[HiddenAcres]

I was on the road when that happened and just last month some folks were chatting about it. Maybe when the pony died. It is important to remember that if the STARS can't prevent accidents, we mortals should be horsemen first, ribbon winners second...or third.... too bad show horses got valuable and people do stupid things to increase their sales prices.

[LochNessD]

Sounds to me like he nailed it. You said yourself this was the only fence you managed to make "look pretty". And he said you looked "posed".

Zing!

[lauriep]

Let me get this right. So it's ok for GM to follow a trend whenever. But for an eventer to be say following a trend now and wearing bright colors it's not ok? Don't you er...see anything a little hypocritical about that? That is my point - it's just one guys opinion and at one moment of time (his opinion and your still shot). It really can't be taken too seriously.

It is a PERSONAL opinion! He doesn't like the bright colors. He never says to quit wearing them. I don't care for them either, but so what? All he does is mention it isn't his taste. Where is your problem with that?

Equestrian sports is nothing but a long line of fads. Some stick and become traditional, like white fleece pads, and some don't. The foam pads weren't a fad, but an attempt to make saddles more comfortable for the horses. Now we ave foam pads encased in fleece. Best of both worlds. Helmet technology didn't exist back then. So what again is your point?

[Idrivetrotters]

I think the younger riders forget there was a time before safety helmets, comfortable pads, and when things work they become tradition, when they fail they become fads. These were things we had to work around to make things comfy for the horses and technology caught up with our needs. Rust colored breeches were great for covering dirt and inevitable concession food stains but yeah somethings were best left to the "ye gods what were we thinking" (plus dinosaur repellent was mandatory back then for trail rides)

[Atlas Shrugged]

I love it when he says the saddle pad is too big or the boots are dusty or the mane has loose hairs... I wish he would give us credit for listening the first dozen times. It gets old and wastes space that could be used for more constructive criticism. And can he skip the pics that don't show anything interesting? Or does he literally critique them one by one?

[Atlas Shrugged]

I love it when he says the saddle pad is too big or the boots are dusty or the mane has loose hairs... I wish he would give us credit for listening the first dozen times. It gets old and wastes space that could be used for more constructive criticism. And can he skip the pics that don't show anything interesting? Or does he literally critique them one by one? Wish he could pick and choose and come up with new tips.

[MHM]

I love it when he says the saddle pad is too big or the boots are dusty or the mane has loose hairs... I wish he would give us credit for listening the first dozen times. It gets old and wastes space that could be used for more constructive criticism. And can he skip the pics that don't show anything interesting? Or does he literally critique them one by one? Wish he could pick and choose and come up with new tips.

Just because some people have been reading the column for years or decades doesn't mean everyone else has done the same. Is it wrong for him to point out that a rider should not catch the horse in the mouth? Or get left? No, because those statements are ALWAYS true. No matter how many times he says them.

Maybe if people would send in pictures of new riding faults, he would make different comments. Yet different people keep sending in pictures of the same mistakes, year after year. Imagine that.

[RugBug]

And can he skip the pics that don't show anything interesting? Or does he literally critique them one by one? Wish he could pick and choose and come up with new tips.

I've heard he critiques every photo that comes in. I think he does group them sometimes so it might not be in the order received, but he does it. I prefer that. It think it would be worse that waiting for years and years and years to never see your photo, or better yet, to get a letter saying that your picture was too a)boring, b)horrible, c)whatever to run.

Can you imagine how bored he is seeing the same kinds of pictures every month? Thankfully he is dedicated to this sport and to trying to help any rider he can. Since the main riding faults have been the same faults for a bazillion years, he keeps pointing them out.

I treasure my critique...mostly because I am unlikely to get the chance to ride with him. I do wish I hadn't been grouped with three other lovely riders, however. Couldn't he at least have thrown in a "needs to go back to basics" rider to make me look a little better? Maybe I was that rider.

[skydy]

Just because some people have been reading the column for years or decades doesn't mean everyone else has done the same. Is it wrong for him to point out that a rider should not catch the horse in the mouth? Or get left? No, because those statements are ALWAYS true. No matter how many times he says them.

Maybe if people would send in pictures of new riding faults, he would make different comments. Yet different people keep sending in pictures of the same mistakes, year after year. Imagine that.

[mommy peanut]

WOW! For all those complaining about the way GM critiques the photos that people PURPOSELY send in to him(for him to critique), get over yourself. Stop reading his comments then.
He does mention the difference when a horse is just stepping over a small fence vs a hanging-legged unsafe jump.
He can only critique the photos that are sent into him. If people don't like what he has to say, than send in better photos. Quit sending in the sloppy half-assed photos for him to critique.
Geesh... There's so much more to do than read an article that you don't like or agree with.

[MHM]

Can you imagine how bored he is seeing the same kinds of pictures every month? Thankfully he is dedicated to this sport and to trying to help any rider he can. Since the main riding faults have been the same faults for a bazillion years, he keeps pointing them out.

If he ever retires from that column, they should make the last appearance a special one. Maybe that picture of Rodrigo going over a jump facing backwards, and the old one of the Washington streaker over the jump with the pumpkin on his head. There must be a couple of other good unusual candidates.

[Star's Ascent]

I treasure my critique...mostly because I am unlikely to get the chance to ride with him. I do wish I hadn't been grouped with three other lovely riders, however. Couldn't he at least have thrown in a "needs to go back to basics" rider to make me look a little better? Maybe I was that rider.[/QUOTE]


I too would love to ride with him, but I either don't have a horse ready to do it and/or can't afford the $1000 (even if it is totally worth it!) I have a photo that I would love to send in but knowing that it took years I haven't bothered. However when I discovered last year that he comes up here to Patty's every year (I must have been living under a rock!) I went and I took the photo with me and asked him to sign it. He did say it was a very good photo. What exactly he meant by that I don't know, could have just meant it was taken at the perfect time, or he could have glanced at it and thought we looked pretty darn good. Either way, I'll take it! It's one of the best photos of my old man that I have and my mom took it. It is from our last year getting to show 4-H and is at the State Fair horse show. We almost didn't make it because I had emergency surgery about 10 days before and was cut open from belly button all the way down. So that makes it special too.

And at the first day of this years clinic he stopped in the middle of the first session, told someone to my left to stop distracting him, then pointed at a little girl and told her if she wasn't going to pay attention she needed to leave. Then he told a rider she was dumber than a box of rocks when he was telling her to serpentine around jumps and stay close to them and she didn't hear him. He also called the ring crew dumber than a box of rocks 2 times and this was just the first session. It was good for a few laughs that is for sure! The rider was laughing too.

[kmwines01]

I knew everything he was going to say about my picture when I sent it in but it was still nice to get that critique. I agree with the people who say that its only a moment in time but if you're setting that photo in you must think it represents your horse and you well so it may be consistent with what those horses look like all the time. Ive also seen him take care to distinguish between a lazy horse who is just cantering over a fence and an unsafe jumper. As to critiquing the fence setup, it's important for people to learn about proper fence building and risks associated with bad ones. He's not doing critiques for the people sending in photos, he's doing the column to educate the readers and help them get better.

[Blinky]

I never did understand why people sent in their Intermediate Rider pictures in for GM to critique. Meaning..where one is jumping 2 feet ish. Honestly, they are boring to look at and show a rider that is still learning anyway.

[findeight]

...the saddle pad is too big or the boots are dusty or the mane has loose hairs... I wish he would give us credit for listening the first dozen times. It gets old... come up with new tips.

Well, when people stop sending him pictures of too big saddle pads, dirty boots, loose mane hair, other obvious bad grooming/weight/condition issues, sliding saddles, improperly adjusted tack, unsafe whip/crop handling and too long leathers flapping behind the rider against the sides or butt of the horse??

Maybe he can come up with new tips. But I don't think so when we haven't, as a group, mastered old plain and simple basic horsemanship and safe operation in pics supposedly at that horse and riders best.

[Renn/aissance]

I'm still waiting for my picture of my Fuzzy Horse to show up... since he died in 2004 it must have been 8 years ago that I sent it in. I know what he's going to say (hip angle too closed, lengthen stirrup 1 hole, it is dangerous to have a dog in the ring while riding- the dog was not invited, and was promptly escorted out, which I noted on the back of the photo!) but it will be interesting to see if he has anything else to add to the stuff I already know about!

I'm confident he won't have anything to say about my turnout. My sister and I grew up knowing to prepare a horse for schooling and show as though George Morris would walk through the barn!

[SillyHorse]

I love it when he says the saddle pad is too big or the boots are dusty or the mane has loose hairs... I wish he would give us credit for listening the first dozen times. It gets old and wastes space that could be used for more constructive criticism. And can he skip the pics that don't show anything interesting? Or does he literally critique them one by one? Wish he could pick and choose and come up with new tips.

Well, when people stop sending him pictures of too big saddle pads, dirty boots, loose mane hair, other obvious bad grooming/weight/condition issues, sliding saddles, improperly adjusted tack, unsafe whip/crop handling and too long leathers flapping behind the rider against the sides or butt of the horse??

Maybe he can come up with new tips. But I don't think so when we haven't, as a group, mastered old plain and simple basic horsemanship and safe operation in pics supposedly at that horse and riders best.

Amen.

[judybigredpony]

GM is a curmudgeon, a nice word for a cranky old man. After the great hue and cry that arose about his bitching about everyone's weight, he got off that soapbox. Dont take away all his fun, he has to bitch about something or he might implode.

well said......3 thumbs up....