What an insulting report!!

[horsimous]

Well, I must say I was shocked by this news report:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympic...aekwondo-diving-swimming-equestrian/#comments

It’s very sarcastic and insulting to our Olympic riders and the sport itself!!

 

[ycbm]

Why did the Telegraph have a reporter who clearly hates dressage report on it ?

 

[deb_l222]

What a thoroughly patronising, sarcastic and just horrid report!! You just have to hope that none of the GB team actually read it.

If you didn’t know better and just went off the report, you would assume the GB team had disgraced themselves when nothing could be further from that assumption.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Trying to be amusing but the result is patronising instead.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

It simply shows the 'journalist's' ignorance. but yes, it is extremely rude. As is another piece about the spingboard divers.

 

[irishdraft]

Wow what a ignoramus

 

[Annagain]

There won’t be many sports reporters who understand just what an achievement both the team and individual Bronze medals are. Gio was mainly going for experience this time, not a medal, same for Lottie Fry at her first Olympics and Carl who has been riding En Vogue for less than a year. It’s probably one of the few sports where someone finishing 10th could be happier than the person who finished 2nd depending on the objectives for the horses.

In most sports winning is everything but equestrian sports are different. I remember Pippa Funnell being criticised by the main stream media for time faults in Athens and being totally unapologetic about it, saying Primmore’s Pride was just too precious to push on hard ground. Other sportspeople just couldn’t understand it. Claire Balding was the only one.

 

[coblets]

There won’t be many sports reporters who understand just what an achievement both the team and individual Bronze medals are. Gio was mainly going for experience this time, not a medal, same for Lottie Fry at her first Olympics and Carl who has been riding En Vogue for less than a year. It’s probably one of the few sports where someone finishing 10th could be happier than the person who finished 2nd depending on the objectives for the horses.

In most sports winning is everything but equestrian sports are different. I remember Pippa Funnell being criticised by the main stream media for time faults in Athens and being totally unapologetic about it, saying Primmore’s Pride was just too precious to push on hard ground. Other sportspeople just couldn’t understand it. Claire Balding was the only one.

Guess the problem is that they're also riding 'for their country'. Think some Olympic viewers get a bit too caught up on just wanting their country to get the most medals.

 

[mini_b]

Jim White is the sort of bloke you meet in the pub who thinks he’s both hilarious and charming, he would say he has a ‘dry sense of humour’

actually just a tosser.

 

[splashgirl45]

why are we surprised when the newspapers only seem to publish things to put people down in all walks of life..there are some good journalists but they seem in the minority these days....would love to put that journalist on top of a horse and let him see how easy it is..they are talking about the dressage on the one show and the male presenter obviously knows nothing about horses but he said he really enjoyed it. thats nice and positive

 

[Cutgrass]

What a shame the writer is so clueless about the sport. A very poor quality report that tries to use humour to make up for total lack of knowledge.

 

[mini_b]

I know frig all about many other sports on at the Olympics but I understand the absolute dedication and talent it takes to be at the very top ranking of your sport, whichever that may be!

how someone cannot get that, no matter what discipline it is, is beyond me.

it’s not like CDJ rocks up after a week sightseeing in Tokyo and Gio is all ready for her just to hop on - he knows the moves remember she just sits there.

sloppy journalism

 

[milliepops]

I know frig all about many other sports on at the Olympics but I understand the absolute dedication and talent it takes to be at the very top ranking of your sport, whichever that may be!

^^ this, exactly.

 

[shortstuff99]

You know it is poor quality when he firstly mentions Spanish Walk, which is banned at FEI competition. And then he can't spell Werth's name correctly ?.

I think there are plenty of other sports that are as complex and niche as equestrian and I don't make fun of them ?‍.

 

[Julie Ole Girl]

It never ceases to amaze me how any type of sport with HORSES arouses suspicion, a class war, envy and the rest....Go back to your hipster loft apartment in Hoxton you toad and I hope you stand in dog poo outside.

 

[oldie48]

I think someone should invite Mr White for a lesson on a dressage schoolmaster. Nothing too taxing, just walk and trot on the lunge with something to hang onto so he doesn't wreck the horses mouth. Actually I've noticed that the Telegraph has three spellings for IW's name Werth, Wirth, Wurth. I can't help that that's a pretty poor show. However, how many people understand dressage (and that goes for lots of sports that aren't an easy goal or pole down type)? The British team did brilliantly, The two Germans ahead of CJD did better tests and I thought (from what I was able to watch!) that the marking was fair. I think the future is very bright for British dressage and that makes me very happy. I am planning a trip to Paris.

 

[millikins]

I read it yesterday and was livid. I bet he wouldn't have written like that about sailing for example. It was just plain rude, I showed it to a sport loving friend though he knows nothing about horses and he too was shocked. The DT is pretty middle class, they wouldn't have to look too hard to find someone on their staff who understood at least a little about the sport.

 

[oldie48]

There's a much more supportive report on the DT online this evening.

 

[Courbette]

The Guardian Blog kept referring to dressage as ‘Dancing Horses’ in a way that suggested it was an eccentric hobby.

I know people can use the term as a compliment but there seems to be an agenda in some of today’s media reports. Really disappointing when our team rode so brilliantly. I loved watching it.

 

[fetlock]

I think someone should invite Mr White for a lesson on a dressage schoolmaster. Nothing too taxing, just walk and trot on the lunge with something to hang onto so he doesn't wreck the horses mouth. Actually I've noticed that the Telegraph has three spellings for IW's name Werth, Wirth, Wurth. I can't help that that's a pretty poor show. However, how many people understand dressage (and that goes for lots of sports that aren't an easy goal or pole down type)? The British team did brilliantly, The two Germans ahead of CJD did better tests and I thought (from what I was able to watch!) that the marking was fair. I think the future is very bright for British dressage and that makes me very happy. I am planning a trip to Paris.

With a lesson on an aged and wily riding school horse of the world weary, dodgy steering, gears, acceleration and brakes variety first, so he can feel the difference.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Don't get me wrong, if I were a journalist sent to cover the Olympics and was told I had to go and watch the ping pong, I would feel aggrieved. However, as it was my job and I was being paid, I would then learn as much as I could about the game and the competitors, watch it, write my piece, and be very congratulatory about the medal-winners. The bloke sounds like a spoilt brat who got told no and had a tantrum.

 

[Nicnac]

His daughter is a comedian....... he's definitely not.

 

[mini_b]

His daughter is a comedian....... he's definitely not.

haha - he thinks he is!

 

[Rowreach]

Ah look, he can't even spell "debutante", so I cba reading the rest.

The standard of today's journalism ...

 

[05jackd]

What an appalling piece of journalism. We should be celebrating each and every medal and praising those who work for years just to get a shot at the Olympics in any sport.

No wonder there’s such a metal health problem in elite sportspersons. Even when you surpass all expectations you are ripped to pieces!

I almost don’t care about the total ignorance of the sport I am shocked that winning ANY medal is met with such disdain. All credit to the Germans but for heavens sake surely they could find something positive to say about the GB team especially considering both a young rider and an inexperienced horse on the team.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Man’s clearly clueless. It would be useful had they used someone who had a clue about horses.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

I’m so over clowns who can’t do their job. If you can’t spell, cant research, can’t analyse information and then deliver something insightful then you are not a journalist.

In the era of feedback, send a note to the Telegraph to let them know their journalist is incompetent and recommend he is on the next rightsizing list.

 

[Jellymoon]

Sloppy spelling and research and yes, patronising, but don’t you sometimes look at our sport with the eyes of a ‘normal’ person and think, it’s a bit bonkers??!!!! Obviously we horse people know the time and dedication and incredible skill that goes into it and we understand all the nuances. But for non horse people, such as my OH, they do question the strange outfits, the naff flowers and decorations, the often cheesy music and the bizarre names of the horses. Much as I look at ice skating and think, wow, what’s with all the glitter and sequins?
It was still a silly bit of writing though, but normal people probably wouldn’t have understood or even bothered reading it if it were written by a horse person!

 

[tallyho!]

Let's not think too hard about it.

 

[cauda equina]

WE know she done good, even if he didn't mansplain it very well