Why do people say they can ride to a certain level..........

Halfpass

Halfpass

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.............. when its so obvious that they can't!!!

Why oh why do many people seem to add more onto their capabilities.

So many people at my yard go on and on about how they have competed at x, y or z level then when you watch them ride its so damn obvious that they couldn't.

I don't have a problem with people being ambitious but why lie?

It goes the same with their horses, they say my horse can jump this height or do this level dressage, it then gets to a competition and they enter at that level then don't understand why the horse can't jump a full round at 3' when it can jump a single jump at that height at home or that their horse can do novice level dressage when it can't even canter a 20 meter circle!!

I don't mean to sound harsh and having a go is all part of the fun but why can;t people just be honest in their own and their horses abilities after all at home there is no competition.

Ok RANT over.
 
I think some people say it maybe to stay in with people. We had a girl and her mum at our yard who used to be just like that. Apprently the horse they brought jumped 4ft6" with the previous owner but then couldnt jump a small 2ft3" course. Same sinario with the rider. (quoting the mother) "She has ridden so many naughty horses and will get on anything" well ask her to get on a horse up there which was naughty and she would have her excuses. Think they said these things as it was their only way of making friends. You can imagin they didnt have many friends after so many lies, and left the yard!
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I know the feeling I know a girl that's always saying how shes been jumping 1.30m on her cob but when she's jumping with me she always nags at me to put my 1m jumps down so that she can jump them.
There's nothing wrong with not doing advanced things, we've all been at that stage, just don't lie about it! lol
 
It drives me nuts too!! I'm always more cautious when saying what I'm like as a rider or how my horse is.. I'd rather people not watch and think 'what...?' like I have done on many occasions!!
I think it is a big problem though and why I decided not to sell my horse as he isn't a novice ride and I was so worried about people phoning and 'bigging' themselves up and then turning up and frightening him with their slack riding!!
 
some one did that to me and unfortunatly it ended in a trip in a trip to A&E with fractured ribs, when she fell off!
 
I think its often because they want to fit in and seem better than they are, I feel sorry for people who feel the need to do it because its only themselves they are fooling! Im happy to say Im not the best rider, it doesnt bother me!
 
Absolutley no idea! My problem is the opposite - I say I'm completely rubbish and have been told I'm not! I know I'm not the best rider and will freely admit it and I'm not too proud to refuse to ride something that I think is beyond my capabilities either - self preservation I think they call it!
It is very sad when people make themselves out to be better than they are cos in the end they always get found out and look even more foolish than if they'd just said 'I don't ride very well/jump/whatever but would like to learn'!
I wish I could ride amazing or jump huge courses etc. but the fact of the matter is at the moment I'm not up to it - I will get there though, I know I'm just going to have to work hard!
 
You sound like me. Apparantly I am always running myself down and that is my biggest problem. Personally I think I'm pretty crap and theres no point in pretending otherwise. I would only be kidding myself!
 
We had a woman at our old yard kept telling us she was having lessons on an eventer and jumping 4 foot courses (she was a nervous wreck who couldn't ride for toffee so we were a bit suspicious). She didn't realise the YO was a friend of a friend of mine. My friend asked me how she was enjoying her dressage lessons - turned out she hadn't jumped a stick. It made her the laughing stock of the yard. No idea why people do it!
 
Well i'm glad i'm not the only one who thinks that this is slightly crazy. One particular family I know have bigged theire horses and thier daughter up so much that it seems to have gone to her head. Trouble is the more the parents say how good she is the more she seems to believe it. Then she is disapointed when she gets eliminated at the first fence in a course over twice the size that the horse has ever jumped
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I am happy to say that the highest I have competed is at prelim dressage and that I have only jumped affiliated once on a day ticket.
Alee is the first youngster I have owned and backed and I have no problem admitting that I'[ll have to get someone more experienced to help me with a lot of her work. However I would also hope that she is the horse that is going to change all this and help me achieve a much better standard of riding and a higher level of competeing but who knows if she can't or I can't i won't kid myelf!
 
oh...I no sooooo many of those people who say they can do this and do that... done this and done that, but when it comes to a show or an eventing event they sure do come unstuck...LOL
 
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My biggest fear is going somewhere I don't know (ie riding holiday) and being put on something I can't cope with! I always say that I'm ok on my horse at any speed, and that I don't jump

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto, I have a fear of saying i'm ok and being put on the yard maniac!
 
I know I'm not a great rider - only ridden for 3 years in all but will sit on most things....whether i can get a tune out of them is another thing entirely!
 
How true!
At my old yard there was a woman like that and to speak to her you'd think she was a fab rider, she really knew how to talk the talk as they say!
I even got a bit sucked in and said she could jump my 4 year old.........until I saw her ride that was.
One day she went xc schooling with a friend of mine, and I got a totally different story from her than the one I got from my friend lol!!

And she even has the nerve to say that another girl at the yard is bigging herself up and fibbing about what she's done, when the other girl is a far better rider than her anyway
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I usually say I'm rubbish
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I am IMO, I've got so many faults it's unreal. And I do have a tendancy to exaggerate about how small I jump! Nothing over 6"..... it's a far better idea than going on about how brill you are. I never listen to people anymore, I just wait until I see them ride lol.

Although....it does annoy me when I see people not putting any work in and ragging their poor horses round, jabbing them in the mouth etc, then going jumping and getting on just fine! I spend a fortune on lessons, hours and hours practising, and I'm STILL rubbish
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That does annoy me!
 
I think its a common theme. Pride comes before a fall .... especially with horses! Surely they've learnt that by now!

There's so many people I know who tell people they've got a horse and do this and that with it, actually they do neither. Think it' a status symbol thing. And if you talk to a person clueless about horses you can get away with bigging yourself up and preening to yourself I suppose, but then if and when they actually ride the horse, the rest of us can see they're bloomin liars!
 
LMAO! We often get people saying that they are 'confident to 4 feet..' so we invariably bring out the best horses, only to find that these 'experts' can't ride one side of them! They always end up being demoted to the 'school' horses that your average 9 year old child can make a nice job of....!
 
its ssoooo embarrassing, ive taken a friend out before who convinced me she used to ride loads when younger, as soon as we went into trot, awful, told her i was not impressed. now if anyone wants to ride mine or ride with me i tell them that i can tell from them simply putting foot in the stirrup and getting on as to how much they can ride, this seems to put them off fabricating now and people do tend to be alot more honest!
 
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