfully never said a word. The kid was around 12-14 and jumped later that day, whilsts still bossing the mother around.

I am truely shocked that the parent let her talk to her like that and still let her compete.
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It's not just children! Well, small children anyway. I've been witness to this at more than a few BE events. The 'children' are VILE to their parents, but what shocks me most is that the parents do nothing about it, and clearly have done nothing about it for the 'childs' whole life. I guess then, it is the parents fault for allowing the child to treat them like that so hey ho, who are we to argue?! :rolleyes:
 
I remember once I took Toto in an in-hand class, think it was best young handler, and we won. The girl who came 2nd stormed out the ring, dragged the pony over to her parents, threw the lead rein at them, shouted 'I don't want him anymore, sell him! He's useless! I don't care about him anymore, we never win!' and flounced off.

Have also seen many bratty showjumping kids, have seen one girl who enters every class with 3 horses in each class, then absolutely bombs around the jump off, ridiculous angles into fences, going way too fast, no balance etc, and comes 1st, 2nd and 3rd everytime, never pats the horses or anything after the rounds, then the last time I saw them at a show, she turned too tightly into a fence and both hose and rider fell and demolished a fence. Poor pony :mad:

Have also seen a kid whacking a pony literally every few strides in the jumping, and before each take off for the jumps, needless to say she got a right telling off from the commitee, a formal warning, and the whip taken away.

If I ever spoke to my parents like that or treated Toto like that (not that I would!) then I would be in serious trouble and pony would be taken off me!
 
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When I was 10 I entered a doubles competition with someone from school. I went round first and my beautiful, once in a lifetime pony refused one fence (my fault not hers). As I rode back to my schoolfriend she spitefully shouted 'She's useless, you should sell her' as she took off to try to make up for lost time. Her pony refused at exactly the same fence. I've never seen a sourer look on someone's face.

Incidentally, we came 6th, which I was really pleased with. Schoolfriend? Not so much. Needless to say we never paired up again.
 
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