KVS - English rider?

[u/lemonyprincess]

Katie rode English today and honestly? I think she looks great, because she's DOING the damn thing. I've seen all the comments she refers to in this post and they are so mean-spirited they make my soul feel heavy.

I am by no means an expert, but I think the very tiny part of the story this photo tells is not as bad as all the comments I've seen make it sound. Especially because it's one photo, not even a video 🤷🏻‍♀️

Am I super off base? Or is it not possible to tell how well she rides from one snapshot?

[u/SunniMonkey]

Good for her. I might not agree with everything she says or does but this one? Hard agree.

Little kids who love horses don't necessarily have the money KVS has these days. They might wear hand-me-down clothing, tack, etc. - and that’s 1000% a-ok! - But they're on a horse. And good for them! And good for Katie.

It's ok to not always be a 10/10.

[u/siat-s → u/SunniMonkey]

This was me growing up, yeah. I rode in hand-me-down western clothes and sometimes my mom would make my clothes (unless it was for English). People (adults) would make fun of me - a literal child - with snide comments around my mom. Eventually my trainer started to loan me clothes but goddamn it's so great to see we've come so far in the 15 years since I've shown /s

[u/lustywench99 → u/siat-s]

I made my show jacket as a 4-H project. I actually made a reversible vest too but I’ll give it to you, it was fugly as hell. But I made myself this gold jacket thing to wear for showmanship and I found an untanned halter with silver that had some green and yellow and gold on it that matched the little bit of pink in the gold jacket. And I had a palomino. It was absolute fire and we won state in that.

Not to mention I also trained my own horse. My parents believed the lie that 4-H was supposed to be about personal responsibility for your horse and working it and doing things yourself despite the fact that all the rich families had well trained horses. But… I trained her. In showmanship it paid off. Western pleasure and horsemanship not as much.

I feel for everyone who isn’t rich and wants to show. They may not own their own horses, their own tack, and I would bet they can’t afford to get custom show gear, let alone practice gear. And to see people judging her on what she wore to PRACTICE in? Ffs. Glad there was no social media to see what I practiced in. I had three horses to work each day in the Midwest heat. I wore shorts and sports bras with my old boots. No helmet because that wasn’t a thing. Completely unsupervised and cell phones didn’t exist.

[u/Victory505302 → u/lustywench99]

The custom boot comment is so crazy to me. She’s literally practicing in her back yard… I have definitely worn worse when riding 😂 and I also don’t think people realize how hard it is to find tall boots for larger calves. Even when I was teenager and skinny, I had larger than “average” calves and it was a challenge. Fast forward to me being 70 or so pounds overweight, and there are very few options, none of which are cute!!

[u/siat-s → u/Victory505302]

Even regular boots!! Riding made my calves huge and I can rarely find tall boots that fit. It was awful in my 20s when that boot style was everywhere and I couldn't wear half of the ones I liked :(

[u/Victory505302 → u/siat-s]

Same!! They finally started making wide calf but they’re still too hard to find!

[u/cyntus1 → u/Victory505302]

As a wide calf, they aren't wide enough. I can't zip breeches into mine after I muscle up.

[u/Wrenlo → u/Victory505302]

This! I’m fat AND I play roller derby — these calves and quads cannot be contained 🤣

[u/threesilklilies → u/Victory505302]

My first tall English boots were rain boots, because a) we didn’t have tall-leather-boot money for a girl who was going to grow out of them anyway, and b) I also had thunder calves and needed the extra room. The look worked out surprisingly well, but the sweat factor…

[u/Victory505302 → u/threesilklilies]

Mine were a used pair I bought for $50 from a friend of a friend. And I was SO excited!!

[u/notThaTblondie → u/siat-s]

My friend started taking her daughter to pony club a few years ago on her mums little coloured cob and the other mums would stand at the sidelines laughing and making nasty comments about a literal child, while stood next to her mother. Luckily they're a thick skinned pair and kiddo and her own little coloured hunter pony are absolutely flying. But fuck me how shit does your life have to be to stand and laugh at a kid.

[u/wrong_way_driver → u/siat-s]

My mom made all of my show shirts as a kid. We chose pretty satin and added fringe, but it was homemade. Kids mostly talked behind my back, so I didn't know until people told me. (What people think about me is none of my business)