Eventers...How can we get them to undersatnd they need to be stopped?

Question

We have all seen it a million times, the kid with the money but not the skills or the knowledge out there cometing training or novice when they should be back at Begginer Novice. These same kids grow up and ride adavanced and don't have the skill level to be there but the clear rounds and end up either hurting themselves or the horse or in some cases dieing or killing their horse.

My question is how do get these kids to realize they are not ready?

How do we get them to stop and go back to the basics and not fly through the levels, well because they can?

How do we get instructors knowledgable enough to know when something is wrong, to fix it and who don't cost an arm and leg to learn from.

We have a big education gap and i'm not the only one to notice, EQQUS just did a fantastic article on it in the August issue. PLEASE READ IT.

As much as i love Pony Club it needs to step up and do a better job, the kids i know who are like this are all in pony club.

what can we do?

Answer 1

I totally agree with you.  But the rich kid with the fancy saddle and the 'premier' riding academy that passes them on to higher levels simply because they age is not necessarily in this for the sake of the horses and certainly not for the sake of others.

If only an international governing body that was immune to the lure of profits could step in and regulate.  I think it will take the downfall of a very rich danger child/teen to get an organization started that has the resources to maintain standards of horsemanship and safety for eventing (and every other class for that matter)

In the mean time, I guess we can yell at them, hehe?  Maybe we can tie them to a lunging line and exercise them until they come to their senses . . .

Answer 2

Someone needs to go scare the life out of them with real stories of how people who werent ready went in and competed and got themself or their horse killled.... people need to be double sure they and their horses are capable ...it takes years an years ... people these days think horses are a 3 or 4 month project ..Its like taking a 6 year old human out and trying to teach them to be a marathon runner in 1 week.. it cant be done ..Horses are living breathing animals that need to be respected ...not taken out and forced to perform tasks that are too much ... I love eventing to death ...but if you are not 110% ready you should NOT attempt it !

Answer 3

its their life.

their choice.

maybe they'll learn if it happens to them.

Answer 4

I think a lot of the problem lies in the current throw-away self indulgent culture.  There is an alarming number of people who think that they can achieve anything if they throw enough money at it.

Money can't make you a better rider.  It can't give you experience.  Having the money to buy a good competition horse doesn't make you a good enough rider to deal with it.  You see it so much, even at quite high level affiliated events: horses who are too good for their riders, and riders who make very obvious errors.  Everyone who competes (regardless of discipline) wants to have the best horse for the job, but ambition gets in the way of common sense.  And if you've got a big wallet, you can buy the best horse.  And then it follows: what's the point in having a top level horse if you don't ride it in top level competition?

More input is needed at the bottom levels.  Not necessarily PC - but instructors.  Instructors and trainers need to be brave enough to say to their clients, "no, you're not a good enough rider, or your horse is not good enough, for what you want to achieve".  Not every child who enjoys tennis will win Wimbledon, so why is it that people think they can enter top riding competitions without the relevant experience and instruction?

Answer 5

The problem lies within the system, not necessarily the wealthy who are taking advantage of it.

I don't know anything about Pony Club, but aren't there tests and such that rider would have to pass, skills they would have to display to advance?  If they don't have them, there's where to start...and if they do, then why isn't the club enforcing them?

Well of course we know why that would be...too many people use power and influence to artificially add to their kids' accomplishments, and too many organizations want the money and prestige that goes along with having a certain "class" of patrons.

If it makes you feel better, there are equal amounts of idiocy in other disciplines, trail riding to barrel racing.  It isn't always money, either...I've seen an equal number of jealous, rotten brats push a decent (but inferior to the wealthy child's expensive and professionally trained horse) to the point of ruin just because THEY want to beat the rich kid.

Ok...so that doesn't make me feel any better.  But it's out there too.

Answer 6

I am  assuming (as I am not an eventer) that there are no preliminary trials before progressing to different levels.  Some kind of standards need to be in place to test riders and horses' skill and fitness levels.  If they don't pass, they can't move on.  

Also, if they have instructors, then those instructors have a duty to advise riders and parents when their little darling is or is not ready for a particular level.  Obviously they can't stop them, but they should at least strenuously object if an unskilled rider is moving through the ranks too quickly.  The riders and their parents obviously don't know any better, and/or are blind to their own inexperience and lack of skill, so the best chance for them to be stopped before they hurt themselves is for a third party to step in.  It shouldn't have to be that way, but...

Answer 7

Educate us....I don't read much about this.  I always suspect that money is somehow at the root of these issues....how does it all work in the world of eventing?

Answer 8

note: you cant stop someone from being stupid no matter how much you try.

you can educate them and help them become more aware of the dangers of their actions, but you cant choose something for someone else.

pony club was nice. . . but me and my family arent very political and by the second year in pony club (at least in our area) we found out it's VERY political.  some clubs wanted to win at all costs. . . they went after other clubs thru the rule books and at competions if they didnt like em.  example. . . a group of us left one club and started our own, it didnt last because the one we left mailed letters to the people in charge and our club got told we couldnt compete b/c we didnt follow some made up random rule. ect.

anyway, like i first said, you cant stop someone from being stupid. . . only teach them and hope that they'll learn from their mistakes.

edit:

i know a trainer, really good rider who did eventing. he and his horse were doing the cross country part of the even, when his horse's leg caught on the jump. . . the horse fliped over the jump and crushed the riders chest. . . both died. anyway, it's a sport where even the best riders arent always safe from getting hurt/getting killed. that's why it's better to educate people on safety. . .and know that bad things can happen to you even if you have money.

Answer 9

I don't really see how this is Pony Club's responsibility.  Pony Club already has the world's most regimented and progressive series of ratings, education, etc.  Pony Club cannot dictate what kids do on their own time.  It's USEA's job to put some sort of controls in place, if anyone.