Snobbiness In The Riding Community
Horseback riding is a competitive sport.
Because of this, there can be a gap in how we learn and progress in our riding. Whether we're riding to compete or riding just for fun, there will always be some advanced riders who will try to assert their superiority over you while you're still learning.
On social media specifically, these rude comments can make you feel bad or diminish your confidence in your riding. Don't let them.
Just because you want to post about how much fun you're having doesn't mean that they have the right to be rude to you.
Some advanced riders should be better at providing helpful feedback to improve a rider's technique while still being encouraging.
Check-In
I'm starting to get the hang of things at work.
I did my first solo check-in last week, and it felt pretty good. That's not to say it went perfectly. It did not. But I at least got used to the feeling of being in a room and taking the initiative to relay patient information to the doctor.
I'm excited to keep learning and to truly find my place in the vet world.
Riding has been challenging this week for some reason. I think it's partially due to the fact that I rode horses this week that I haven't ridden in awhile, or they're not in my usual circle of lesson horses I ride on a more consistent basis.
I rode Ranger on Thursday. I've been put on him for trail rides and when I was in beginner lessons, but I've never cantered on him. He's very easy to canter but he's a bumpier ride than what I'm used to due to his size.
I rode Blanca on Saturday. She's not my favorite horse because she's very difficult to handle. I did my best, though, and I felt accomplished when I got her to canter at the end of my lesson.
I personally like challenging rides because I'm getting out of my comfort zone in a good way. Even if I'm hesitant or scared, the challenging rides are always the most rewarding.
And as always, I'm looking forward to improving my technique in each and every lesson.
Combatting Snobbiness In The Riding Community
The word snobbiness can be defined in different ways, especially in the riding community — there's money snobbiness, there's competitive snobbiness and general superiority snobbiness.
Today, I will be discussing the last version of snobbiness.
I am also going to be talking mainly about social media comments due to the fact that social media is so prevalent in today's time. I feel like because we're hiding behind phone screens, people have more courage to say whatever they feel like saying with no regrets. We suddenly have the confidence to say something that we might not say to someone's face.
And with the fact that social media is about posting ourselves, and putting ourselves out there, some people think that gives them the right to be rude to others.
Generally, in the riding community, advice is accepted. As long as it's advice that's helpful and it's presented as such, I personally have no problem with that. We can all benefit from helpful hints, tips, tricks and advice. Sometimes advice from a peer might be more helpful than a trainer's advice.
However, it should be clear that it's not OK to be rude when presenting advice. (This should honestly be common sense, but for some reason, it's not to some people...)
Before we comment, we have to read the room. We should be asking ourselves how we would react if we got this comment on our page. If we wouldn't appreciate the words being posted on our page, then why would we think someone else would appreciate them?
We should also be asking ourselves if we're presenting ourselves in a way that's clear to the poster that we're just trying to help. For example, my autistic and neurodivergent friends might not be able to pick up on certain cues in text format, especially because tone is a huge part in how we react to comments that are aimed at us.
A general format to follow if you're wanting to provide feedback is the "Praise Sandwich" — sandwiching the feedback within encouraging words.
Praise: Say something like, "Hey, this canter looks great!"
Feedback: Transition to, "My advice would be to keep the ball of your foot in stirrups rather than letting the stirrup slide back to your heel."
Praise: End with, "You're looking awesome so far, I'm excited to see how much you progress!"
Just think about this — when the encouragement is there, you're doing something right. You're making sure the rider is reassured that they still look great as they're learning something while still offering advice to help them along.
But unfortunately, not everyone truly understands how to respect riders who are still learning, and their superiority takes over. This is when comments start becoming more direct or rude.
When I combat the ruder comments, I always take the approach where I'm not sure if they're trying to be rude or if they're just a little more blunt with their advice.
I first start to explain my case further. If they're criticizing something I am working on in lessons, I obviously know the critique better than anyone. This gives me room to explain that I am working on whatever the critique is, and I give examples on how I'm trying to improve that specific critique.
Example: If someone is telling me to keep my heels down in the canter, I might say, "Hey, thanks for the advice! I'm currently working on this in my lessons, as I came from the dance world and my ankles don't have the flexibility yet. I'm riding a lot in two-point and even doing at-home exercises to teach my ankle joints to sink down in the stirrups."
Offering an explanation helps them see that they commented on something very obvious to you, and that they didn't really need to comment the critique because you're actively working on it. It's a little bit like a, "no... duh" moment.
Another thing I may add to my reply is that videos I post are a bit older, especially if I'm posting a progression video. I don't film my progress in every lesson, so most of my "updated" videos are from a month or so ago. If I take two lessons per week, that's a lot of opportunities to learn and fix bad riding habits. So therefore, the videos on my page aren't always a direct reflection of my current riding ability.
Additionally, I like to redirect the commenter to the main focus of the video. The main focus is almost never "look at my canter now." It's usually, "look at the improvement in my canter from this month to this month."
Example: If someone comments that my hands need to be lower, I'll respond, "These videos are from awhile back (they're months old), as I don't film in every lesson. I take two lessons a week, so my hand positioning has improved and these old clips don't reflect what my positioning looks like in present day. I simply just wanted to show what my canter looked like back in February in comparison to what it looked like in May. I guess this is my cue to film an updated video!"
I love sharing accomplishments, both big and small. If my canter in February is me shooting far up in my saddle, and my canter in May is me actually starting to sit it, that's an accomplishment for me, even if my canter in May still needs to improve. The point of the video is to show improvement in a span of time, not to share a real-time update.
Another thing I may add is the concept of learning being endless. Advanced and experienced riders, trainers and even olympic riders all benefit from actively taking lessons to learn.
Example: If someone mentions that trotting over poles isn't really jumping, I would say, "We all classify jumping differently. This is jumping to me, especially since the poles aren't ground poles. Just because I'm not soaring over jumps during my first jump lesson doesn't mean that I'm not doing anything. I'm effectively learning positioning and timing for jumping, so I can be a better and safer rider when I do eventually soar over higher jumps. Whether we're trotting over poles or soaring over high jumps, we can all benefit from going back to the basics of positioning and timing to be safer riders for ourselves and our horses."
This is where superiority can get the best of people. Just because some riders might be learning different or more advanced skills than other riders, doesn't mean that those more advanced riders aren't learning anything. Just because a rider is more advanced doesn't mean that their learning should stop. Learning is for everyone and anyone.
Lastly, I will add a blurb about how riders should not think it's OK to train other riders they don't know based on a 15-second video.
Example: If someone tells me I'm still a beginner rider, I might say, "Hey, so at my barn, I'm considered intermediate because my skillset best matches the riders who are in the intermediate levels. A lot of the beginners at my barn can only walk and trot, and they're still learning how to steer, space out and halt. I am able to walk, trot and canter comfortably while steering and spacing myself out safely, which fits more with the intermediate level at my barn. I understand that every barn is different, however I don't ride at any other barn. I don't appreciate a random person online trying to play trainer or barn manager with me."
This is the prime reason I always say, "keep your egos in check." Just because a rider might be more advanced, it doesn't mean they have the right to be a trainer or a barn manager when they don't know you or ride at your barn.
You should be able to trust yourself and your actual trainer in order to work on the things you need to work on the most. Don't let any random person online define your skillset.
We want to be able to put these snobby advanced riders in their place by reminding them that they were once a beginner rider. They most likely didn't gallop off perfectly during their first ride, so they shouldn't be acting like they did.
We want to be able to be relatable to others when providing feedback. Some questions to think about before posting a comment:
What helped me when I was a beginner and I was learning the basics for the first time?
Would this feedback resonate with me?
If it wouldn't resonate with me, how can I change my wording or attitude to make my feedback more encouraging?
So the moral of the story is that if you're a beginner rider, don't let the snobby advanced riders get to you. You determine your own progression and learning timeline. And if you're an advanced rider, try being more encouraging with your feedback so you can be a positive part of the community.
Comments