Equestrian Influencers #2

[wedonttalkaboutbruno]

I do wonder when it will all stop, not Meg but there’s so many influencers now with blogs/ vlogs. When will the online market become completely saturated?

It will all change again at some point.. it did with all the beauty influencers/gurus on YouTube. They had so much power and it just seemed to disappear. Just got to hope that people like Meg are being sensible about the bubble potentially bursting and having a back up plan - which I’m sure she does!

 

[unwanted.opinions]

I agree to an extent. I’m jealous but that’s also their job and I couldn’t personally put myself out there like that. I work in marketing and I do a lot of social for numerous of our clients so I understand the time and efforts going into it. We quote a photographer to shoot just 10 photos for a client brand campaign and they’re charging over a grand for just that. It’s the time, editing, equipment.
I do understand the work they’re putting into it. Think about some of them already having a full/part-time job and then trying to care and ride their 1, 2 or numerous horses while also sharing their journey vlogging/instagramming. It is absolutely hard work. Continuously online. And to make it worth it they have to be earning something out of it. Of course there’s work on a complimentary, gifted, non-media fee basis but you think of Megan Elphick, of course she would have to make money out of it to go full-time with the amount of work she also has to put into her ponies which she probably wouldn’t get a chance to have as much as if she had an office full time job. This is so convenient for her and kudos to her for building her audience so loyal. But that’s what they chose and if you look at it from a brand perspective you’ve got to think about how valuable influencers are. We work with influencers in work but we’ve an entirely different strategy. There’s a line drawn between being excessively oversaturated which is what Y Food are doing which in turn makes followers/audiences turn sour towards the brand and not wanting to engage or buy from them and there’s matching an influencer to the real audience they’re trying to target and they subtly support them with products for perhaps gifted product launches, paid campaigns, competition support and sponsorship etc. Excessive payment for excessive push on social is ridiculous and Y Food are doing it all wrong. Good for awareness as you’re all talking about it. But yeah, I’m turned off even clicking into their profile. They’ve got to look at their ROI. I wonder is it worth it for them.
So you’d have to look at all the influencers you follow and think actually yeah, they’re full time, 2 horses to care for, vlogs add on extra time to film while competing/fun rides etc and then they’ve to go home, edit for a few hours and hope it uploads. It takes a lot for them to be organised and to be fair, VE squad and any other vloggers on YT are grafters. That’s how you make it in the influencer world and deserve the money being paid. Then there’s Olivia towers who cries and takes a break cos she doesn’t know what she’s doing with her life but she’s just lazy. She’s not a grafter. You see Verena then who is genuinely interesting to follow as she seems like she loves just sharing but isn’t crying for brand deals, it’s just pure love of the community. You can look at each influencer SO different and once you actually think about the work and time a lot of them do on top of their full-time jobs, you’ll reevaluate that they are deserved of these paid partnerships. Open to opinions on this because it’s a good debate IMO

Olivia needs to pull herself together! If she can teach as good as she rides I’m not sure why she can’t be happy with that being her income she doesn’t need to flip flop between things and taking a break and whining on. Just get on with earning a living like the rest of us.

 

[icedbuns]

I think the bubble is already starting to burst. I think people are starting to tire of insincere adverts, having the same products pushed in their face, and the narrative of ‘I work so hard to create content for my followers’ as if we are being done a favour when actually they are receiving a lot of products/support/money in return. If you are making money and it’s part of your job/income then just be honest about it, and you can’t keep selling yourself as the ‘best friend next door’ checking out all these products on our behalf.

PS I think this is an issue across all influencing, not just equestrian, and certainly isn’t aimed at anyone in particular!!

 

[takethistoheart]

Megs full time job is working with her own horses, and working with sponsors in return for a vlog or 2 each week. Who wouldn’t want her job and lifestyle! She has the property of her parents and the full support from her mum, she is extremely lucky. I guess I find it hard to see that they don’t have to go and purchase a saddle or bridle or buy new boots or buy feed for the horses because it’s all there in sponsorship for them, and all I see is a vlog of riding there own horses for us to watch, there competitions are paid for by sponsorship the list is endless. I know i shouldn’t be so negative about it but I guess that’s how I see it from a viewers point of view.

It’s not going to last forever though, and then what will she do? She has no real world experience and having a degree in geography isn’t relevant to what she’s doing nor sought after by employers

Maybe she’ll live off her parents and sponsorship forever, but it’s certainly not a lifestyle I’d choose. I’m certain I’m much happier having made my own way in the world

 

[unwanted.opinions]

It’s not going to last forever though, and then what will she do? She has no real world experience and having a degree in geography isn’t relevant to what she’s doing nor sought after by employers

Maybe she’ll live off her parents and sponsorship forever, but it’s certainly not a lifestyle I’d choose. I’m certain I’m much happier having made my own way in the world

She’s a good enough rider to actually charge people to school their horses ok she won’t make millions from it but it’s certainly something she can earn from. And if she can teach then there is that but not everybody can nor wants to teach humans.

 

[Jenievous]

Megs full time job is working with her own horses, and working with sponsors in return for a vlog or 2 each week. Who wouldn’t want her job and lifestyle! She has the property of her parents and the full support from her mum, she is extremely lucky. I guess I find it hard to see that they don’t have to go and purchase a saddle or bridle or buy new boots or buy feed for the horses because it’s all there in sponsorship for them, and all I see is a vlog of riding there own horses for us to watch, there competitions are paid for by sponsorship the list is endless. I know i shouldn’t be so negative about it but I guess that’s how I see it from a viewers point of view.

I get the jealousy in that. Any equestrian dreams of being given all the fancy equipment etc. But if you really want that for your life you basically have to give it a go yourself and try and become a vlogger

I do wonder when it will all stop, not Meg but there’s so many influencers now with blogs/ vlogs. When will the online market become completely saturated?

It's a cycle. It's been happening on youtube for years. These influencers evolve and move out of their original platform onto new things. Sort of how the VE squad did some stuff on horse and country and Meg was a presenter at Bicton. They evolve into new jobs which brings room for the next wave. There were a million and 1 original "Horse Youtubers" before these lot and the majority of them have left social media as their little side thing and have other jobs. Some have normal jobs, a few produce horses and jump. Some have families now so don't post on socials barely at all.
ThisEsme will probably become some kind of horsey TV presenter or journalist, for example.

She’s a good enough rider to actually charge people to school their horses ok she won’t make millions from it but it’s certainly something she can earn from. And if she can teach then there is that but not everybody can nor wants to teach humans.

Well this is what the likes of the OG youtubers do who have stayed in horses. EquiAlly produces horses, Lauren Allport (EddiesGun91) produces, breeds and does physio stuff as well I believe. Jesse Drent was an OG with Eva and they do displays separately and training and such even though they still do socials.

 

[Nettlebelle2]

You aren’t alone in feeling jealous, unfortunately it’s just the world we live in. No one can ever convince me that being an influencer is a hard job, I’m sorry lol. Yes it takes time, effort and planning but so do a lot of jobs and people get paid absolute peanuts. The benefits and gains you get from being an influence are just astonishing. The only benefit I get from being a mental health nurse is that I have a parking permit for the whole of the city and can park anywhere oh and I also can get 10% off in some shops

I agree. I can’t be convinced either. Oh, the poor hard working influencer, please. I work in the horse industry, it’s gruelling but all my friends and family see is how much travel I do. Yes I travel a lot but it’s for work. I don’t get time off to explore or be a tourist. It’s 16+ hour days with a rare day off. I’m back home for a week on Tuesday but again, it’s rare. I last flew home at Christmas. It’s temporary and I’ll go back to coaching or training at some point but there are no perks to my job or any job I’ve had in this industry and the salary is abysmal. I do love my job but I have to think of the future too and it’s hard on the body. One time I got a nice bridle that was being dumped! I was so happy, it was something I could never afford.
As you said, the benefits are shocking. Your horse is kitted out head to toe, companies seemily falling over themselves to get their attention. Some are not even paying for feed. I get there’s a lot of preparation and dead lines but it’s not exactly the most difficult job in the world if you’re willing to put yourself out there. I of course admire a lot of influencers but a hard job? No.

 

[amylou229]

Hey guys! Anyone have any recommendations on diverse equestrian influencers to follow? Looking for any POC/disabled riders etc to fill up my feed and just generally see different content

 

[Popcorn box of popcorn]

Anyone else see how incredibly lucky some of these equestrian vloggers are? They are sponsored by everything, and to only have to vlog a couple of videos in return?
~ Horse boxes, feed, haylage, saddles, helmets, body protection, clothing, the list is endless.
Then there’s reality where we have to work all the hours under the sun to be able to afford one or 2 on the list above! And now they are sponsored or gifted by y foods, drink bottles and now the latest one is deodorant! Thoughts? Or am I just a little jealous

Totally understand but I'd hate having to post things just for money, it looks exhausting! It looks like it becomes more about products and less about your horse life!

Hey guys! Anyone have any recommendations on diverse equestrian influencers to follow? Looking for any POC/disabled riders etc to fill up my feed and just generally see different content

For disabled riders, Wrenblau is just amazing, she's a blind showjumper! freyatheconnemara is nice her horse is a sweetheart. Natalie baker is fab aswell. Dancing with adagio has a gorgeous palomino and works so hard. They're just the ones I follow. Im on the fence with some accounts though, I'm not sure how I feel about Evie toombes

Blackequestrians is a great insta, you can discover alot of POC accounts! Oandarrow seems really nice I've followed her for ages, love her photos

 

[Somersetvibes]

Please can they all just STOP with the Yfood They must have all been paid the big bucks for this brand deal as it is just constant. Nothing more puts me off a brand than one which is pushed on me heavily. How can marketing departments not get this? As far as I’m concerned the constant ads have made me want to avoid them not try them out.

Agree with you totally!

Tina is the worst. Creaming her knickers over lemon cheesecake flavour

 

[unwanted.opinions]

Agree with you totally!

Tina is the worst. Creaming her knickers over lemon cheesecake flavour

Tbf I probably would if I where being paid a good sum to advertise it. TV chefs are the same when they make something

 

[Somersetvibes]

Tbf I probably would if I where being paid a good sum to advertise it. TV chefs are the same when they make something

Oh totally. But - urgh, irritating.

 

[Bagelwheat]

My opinion with influencers is if they can get free stuff & sponsorships because people want to like their Instagram posts, who’s the fool? Certainly not the influencer. If it was easy to go out and post publicly and get everything handed to me on a plate, well that’s what I’d be doing and not sat in an office job for 40 hours a week

 

[wedonttalkaboutbruno]

This seems a bit unnecessary and I don’t understand the correlation? I have 10k worth of equipment in my bag and people are jealous of influencers getting free saddle pads. Should we also be jealous that you have the disposable income to spend 10k on equipment?

 

[Jenievous]

This seems a bit unnecessary and I don’t understand the correlation? I have 10k worth of equipment in my bag and people are jealous of influencers getting free saddle pads. Should we also be jealous that you have the disposable income to spend 10k on equipment?

Wouldn't that be considered a business expense? I know a lot of people who would be jealous to have 10k worth of equipment to have to video your horses and have all those memories saved forever.

 

[horsey1234]

This seems a bit unnecessary and I don’t understand the correlation? I have 10k worth of equipment in my bag and people are jealous of influencers getting free saddle pads. Should we also be jealous that you have the disposable income to spend 10k on equipment?

I saw this and it reads like a bit of a dig at the recent posts on Tattle…

Let’s be honest, she gets a lot more free stuff than saddle pads. Numerous Voltaire saddles, Polyjumps, £150 breeches, riding boots, BE entry fees paid for. The gifted stuff over the years probably equates to far more than the value of her equipment. I’m not sure what this post she’s put up is meant to do other than make her followers feel guilty or something? I like Meg but this came across as a bit snarky

also side note not sure it’s wise to be advertising to the world that you’re travelling with £10k worth of equipment in a bag

 

[Somersetvibes]

This seems a bit unnecessary and I don’t understand the correlation? I have 10k worth of equipment in my bag and people are jealous of influencers getting free saddle pads. Should we also be jealous that you have the disposable income to spend 10k on equipment?

Tell us you read Tattle, without telling us you read Tattle.

I like Meg, (and Em) but this came across a bit dicky

 

[Nettlebelle2]

Why is Meg watching here? Is it just for content, the whole pity party, oh feel sorry for me I’m on Tattle? She was on it so quick. The topic only started yesterday. She gets a lot more than free saddle pads. Her equipment is used for her job so she’s claiming the VAT back on it. Completely unnecessary post.

 

[Popcorn box of popcorn]

This seems a bit unnecessary and I don’t understand the correlation? I have 10k worth of equipment in my bag and people are jealous of influencers getting free saddle pads. Should we also be jealous that you have the disposable income to spend 10k on equipment?

Me over here eating beans so the kids and pony are fed it's perfectly normal to be a bit jealous, Meg wasn't getting too rough a time here anyways, I do like her but stay real meg.

 

[icedbuns]

I would say that investing in your career-be that through equipment, professional examinations, further education etc-is a common thing across many sectors, not just influencing!