Terrible biased reporting on Olympic Equestrian events.

When I was a young teenager I used to help out at local BS shows, there was even less money in it then but the money went further, most off the then top riders jumped off grass in rough rings every weekend with their young horses. John Whittaker is about the same age as me, I would often see him in a battered hat riding just about anything to get in the ring. I could spot that he was driven then, whether he was good rider or not. BS is a tough sport, the hours put in a lorry, stood a round in cold often depressing arenas in the depth of winter should not be underestimated.
I think the show jumping dynasty's are that because from an early age they toughened up, a bit like farming, no whining cos' its cold or wet. What they are also good at is selling themselves, most of the top riders have to sell to get rides and get competition liveries, you have to get a result out of not only your top horse but also all the others on the yard.
I still think the riding elite are rubbish at PR, as if making money creates a bad smell and telling people that being good takes really hard work and graft is not the done thing. The message from all the track and water athletes has been we are ordinary people doing extraordinary things though hard work, that not exactly true, a race bike with all the associated back up probably costs coming up to a show jumper but that is how they are selling it and communicating with the public. Lewis Hamilton is a one off, in the most elite of sports but manages with PR and media training to make himself approachable and fallible.
The recent rebranding of the PC has shown how behind the times the people in charge are, I had a quick look at the BD website and that is also not up to date, the news items days old. They all need a good shake.
 
I don't think you can compare now with 30 years ago. I think it is getting harder now for those with less money to get into horses partially because of the cost of land now, which is being developed for house meaning that land even that without planning permission is very costly and you need land to keep and train horses.

I am in my mid 40's and grew up in the countryside, riding was very common amongst farming families and a native pony type living out was cheap to keep especially if you made your own hay and as a kid if you kept your pony on family farm, or had a paddock at home, then non-one had to take you to the livery yard twice a day and it was not so much of an effort to get into riding. Most kids did PC in the summer including camp and if they were good enough might get spotted or helped along the way by someone in pony club. I was lucky enough to have a pony at home and live with short distance of several other young people who had ponies at home so we could hack out together. Two us had trailers so if we wanted to go a show one of the dads would could take two kids and ponies we did not need to get the same parent to take us out all the time. I did not know anyone at PC that kept their pony at a livery yard. My dad thought that riding was a cheap and easy hobby which kept us out of mischief, I would not have had a childhood pony if I had had to keep it at a livery yard there is no way my parents would have taken me there twice a day and waited around or paid for the costs.

Now the cost of land is such that most people will be keeping horses at livery yards and for children this means a parent will need to take them twice a day (not all livery yards will let unaccompanied kids be on the yard on their own} and give up their own time to supervise their kids riding and looking after their ponies or the pony will needs to be on assisted DIY or part livery which is not cheap. Bearing in mind that many parents now work full time and school has become more demanding too, this could be difficult if the parent is not horsey themselves. For a young rider to be competitive you need family support as well as money. The days of the PC mum who does not work full time and can devote lots of time to helping their children be competitive number is dwindling as the stay at home mum with money to spare to spend on a child's hobby becomes a luxury option available only to the very rich.

Sadly competitive riding at the top levels will probably end up being the preserve of the rich or those with connections and as such not very accessible to the average TV viewer. All the publicity over years around hunting and the ban probably has not helped with PR either.
 
Last edited:
I think basic riding is far more accessible than it was 30 years ago, you only have to look at FB to see how many do it. I come from a town, none of my friends rode, my first ride was on a gypsy pony, and the only other pony I saw was the rag and bone mans. I did not have proper lessons till I was 13, and my parents would have never thought of buying a pony even though we were not hard up. Now I know a few single mums with limited budgets who still mange to afford one.
The lines at PC are full of IW trailers and the large cars to pull them, walk round the boxes at Equifest, which is not elitist and you can see that families spend a lot of money on their hobby. For most its not a sport, its a hobby and part of a life style, with my children it was like learning how to swim, something they enjoyed but they were not true competitors. Horses are mainly companion animals for most owners, which for the horse is perhaps great.
What ever sport you want to be good at elite level it's a job, whether you get paid for it or not.
 
If you're a football talent scout and you can sign up someone young there are chances that they will become a commodity to the club and repay and money spent many times over. Unfortunately it's not like that for horses!
 
From what I see at a distance it has all changed so since I was in my teens. I am now in my middle fifties, but from thirteen to twenty one I had ponies. DIY livery at a local farm, an unshod pony who lived on hay and grass, never wore a rug or boots, a grazing hood or a fly cap, he was hairy in the winter and extremely low maintenance. Most of the other ponies on the yard were the same, the children and adults who rode there were a cross section of the local community, which wasn't an elite one, being in a largely working class community with farmland at the edges.
Now (to me) the fun seems to have evaporated, due to higher expectations and marketing of "must have" equine products, more roads, faster cars, everyone having to wear high visibility clothing, less bridleways. People even in rural areas seem less horse conscious, due to the fact more of the residents are from the towns. I did get a small amount of abuse in the 1970s but from what I've heard it's worse now. Society is more divided than ever and I agree with an earlier poster that anti Foxhunting lobbies haven't help, with people either too thick or poorly informed to realise not everyone on a horse supports or goes hunting.
 
Last edited:
I agree riding/ownership is more accessible now. History has shown that you can't just go out and buy an expensive rangy warmblood from proven lines and shoot straight to the top. It's like anything else in life you've got to want it badly enough to make serious sacrifices to get there. We had a lovely little stallion who would piaffe and passage just for the heck of it. He didn't know we couldn't afford a box with loads of pop outs, he just enjoyed showing himself off. It should be above all about the horses. Who doesn't enjoy watching the Iberians? Sure there's always the commentary about them not being able to lengthen but the differences and strengths of breeds makes it all the more interesting.
I also think that dressage captures the imagination of many viewers. Eddie Izzard did a routine about putting a horse in a cupboard. His audience were not all equestrians but they knew why they were laughing.

And while we're at it, who doesn't understand the off side rule in football but still watches?
 
Last edited:
TGM said:
Actually when I was a teenager, I did join Pony Club without having my own horse or pony, and learned a lot at the dismounted activities and from helping out and watching others, although, to be fair, I did eventually get my own horse so could then join in the ridden side of things. At the branch of the Pony Club my daughter now belongs to, there are a lot of members who don't own their own ponies - some are on loan, and some are just 'borrowed' (so the member doesn't even incur the cost of keeping the animal). And, of course, these days many riding schools are 'Pony Club Centres' where children can join in Pony Club activities on riding school ponies. So whilst there are some costs involved, you don't necessarily need to own a horse/pony to join in.
Click to expand...

People on borrowed horses happens at all levels though, PC is no different and I wasn't saying it didn't happen. I'm also not denying that the PC centres do their bit but realistically how many PC centre members are competing on PC teams at regional and national level? Is talent spotting ever done at PC centres? Also depending on area, they're still not cheap or accessible. My local PC centre charges £340 for their non residential summer camp for example.

Interestingly the 'talent spotter' for the Para squad does a lot of spotting both at BD classes AND at RDA competitions. I've heard him speak a few times and it isn't just about people getting spotted, the powers that be have to spot where the talent is too. There are very talented RDA riders who wouldn't choose to, or are not able to compete at BD through horse availability, cost, etc etc.
 
Last edited:
I also wonder if the lack of coverage is linked to sponsorship of other sports by multinationals - the market for trainers and sports clothing is huge as people will wear it even if they don't play sports due to fashion. These companies know the value of exposure for their products and have large and very professional marketing teams with huge budgets and influence, who will help their sponsored athletes get media exposure.

The way that top riders are supported is different they have the support of an owner and sponsorship from feed companies or such like but it is not the same as having the support of a big multinational sports company behind them.
 
I'd love to hear an explanation of why they were showing Serbia vs Greece in the water polo on one of the main BBC channels earlier this week. Great Britain hadn't even got a team qualified in the water polo. And I was looking for dressage, in which Great Britain had not only qualified but were reigning Olympic champions.
 
I wrote a whole spiel on this earlier but it has't posted - so I'll have another go!

I think that there are a whole host of reasons - for lack of engagement/coverage/general public interest. I'll give my 2 pennies worth on a couple:

If you aren't from a horsey background, horses are SCARY! They are big, they are unpredictable (in the eyes of people who don't know them) and if you are an urban or even suburban parent, you are far more likely to sign your kids up for classes in a more regular and 'safe(?)' sport that is run as a class at your local lesiure/sports centre, then hoick out to the unknown and a yard which can be pretty intimidating and alien even to initiated. 'Horse riding' can me a holiday treat....once a year, as an experience rather than as a sport to grow and develop in.

Dressage especially (and SJ and eventing to a degree) LOOKS funny. In every other sport, 21st century technology dictates that the clothes and apparel worn are hi-tec and productive and positive towards the athletes performance. Top hat and tail, it ain't! And I'm sorry - as elegant William and Carl and Charlotte look to us, you have to admit it plays right into the 'toff sport' stereotype.

We don't sound like 'normal' people! Lol. Please take all I am writing in the good humour it is intended. But with the exception of one or two, riders all sound well-to-do. That doesn't mean that they aren't the hardest working/most grounded/professional/humble/funniest/kindest/most brilliant but they all sound 'just so nice'. The way we talk about the sport too. When it goes right or wrong riders don't sound like other sportsmen> They blame themselves constantly when things go wrong, talk about how their horses are their 'best friends' etc etc...none of which I disagree with, but it doesn't create the same public image as the more steely cyclists, athletes or swimmers. Self deprecation is good - overly humble 'oh silly me, we missed out on a medal, never mind, he was brilliant it was all my fault' maybe doesn't sit as well with the non horsey brigade?

I often grimace at he clunky explanations of the sport of radio/tv. Was it only me that found it odd that Aggers was referring to the dressage riders as 'the next athlete in will be xx' on 5Live? I guess its better than calling them jockeys though ;). Gary Lineker's patronising and classist 'tally ho' at the end of the the London 2012 report about our dressage double gold still makes me see red, but are they any better with the detail and accuracy of things like judo, sailing, etc? I don't know so take the knowledge they are imparting as fairly interesting. Maybe seasoned sports men and women of those fields also feel they are being dumbed down?

And then our own 'in store' coverage. Our commentators seem obsessed with horses breeding and tell you all about the bloodlines which is SOLELY for those in the know. Means NOTHING to the casual viewer dull, dull, dull. I'll leave alone of phrases like 'The Argentine' and 'lady rider' or that someone heralds from 'good hunting stock' ;)

How do we remedy these? Dunno for the most part. But identifying the elements that make us unrelateable is surely the first step?

Maybe there isn't an answer. Maybe we just have to stop trying to please everyone and accept that our sport IS niche and pretty elitest, instead of denying these facts amd bemoaning that we don't get the support/coverage/acceptance. It doesn't make it or us BAD, but it is what it is...
 
teapot said:
People on borrowed horses happens at all levels though, PC is no different and I wasn't saying it didn't happen. I'm also not denying that the PC centres do their bit but realistically how many PC centre members are competing on PC teams at regional and national level? Is talent spotting ever done at PC centres? Also depending on area, they're still not cheap or accessible. My local PC centre charges £340 for their non residential summer camp for example.

Interestingly the 'talent spotter' for the Para squad does a lot of spotting both at BD classes AND at RDA competitions. I've heard him speak a few times and it isn't just about people getting spotted, the powers that be have to spot where the talent is too. There are very talented RDA riders who wouldn't choose to, or are not able to compete at BD through horse availability, cost, etc etc.
Click to expand...

I've met at least one Centre Member who has competed at the Pony Club National Championships and I am sure there are more. I also know that one member of our branch who has never had her own horse/pony (even on loan) is competing at the Open PC Championships this year on a borrowed but tricky horse. I'm not saying it is easy, but it does happen.

And interestingly, I know a couple of youngsters whose parents tried to 'buy' them their way to the top in terms of horsepower and yet they got nowhere. (One admitted they could have bought a small house with the sums they had spent financing their daughter's eventing dreams).
 
I dont think you are right about 'top hat and tails' looking 'funny'. No one thinks the people in Downton Abbey 'look funny' - everyone marvels about the elegance of the age, the lovely clothes etc. Mr Darcy just wouldnt be the same in a baseball cap and low slung jeans - and neither would dressage look or be right - the clothes are designed for the sport, ie boots are needed to protect the legs (ever had a pinched leg from riding in jeans?)
What is wrong with being humble and praising your horse when you/he mess up? You should have heard the comments from my non-horsey friends when some of the show jumpers became more 'steely' and used the whips? We should be kind where animals are involved, that has always been seen as a positive, not a negative.
The main problem as I see it stems from the local small riding schools closing because of insurance etc- that was how the less well off who liked horses started riding in they heyday of equestrian sport.
And another 'rant' while I'm in the mood- people used to identify with their 'horse heroes' - the plucky little Stroller, the giant Anglezarke, the back-kicking Vibart, but nowadays the horses arent as important, its the riders name in BIG letters, the horses name in small ones. Its all about the rider now, even the start list for the Olympics didnt have the horses name, only the rider :(
 
some good points bongo-girl. I would also say, the BBC could learn something from Sky coverage of show jumping which has more interesting shots and explanation of the technicalities of the course in an exciting way-rather than glossing over and mentioning strides without any context. And you're right, noone gives a stuff about the breeding except maybe a passing mention of why so many look alike.

Stockdale is really engaging and appeals to everyone, shame we can't find someone like him to do the commentary.
 
Stormox you will never convince me that white breeches or a tail coat are the most effective sporting gear for riding horses. Have you seen the state of those guys' breeches at the award ceremony? And tails flopping around the horse's sides?

Can anyone explain why riders at that level are still forced to have two bits in the horse's mouth even if they hate it? One of our riders was barely holding the curb rein and rode the whole test on the snaffle with big loops on the lower rein. To an uneducated watcher, it looked incompetent.
 
stormox said:
I dont think you are right about 'top hat and tails' looking 'funny'. No one thinks the people in Downton Abbey 'look funny' - everyone marvels about the elegance of the age,
Click to expand...

keep point = 'elegance of the age'. Of course you need to keep boots etc but sure the kit can be modernised.


It is a shame there are so few showjumping horse heroes these days but guess that goes along with reduced TV coverage and public interest. It's a great shame, as its one of the very few (only?) sports where men and women compete on equal terms. I also think its no less elitist than F1 (and there is so much wrong with F1 its not funny) which arguably, much harder for a woman to race in F1 than to become an international rider!

I remember being on holiday in Switzerland back in the 80s, seemed like every mid-sized town had a show jumping arena. It seemed really popular in Sweden etc. Has the sport lost public interest there as well?
 
ycbm said:
Stormox you will never convince me that white breeches or a tail coat are the most effective sporting gear for riding horses. Have you seen the state of those guys' breeches at the award ceremony? And tails flopping around the horse's sides?

Can anyone explain why riders at that level are still forced to have two bits in the horse's mouth even if they hate it? One of our riders was barely holding the curb rein and rode the whole test on the snaffle with big loops on the lower rein. To an uneducated watcher, it looked incompetent.
Click to expand...

Well,what would your idea of a more 'popular' dressage outfit look like? Personally I rather like the tail coats, white britches etc. I think the cyclists, in their one pieces which leave NOTHING to the imagination look ridiculous when standing for team photos!!
I dont understand why you should think riding on the snaffle rein of a double bridle looks incompetent,most people wouldnt even notice, but its no different to having 10 gears on a cycle and riding in 6th gear- if you need it, use it,if you arent needing it, its there in case you do.
 
"people used to identify with their 'horse heroes' - the plucky little Stroller, the giant Anglezarke, the back-kicking Vibart, but nowadays the horses arent as important, its the riders name in BIG letters, the horses name in small ones. Its all about the rider now, even the start list for the Olympics didnt have the horses name, only the rider"

Very true about not being able to relate to the horses. When showjumping had it's TV Golden Era in the 1970s, the horses were much more individual. Stroller, Mattie Brown, Vibart, Flanagan, Mister Softee,Ryan's Son, Penwood Forge Mill, fairly ordinary looking horses that you might see at a local riding club, each with a distinctive look and personality. They were bred to be all rounders, being by TBs out of Cleveland, Irish draughts, Clydesdales, Connemaras, Welsh cobs, and we could relate to them.Then we got the influx of warmbloods at the expense of our own native breeds, These horses to the untrained eye look pretty identical, they all do the job in the same way. Showjumping has become rather slick and as a result boring, the withdrawal of TV support has meant that the horses and riders are no longer household names. You have to have the top priced Sky package to see any showjumping apart from the Christmas coverage on the BBC.
 
stormox said:
I dont think you are right about 'top hat and tails' looking 'funny'. No one thinks the people in Downton Abbey 'look funny' - everyone marvels about the elegance of the age, the lovely clothes etc. Mr Darcy just wouldnt be the same in a baseball cap and low slung jeans - and neither would dressage look or be right - the clothes are designed for the sport, ie boots are needed to protect the legs (ever had a pinched leg from riding in jeans?)
What is wrong with being humble and praising your horse when you/he mess up? You should have heard the comments from my non-horsey friends when some of the show jumpers became more 'steely' and used the whips? We should be kind where animals are involved, that has always been seen as a positive, not a negative.

I just meant in the context of 21st century professional sport. I adore the costumes in Downton, but if I turned up to work trussed up like Lady Mary I think there might be the odd arched eyebrow...hang on, there's an idea!

And nothing wrong with humility - but its a fine balance though - and we are talking about engaging with people who don't understand the incredible psychological partnership between horse and rider. My OH jokingly quipped after a typical 'it wasn't his (the horse's) fault, it was my silly mistake' interview 'well if you make such 'stupid mistakes - why are you on the team?'! It was said in jest and he knows exactly what the rider mean't - he was only playing devil's advocate - but again - to the uninitiated the odd 'yeah - sometimes its just not your day' or 'yep - I'm gutted - we just got it wrong coming into the double - but that's life' sounds a little more relatable to non riders. We aren't looking to engage with people who already love the sport - we know for a fact that we will all sniff out coverage/forums/debate to get our hit...its the 'others' we want to worry about ;)

And 'Steely' and 'competitive' doesn't have to mean cruel....and glad those two show jumpers were called out on their mis-use of whips/spurs etc. Animal welfare HAS to come first.
Click to expand...
 
ycbm said:
Stormox you will never convince me that white breeches or a tail coat are the most effective sporting gear for riding horses. Have you seen the state of those guys' breeches at the award ceremony? And tails flopping around the horse's sides?

Can anyone explain why riders at that level are still forced to have two bits in the horse's mouth even if they hate it? One of our riders was barely holding the curb rein and rode the whole test on the snaffle with big loops on the lower rein. To an uneducated watcher, it looked incompetent.
Click to expand...

An uneducated watcher wouldn't even know what the correct way to use double reins is.

An educated watcher would know unfortuantely the second one is required to be there under the rules, but good on her for being able to compete a horse at GP getting 70 odd percent, essentially in a snaffle!
 
bongo-girl said:
And then our own 'in store' coverage. Our commentators seem obsessed with horses breeding and tell you all about the bloodlines which is SOLELY for those in the know. Means NOTHING to the casual viewer dull, dull, dull.
Click to expand...

Yes, yes, yes! Not sure many need to know that the dam's great great grand sire called Spot won a race in 1876. Agree with so much of your post.

I know all of Team GB get media training but compare the interviews of the Equestrian team to how Jess Ennis interviews. You can see how/why the 'elite image' appears.
 
Since Charlotte's win yesterday, a number of non-horsey people I know have commented on what a beautiful horse Valegro is and what a rapport he and Charlotte have. She's done a great job of making people notice equestrian sports.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top