Equestrian Influencers #8 Here for the fun and the Badders qualification..

[Foodven]

Seeing how soft and happy banksys face is at the end of showjumping is amazing too see. He is such a special horse! Tina seemed really different in this vlog, more composed I guess!

Didn’t know there was a team event!! Tina didn’t mention it at all till the very end. Maybe that is why tina rode better she did seem less concerned with talking to the camera constantly and trying to make a decent vlog!

Meg- I’m spending all my money getting two horses here

2 mins later

Meg- thanks to Yfood sponsoring this whole event….

I think Meg rode both tests really wellwith very tidy riding but both horses look a bit tense and stifled. Dees canter looked like she was scared of slipping. I can see why the judges gave the marks they did. Hope megs feeling ok after the fall!
Has anyone else ever taken two horses to the badminton championship before?

 

[frankiem]

Seeing how soft and happy banksys face is at the end of showjumping is amazing too see. He is such a special horse! Tina seemed really different in this vlog, more composed I guess!

Didn’t know there was a team event!! Tina didn’t mention it at all till the very end. Maybe that is why tina rode better she did seem less concerned with talking to the camera constantly and trying to make a decent vlog!

Meg- I’m spending all my money getting two horses here

2 mins later

Meg- thanks to Yfood sponsoring this whole event….

I think Meg rode both tests really wellwith very tidy riding but both horses look a bit tense and stifled. Dees canter looked like she was scared of slipping. I can see why the judges gave the marks they did. Hope megs feeling ok after the fall!
Has anyone else ever taken two horses to the badminton championship before?

I agree! And yeah it’s no uncommon to have 2 going. I’ve got 2 qualified for next year too. A friend had one in the 90 and one in the 100 last year

 

[Chicarica]

Meg should be embarrassed by that reel. The horse was NOT square.

 

[unicorn fairy]

Megs reel….. Jam is not square in her halt, Meg seems to think she is. Meg just needs to accept the fact her dressage score is final, the judges are there to “judge” the dressage and that’s exactly what they did. Meg needs to understand this and just bloody accept it! I’m sorry but, as good as Meg is with her horses (like we all are) and try’s (like we all do) it’s not always going to go HER WAY every time, stop carrying on to social media about it, if she thinks her scores are affected then why doesn’t she do something about it with the judges and dispute it?! This is what shits me with these influencers when it doesn’t go right for them, they have to carry on about and get the sympathy from everyone else. ( This is regarding her dressage scores BTW).

 

[unwanted.opinions]

The halt isn’t square though?!

Did both judges score her a 6.5 as the halt does look different looking at it from a slightly different angle. While it isn’t a bad halt comparing it to a picture Oliver Townend posted of I think Balamoor Class it’s not 100% square.

 

[whatsgoingonworld]

The fact that she’s now added different angles of it to her stories…. I hope someone has a word with BE. She’s taking it a bit far.

 

[infernalcarpet]

That's the thing with dressage - it is so subjective. Showjumping is black and white. Frustrating when the scores are so different from each judge (over 6% difference) but a movement looks different from a side-on angle. I thought the test was nice, and definitely worth more than 62%.

Re. Tina's vlog - she has really turned a corner in her approach and mentality. Far more positive, really enjoyed the vlog (even the Hello Fresh sponsor part was actually well done).

Although, I never want to see another YFood again

 

[Rememberancext]

Meg needs to wind her neck in as per the first bicton video. I know she works hard and her content quality is excellent. She enjoys the privilege that her vlogging gets her. But she also has a responsibility to set for her demographic which I suspect trends young. Eventing is partly subjective and there are more bad than good days even for the pros. While on camera, take it on the chin and show good sportsmanship. While off camera, say what you want. Btw han is an extraordinary friend, especially when you bear in mind what a tough time she's had in recent weeks.

 

[Fairysteps11]

I feel like Tina went to to Bicton with her A-Game. When was the last time she had a top 10 placing? Luckily for her, it’s not far to travel. Wonder how Banksy will cope at Badmiton GR. He’s more than capable but he’ll be 17/18 by then. As game as he is I’m not sure he will cope with it.

I don't think Banksy is that old. He's only 14 at the moment and GR is only in a few months. I'd say he'll still be more than capable for a good few years. Tina is a fantastic horse owner and takes immense care of all her animals, if Banksy wasn't right, I don't think Tina would risk anything. She's also a very good rider, the only thing hindering her is her nerves. Once she's on top of those and keeps on top, she'll be on fire!!!

Do you reckon a judge could be biased based on who they’re judging?

I always wonder if it happens at professional level however, a judge has got to be horsey to be doing what they’re doing, and therefore some of them are going to have heard of those plastering themselves all over social media as it’s pretty hard to avoid on Instagram, even those I don’t follow are always coming up as suggested posts. If you were a judge and you or your child or your friend etc saw some content where marking was getting critiqued, could that sub consciously make you judge harsher or better?

That was a lot of waffle but hopefully I got my thinking across

It could be, that's a valid point.

It could be that the judges daughter/son doesn't like someone, they get marked down or vice versa.
It shouldn't happen but I'm sure it will

 

[Wodge887]

Regarding the dressage judges my boss pulls horses or asks to move sections of they are riding for others & a certain judge is judging because they know there going to get a complete slating from them every single time even if the horse goes like valegro. There is history there though with teams & top class horses so I don’t think this is the case for influencers I don’t think a dressage judge is going to be as petty as to mark someone harshly just because they have x amount of followers on Instagram.
I hate when people start tryingto diss or undermine a dressage judges score or marks it’s massively disrespectful to the sport & to someone who has trained to be ble to judge tests. You don’t have to agree with their opinion of the test butyou should respect it.

 

[Fairysteps11]

That's the thing with dressage - it is so subjective. Showjumping is black and white. Frustrating when the scores are so different from each judge (over 6% difference) but a movement looks different from a side-on angle. I thought the test was nice, and definitely worth more than 62%.

Re. Tina's vlog - she has really turned a corner in her approach and mentality. Far more positive, really enjoyed the vlog (even the Hello Fresh sponsor part was actually well done).

Although, I never want to see another YFood again

I agree, dressage is scored completely differently to showjumping/xc. In those phases, it is what it is. In dressage, judges could be marking too harshly or softly, the judges, like we saw in Meg's vlog could be marking movements differently to each other, and a lot of the time it's whether the judge likes the animal.

A lot of discussion about square halts... it's the same as lameness issues. If we can't see from each angle - especially behind, we don't have the whole picture and it's hard for us to comment.

 

[unicorn fairy]

It’s the fact that Meg has made a pathetic reel about her square halt, it’s so noticeable from that angle it’s not quite square, she obviously can’t see that! Judges have judged from 2 different parts of the arena, so they are going to see different parts of the test. She just needs to get over it to be quite honest, she just acting like a spoilt child. It’s ridiculous. Seriously, Meg if you have an issue with your marks then you need to finalise it with your judges, don’t post on social media to gain a heap of sympathy!

 

[jnh24]

Anyone else cringe at the FEI and horse and country tv comments on her post? She’s basically judge bashing when the judge had a moment to mark her. I really don’t think it’s fair, especially if the whole event was marked in a similar way.

 

[Rememberancext]

Anyone else cringe at the FEI and horse and country tv comments on her post? She’s basically judge bashing when the judge had a moment to mark her. I really don’t think it’s fair, especially if the whole event was marked in a similar way.

Whomever does fei social media is a marketing person chasing metrics. But you are 100 percent correct - in liking megs post, its wholly contradictory to fei messaging on such matters!!!!!

 

[Blond3g1rl]

She is getting quite a few comments on that post from people pointing out what is wrong with that Centre line and halt. Maybe she needs to remember it was at 100 level and not 90. To me she falls into the halt not up into halt and the back feet aren’t level.
You can’t keep posting different angles to prove a point. There aren’t 20 judges around the arena, there were two and they will mark on what they see

 

[oldfashionedfuddyduddy]

Can believe how a 'professional influencer ' like Meg is getting on over a mark. I used to think she was really down to earth but I've just changed my mind after this...pathetic!! And what's with posting the cost of her entries then saying thanks to Y food for paying it...or I'm I mistaken?

 

[horsey1234]

Meg’s reel makes her come across as a sore loser. I appreciate she had a mixed weekend but she’s achieved something a lot of us can only dream of by getting 2 horses to Badminton and now she’s publicly moaning about the judges over something pretty trivial. It’s hardly as if she’s been given a 2. The mark is not just the halt it’s the 1/2 circle, trot to G and halt. So we’re looking at more than just legs being in the right place here..

 

[MyLittlePony25]

It’s a shame, she has let herself down by doing that. Dressage and showing is always more frustrating as it’s the view of that judge/judges and what angle they can see. She wasn’t square anyway so she should suck it up and get on with prepping for badminton.

 

[Wodge887]

Meg’s reel makes her come across as a sore loser. I appreciate she had a mixed weekend but she’s achieved something a lot of us can only dream of by getting 2 horses to Badminton and now she’s publicly moaning about the judges over something pretty trivial. It’s hardly as if she’s been given a 2. The mark is not just the halt it’s the 1/2 circle, trot to G and halt. So we’re looking at more than just legs being in the right place here..

Exactky the horse is tight through its neck through the 1/2 circle it falls into the halt & isn’t quite square. The judge will be marking this against the scales of training & other competitors who will have done this movement much more fluidly & accurate.
What an absolute brat she wants to get over herself what a disgusting message she is sending to her followers. I think the BE rules regarding SM policy should come into play here.l she should be reported to BE.

 

[whatsgoingonworld]

Flo Carter on the other hand had a brilliant reaction - her score was lower than expected, so she said she couldn’t wait to get her hands on the sheet to see the comments. It came across in a much more positive way - in a way that she wanted to learn, not to bicker with professional judges. I usually like Meg, but she has done herself no favours with this.