Terrible biased reporting on Olympic Equestrian events.

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Honeylight

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Is anyone else sick of the ignorance, sniping and nastiness by reporters on the equestrian events, particularly dressage?
The Guardian and the Telegraph have both belittled equestrian sport, The Guardian has been especially nasty turning dressage into a class issue. They didn't even publish the fact Britain had won silver until people started posting why was it missing on the forum. No mention of Fiona's dressage test with an eye patch and why that was, if a cyclist as much as sneezes it's a headline.
This attitude by the press (not even the gutter press but supposed quality papers) is not good for the future of equestrian sport. It is being made into a class issue, an attitude by journalists and commentators on newspaper forums that all people who ride are rich people who vote Tory.
It must be so depressing for those who work so hard for their sport. It's making me angry as I know the comments about horses and social class are not necessarily correct. Also they seem to think it isn't a sport and it is easier than track and field events and cycling.
 
Honeylight I haven't read the articles but I agree with you. The equestrian events always seem to get minimal coverage and when it is mentioned it is not very positive. Its such a shame because other successful horsey countries like Aus and NZ are proud of their equestrian teams, they don't have the same class prejudice as we do here.

Saying that I thought the dressage team came over really well on the BBC last night, Carl and Charlotte both came over as very down to earth and likeable which I thought was good for the sport and it was nice to see Clare Balding speak to them with her genuine enthusiasm for anything horsey.

Riding isn't the only expensive sport in the Olympics, sailing is expensive and yet their coverage is much less biased.
 
The Guardian turns pretty much anything into a class issue! I agree though, the reporting on equestrian events is not just minimal but often very ignorant - doesn't challenge the large number of people who still think riders 'just sit on horses' .
There was a comment on one of the Guardian's blogs on the London Olympics that I always remember because it amused me - something like 'Have all these equestrian people broken their necks in falls yet carried on riding? Are they all nuts??'
 
I think it all stems from the "toffs on horses" stereotype. Sailing is a very expensive sport, and yes toffs do that too :-), but it doesn't seem to suffer from the same prejudices. ALL the sports which require equipment (and horses are, essentially, the same thing) are extremely expensive at this level, and anyone who wishes to participate will have to dedicate themselves to training full time which is why sponsorship is routine. The general public are never going to understand what it takes to ride, let alone compete in equestrian sport at the top, it's just too far removed from most people's daily experience.

And yes, it is elitist.
 
It can't possibly help our Olympic equestrians when Go Compare are running another of their really dreadful commercials on TV at this time. This one depicting a pair of dressage riders in top hats and tails, sat on their horses talking in plummy, grossly affected voices. Of course the opera singing, fat barsteward, with the twirly moustache, whilst similarly attired, rocks up on another horse singing the annoying jingle at the end :rolleyes:
 
Have you got a link to the Telegraph articles? Am surprised as they tend to have the best coverage for the sport.
 
Rowing is always well covered and popular. It's a prime toff sport and expensive too. My cousin just missed out on going this year.
 
BBC Breakfast this morning. About 5 minutes of coverage just before it finished when they spent all morning going over everything else.
Have to say the dressage elite do shoot themselves in the foot though. The man being interviewed and asked to explain the movements had no communication skill, used terms like forehand and had as much charisma as my back door. They really need someone who is good at PR to make stories available and do interviews.
 
honetpot said:
BBC Breakfast this morning. About 5 minutes of coverage just before it finished when they spent all morning going over everything else.
Have to say the dressage elite do shoot themselves in the foot though. The man being interviewed and asked to explain the movements had no communication skill, used terms like forehand and had as much charisma as my back door. They really need someone who is good at PR to make stories available and do interviews.
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I don't honestly think you can make dressage "available" to the average guy on the street though, any more than you can opera or ballet or other allegedly highbrow pursuits. You're either an aficionado (defined as someone who knows what "aficionado" means...) or you're not. The best they've come up with is "horse dancing", which isn't very helpful.
 
Jilly Cooper has made a fair bit of money making riding sexy, not every reader would have been horsey. You have got women, beautiful animals and striving against adversity, think more tabloid and forget about half pass. At the moment its so dearie and earnest.
 
I think having the olympics in Rio was always going to highlight class issues. To the people in the favelas all those involved are elitist. The issue of funding and elitism was bound to come up when the locals can't even afford a ticket.

As for the 'average guy' mentioned above; if you understand a decent seat and an obedient horse you will appreciate the sports.
 
I think it doesn't help that dressage is more or less impossible to understand for the average viewer. At least cycling and rowing are pretty simple - first one over the line wins! Personally I wouldn't mind if dressage was dropped from the Olympics if it meant we could keep the eventing and SJ *hides behind sofa*
 
I think in any sport,not just dressage, there are technical terms used that the average person doesnt understand. For example, I just turned on the TV and the commentator (in cycling) was talking about the 'Kieran Race'... whoever in the street has heard of that? or a 'Deasha Harai' in judo?
 
Another one who would be interested in any links people could share - 'proper' news articles, rather than opinion pieces/blog-style articles, if you see what I mean. I've gone through the Telegraph website and haven't found much, but I may not be searching correctly!
 
HashRouge said:
I think it doesn't help that dressage is more or less impossible to understand for the average viewer. At least cycling and rowing are pretty simple - first one over the line wins! Personally I wouldn't mind if dressage was dropped from the Olympics if it meant we could keep the eventing and SJ *hides behind sofa*
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Haha I'd pick eventing and dressage over SJ but we'll have to agree to disagree there!

I find it absolutely lovely how people have taken to the 'dancing horses' - they don't seem to care that they don't know the technicalities of it, they're just enjoying it :)

I had a brilliant Whatsapp conversation with some of my non-horsey pals last night about the 'prancey sideways bit' and the 'skipping bit' :D Isn't that the beauty of the Olympics? You can be enthralled by something you know nothing about?
 
stormox said:
I think in any sport,not just dressage, there are technical terms used that the average person doesnt understand. For example, I just turned on the TV and the commentator (in cycling) was talking about the 'Kieran Race'... whoever in the street has heard of that? or a 'Deasha Harai' in judo?
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They showed a slowmo replay of an ippon in the judo, complete with explanation of what it was and I still couldn't distinguish it from all the other rolling round on the mat they'd been doing in the rest of the round! I think commentary can help sell a sport to the casual viewer but ultimately it's got to be interesting enough to watch and the equestrian sports all have that factor for me, even if the terminology doesn't make sense to the casual viewer. Peter Storr was great though - I think he really found a great balance between explaining the basics and still making it interesting for the hardcore fans.
 
Lexi_ said:
Haha I'd pick eventing and dressage over SJ but we'll have to agree to disagree there!

I find it absolutely lovely how people have taken to the 'dancing horses' - they don't seem to care that they don't know the technicalities of it, they're just enjoying it :)

I had a brilliant Whatsapp conversation with some of my non-horsey pals last night about the 'prancey sideways bit' and the 'skipping bit' :D Isn't that the beauty of the Olympics? You can be enthralled by something you know nothing about?
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First time mum saw flying changes she went "I didn't know horses could skip!" 😂😂😂
 
Slightlyconfused said:
First time mum saw flying changes she went "I didn't know horses could skip!" ������
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I have been watching a lot of the dressage with my 3 year old twins and it's really helped me to use basic language to explain dressage; it is possible and if the commentators could just get over it I think a lot more people would be on board. We've had the trotting on the spot, the flicky toes bit, the skipping, leg crossing, spinning around and backwards. I got very strange looks explaining this to them while watching the PSG tests at regionals but they're more interested now!
We don't sell our sports in a sufficiently accessible way. I was quite impressed with the text commentary on h&h by emile faurey, he come across really well.
 
Lexi_ said:
Haha I'd pick eventing and dressage over SJ but we'll have to agree to disagree there!

I find it absolutely lovely how people have taken to the 'dancing horses' - they don't seem to care that they don't know the technicalities of it, they're just enjoying it :)
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This is pretty much my view too. I remember a lot of non horsey friends really enjoying the freestyle to music last time in London. Much more than watching the Xc (a lot of non horsey people see it as cruel and don't like seeing horses fall). Mary King and her sunny interviews won a lot of my non horsey friends over last time too.
 
An outsider is very likely to think it is an elitist sport, I expect many of those journalists writing the articles have never even touched a horse let alone ridden one.

Most of the competitors in equine sports come from the rich western countries, the cost of buying and keeping a top competition horse and flying it to international competitions must be a lot more than any other sport apart from perhaps sailing. I can totally see why someone who has no experience of the sport would think it is a sport for rich white people.

The stereotype of riders/horse owner being "tory voting toffs" is not without some truth. Most yards I have been on them have not been full of socialists or those who have grown up on council estates.

Even though I love riding I do think the equine sports perhaps are not so exciting to watch for people that are not enthusiasts as some other sports. I have enjoyed watching the cycling, the fencing, the gymnastics and diving and don't participate or have knowledge in any of these sports. With dressage is can seem to take a long time to work out who has won and it is not a race or a fight or two teams playing against each other so I can see why some people might find it boring and why there is not that much coverage.
 
The New Yorker shows it can be done though - their recent article about Charlotte is fantastic and hits the right level whether you know what a horse is or you don't.

ETS: I watched a bit of the dressage yesterday to see how the team got on and it does nothing for me as a spectator sport and I vaguely understand what they're doing.
 
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My wife and I are watching the track cycling and I have had to explain the keirin and the sprint to her. I'm just glad they don't do Madison, or devil take the hindmost in the Olympics!

The Mash referred to dressing gown wrestling and falling into a swimming pool this week.
 
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Explaining the keirin is far easier than explaining what one time changes are though! Dressage is up there with fencing and judo for having to really understand what's going on.
 
to appreciate good dressage takes a person with an eye for art, at its best it is equestrian art, it rises above sheer sport to another realm, it is a moment in time that captures something beautiful, and involves opening a portal to a place where those that cannot see or understand what is happening are hardly likely to have a good word to say, or maybe they are just plain too thick, they stay down there in a dark place while the horse and rider go to another place that very few can, they should stop embarrassing themselves.
 
I don't get this idea that sailing is as expensive as the equestrian sports?. It costs about ten grand to ship a live horse that far. I'll bet you can ship a dinghy for a fraction of that. And you don't have to have a team of grooms, vets, physios, farriers, and a ton of food to keep the dinghy going. I can't believe it costs a fraction of the money to provide a suitable sailing course as it does to build the equestrian facilities, either.

In sailing, they sail boats of the same class in the same race. So it is the best sailor who wins, not the best boat. That means that the problem with dressage, where very big money buys a better horse, doesn't exist to anything like the same extent in any other sport in the Olympics.For me, it's an extremely elitist sport at the top end, which has far too much money spent to include it for far too few countries to have any chance of a medal.
 
tristar said:
to appreciate good dressage takes a person with an eye for art, at its best it is equestrian art, it rises above sheer sport to another realm, it is a moment in time that captures something beautiful, and involves opening a portal to a place where those that cannot see or understand what is happening are hardly likely to have a good word to say, or maybe they are just plain too thick, they stay down there in a dark place while the horse and rider go to another place that very few can, they should stop embarrassing themselves.
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Admittedly I've had a bottle of wine but I'm not following your point here... Who should stop embarrassing themselves? The people who don't understand the intricacies of dressage? If that's what you mean, I find that point of view completely ridiculous. People can be entirely capable of enjoying something without understanding all possible nuances. I don't think making equestrian sports out to be any more elitist than they already are really helps matters! If people like watching the dancing horses (or the jumping horses or the running horses) then that's great IMO.
 
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