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 Regular
Posts: 95
| In the winter I ride at a barn that is predominately English. I'm not the only one riding western, but pretty close. The owners, who breed and show Andalusians, are more than happy having me ride there, but I find that the other people that board and ride there kind of look down upon the barrel racer. Do you guys find this when your around people who ride English? I secretly laugh a little to myself when I see some of the stuff they do with their horses, but I would never think lesser of them for it. It's times like these when I like to bridle my horse up and show them that, even though I may be a barrel racer, I still have a good handle on my horse and know how to do things on him other than run around tin cans. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
   
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I would board out in the winter so I could continue to ride and many times I ran into this. It use to bother me until I realized so many of them didn't have a clue and you just can't fix stupid. One day they had cavalettis out and were attempting to get through them. All of my horses have basic dressage skills so I asked if I could try to go through them. One grimaced and told me to go right ahead. My horse went through them like a pro and when I was done I sidepassed across the arena in both directions. Needless to say...they gave me a wide berth from that day on. |
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 Leggs
Posts: 4680
Location: lexington KY | For me it has been the other way around. I know a few girls that are eventers and have been with them to shows and we all discuss our horses and I have learned from them and vice versa. Honestly I feel if someone is serious about horses and their particular sport they know how to learn from other people. Dont get me wrong there are many that are just like you are describing, but there are many that arent as well. I actually just bought a nice helmet I plan to run in this year and all the girls at the tack shop were English riders, they chatted and chatted with my sister and I about barrel racing and helmet fit and even showed us where to get some really cool covers for them. I was honestly surpised at this, since this particular tack shop is only English and I was warned the people can be very rude. I was glad my experience was a positive one. |
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I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | polorunner - 2014-02-03 2:10 PM For me it has been the other way around. I know a few girls that are eventers and have been with them to shows and we all discuss our horses and I have learned from them and vice versa. Honestly I feel if someone is serious about horses and their particular sport they know how to learn from other people. Dont get me wrong there are many that are just like you are describing, but there are many that arent as well. I actually just bought a nice helmet I plan to run in this year and all the girls at the tack shop were English riders, they chatted and chatted with my sister and I about barrel racing and helmet fit and even showed us where to get some really cool covers for them. I was honestly surpised at this, since this particular tack shop is only English and I was warned the people can be very rude. I was glad my experience was a positive one.
I have found that sometimes the more knowledge someone has the more they are open minded. This is true with barrel racers as it is with any discipline. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| People like to think they are gods within their own disciplines. I was riding at a very dominate english facility and I had a dressage guy try to run me off by pushing his horse on mine or intentionally working his horse in the same area as me. I had to prove a point, I took my tiny mare and used the dressage guy and his horse as a barrel. I scared the crap out of him! After that no one screwed with me. I personally like watching other disciplines and I dont think any less of a person if they are beginners or advanced riders. |
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Regular
Posts: 95
| I agree that knowledge has alot to do with it. I was discussing this with my dad last night and he has found that people who don't have anything to prove are way more inclined to help a person out and to be nicer all around AS A GENERAL RULE. Those who are unsure about what they are doing try to put up a front to hide their lack of knowledge, which is really too bad because I agree when y'all say that, regardless of discipline, we can all learn horsemanship skills from each other. |
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Leggs
Posts: 4680
Location: lexington KY | Nevertooold - 2014-02-03 3:30 PM polorunner - 2014-02-03 2:10 PM For me it has been the other way around. I know a few girls that are eventers and have been with them to shows and we all discuss our horses and I have learned from them and vice versa. Honestly I feel if someone is serious about horses and their particular sport they know how to learn from other people. Dont get me wrong there are many that are just like you are describing, but there are many that arent as well. I actually just bought a nice helmet I plan to run in this year and all the girls at the tack shop were English riders, they chatted and chatted with my sister and I about barrel racing and helmet fit and even showed us where to get some really cool covers for them. I was honestly surpised at this, since this particular tack shop is only English and I was warned the people can be very rude. I was glad my experience was a positive one. I have found that sometimes the more knowledge someone has the more they are open minded. This is true with barrel racers as it is with any discipline.
I agree  |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1182
Location: Do I hear Banjos? | I think sometimes we all make assumtions that we probably shouldn't. I have dabbled in several disciplines (jack of all, master of none of course)...but I love most riding down the trails for hours and competed in distance CTR. I rode "winglish" a lot. Wore tights and a helmet...but my barrel saddle fit a particular horse best so that's what I rode in for all those miles.
When I would haul to a local trail system and hopped on to ride my horse that had 1000+ miles in competition... with my helmet on... I got one of two judgements:
1. "Must be a green horse"...or she "must not know how to ride".
or
2. We better not ride with her...she must like to go fast all the time. ( distance CTR is not a race like endurance )
Either way...I'd just smile and get a laugh out of their assumptions. If we admit it though...I think we all do it to some extent. It's hard not to size up others and make snap judgements based on stereotypes. It's human nature.  |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 365
| I ran into this when I moved to my barn. 3 girls close to my age were english riders, but had only been riding for a year or so. I wasn't liked. What was better I started riding english then, and was good at it. My horses could jump easily. Actually became friends with them, and the more I taught them about barrels the more they accepted it and understood it. They taught me wuite a bit about english too, but before that i never paid attention to sterotypes. People in any discipline can be ignorant, just depends on if they want out of their ignorance. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1131
| I'm an all around rider and I am looked down upon by BOTH sides quite a bit. The pleasure people don't accept me because I'm a barrel racer and the barrel racers (less of these, but still more than I thought necessary) don't accept me because I'm a pleasure/showmanship person (and my horse is a BA showmanship horse, WP not so much, but she can get English done too).
It wasn't until one day that I beat the 1 pleasure rider that always looked down on me the most AND the 1 barrel racer who looked down on me the most that I realized who cares what they think if I'm the one winning and having fun?
Also weird for a barrel racer to look down on it because every good barrel racer knows you need some pleasure work on your barrel horse (well, this particular one probably didn't and that's probably why she was going through so many barrel horses because they were going crazy. haha). I actually think what drove that pleasure rider crazier than anything is that I had one horse who did everything, while she rides everything, but with 4 different horses. So I think it just made her mad that I would beat her pleasure horses, her showmanship horse, and her barrel horse all in the same day with my ONE horse. haha
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 Veteran
Posts: 155
| My barn is like that. People are respectful of course, but the hardest thing is sharing the arena. If I am going to practice patterns or set up something for a drill, I try to go at one of the least desirable times so I (hopefully) get the arena all to myself. But sometimes I do get a little ticked because the jumpers rarely clear out their jumps... But the owner is a boarder who lets everyone use them and they have courses set up, so I try to just work around them.
I also had to buy my own barrels because the stall boarders took all the ranch barrels and used them as water troughs. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | I also agree that it depends on your knowledge. I will admit that back in the day I used to judge a lot of other disciplines. But I have learned they all take a horsemanship and they all have good things and bad things. It's not my place to judge what discipline they choose just like it's not their place to judge me. I used to show in 4-H and it was very hard for the kids that did contesting(which there were few, that did it seriously). There were probably only about 10 of us that seriously did the speed events and all the others did it to get points toward versatility. Mainly our fair is catered to and centered around western pleasure. There are only 2 days of the 7 that have speed events involved. They put a lot of rules down on us because barrel horses are "hot" and "out of control" some can be but honestly in the 9 years I did it, did I ever see one get hot or act crazy! But they put so many rules down on us that if we took too long to come in they disqualified us or if they hopped or didn't stop forward motion we got disqualified. My last year at the fair(it was my mares 4th year there) she was a little worked up and was doing that zig zag walk and I had a woman walk up to me, grab my reins and tell me I needed to get off and control my horse!! Whaaatt?!?! She was the mother of a western pleasure rider and said my mare was being dangerous. Really? If most people would educate themselves on the other disciplines more people wouldn't be scared of them or judge them as much. |
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  Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I think it is true to a point. I bet most of the riders are women?? We are our own worst enemy.
I find the show people can be pretty terrible towards non show people ESPECIALLY barrel racers so do you know what I do? Totally freak them out. Instead of the normal black and white that you normally see in English, in the morning before the shows and in the warm up pen I am going to use my special ordered Despicable Me
"Minion" saddle pad and matching polos. It will get them for sure. I'm usually available when someone needs a good laugh |
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Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | wyoming barrel racer - 2014-02-03 9:56 PM
I think it is true to a point. I bet most of the riders are women?? We are our own worst enemy.
I find the show people can be pretty terrible towards non show people ESPECIALLY barrel racers so do you know what I do? Totally freak them out. Instead of the normal black and white that you normally see in English, in the morning before the shows and in the warm up pen I am going to use my special ordered Despicable Me
"Minion" saddle pad and matching polos. It will get them for sure. I'm usually available when someone needs a good laugh
Post pictures! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| wyoming barrel racer - 2014-02-03 6:56 PM
I think it is true to a point. I bet most of the riders are women?? We are our own worst enemy.
I find the show people can be pretty terrible towards non show people ESPECIALLY barrel racers so do you know what I do? Totally freak them out. Instead of the normal black and white that you normally see in English, in the morning before the shows and in the warm up pen I am going to use my special ordered Despicable Me
"Minion" saddle pad and matching polos. It will get them for sure. I'm usually available when someone needs a good laugh
Hahaha, Krystal...you have to send me a picture!!
I have felt it from ALL sides, I used to show in the H/J Equitation and jumpers, but groomed for a dressage rider who was an Olympian in high school. The dressage people looked down on me because I was a "rank" hunter rider and did crazy things like JUMP and let my horse have his head, and the hunter riders looked down on me because I HAD to work as a groom in order to pay for my lessons. Yet...after a couple of free dressage lessons I had the best seat of all the people in the hunter barn.
I also used to show Low Children's/Amateur Jumpers on my mom's rope horse...who LOOKED like a rope horse. There was no HUS for AQHA that was really big back then...but this horse had heart and kicked ass! My mom was the only western rider at our place and used to care for a bunch of stallions, ride some percherons, and pony or gallop some racehorses when they came to Del Mar. I usually went with her and ALL the dressage and jumper people thought that was weird. I learned a LOT of cool tricks on the track for REALLY hot horses, and EXCELLENT leg bracing/cooling techniques.
A few years ago I lost my job and went to work for an Arabian trainer next door to me. All my barrel racer friends wrinkled their noses and said Ewww when I told them this...but dealing with the Arabs really taught me not to get frustrated with my horse because they would just blow up and never come back. I hate when people look down on you because of the style of riding you do, the way you dress to ride, or what breed/type of horse you ride. Just because you are "one" style doesn't mean you don't have any skills. |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | Having had both barrel horses and H/J's on my farm at the same time, I have been known to get some rather odd looks through the years. When I first started showing up to barrel races in So FL 100 years ago, people would ask me if I was new to the area. When I would tell them where I lived, they would normally reply "But there are jumps in that arena.". When people would come to see about H/J lessons and training and would see the pen by the barn with barrels set up in it, they would become puzzled. Over the years, I have learned to just let it roll off of my back. I have shown some of my barrel horses in the Hunter and Jumper rings from time to time, with a bit of success. I just do as others have stated, when someone is looking down their nose at my barrel horse, I'll go ahead and start doing some much more advanced maneuvers and watch their jaws drop. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | When I was younger I actually wanted to learn how to show jump, so my first lessons were English taught but after a while my mom decided that a western saddle looked more secure. I bought my first horse at boarded at a place where they mainly rode western and did little gymkhanas. That's where I started getting into barrel racing but I still wanted to know English and how to jump. I was surprised to see how my "friends" treated me differently and make fun of me seeing me ride in an English saddle. I knew how people believe that English riders were snobby but they knew me and they knew I wasn't like that! So I guess I got it from the different perspective but yes, I hate stereotypes. |
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Neat Freak
Posts: 11216
Location: Wonderful Wyoming | I promise pics! I have a fun loving personality and just can't do cool and collected. So this is how I have a little fun. I have done so many different things around horses, I see the good and bad riders in all events. I grew up with a grandpa that was a stand out roper, I barrel race and an english riding friend got me into showing. I jumped all the time as a kid, bareback because I was too broke to have all the fine clothes and fancy tack. I also started colts for an Arabian breeder in college for some extra money. And then after I was married we moved to TX and started colts for Babcock (cutting, reining, reined cowhorses). Morgan Lippert (where ever he may be now, is one of the best of the best for starting reined cowhorses), here is my shout out to him. He prefered to stay home and train than show, but he was better than 99% of them.
If horse people would quit sticking their noses up at each other, we could learn so much from each other. My jumping friends think I am suicidal the way I will jump just about anything, but barrel racing you get a feel for the thrill and if you know your horse can do it, why not?
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2931
Location: North Dakota | Last winter, I took some hunter/jumper lessons for fun and to experience something new. My first lesson was actually when the NFR was going on. I was taking lessons from people who have been to the Olympics in dressage and such (as far as credentials go).
During the first lesson, I would bring up discussion points about how I cue my horse differently than what she was having me do in the lesson. Makes good conversation and good learning. At one point, I was explaining how on my old horse, he turned a barrel best when I turned my hips inward when I got to the pocket, and kicked with my inside leg to keep him driving. He was 1D locally. She SNOTTILY asked me if I want my horse to swing his butt around in a turn? I was very appalled by her comment.
I had a series of 4 lessons, once a week. I got them to watch the NFR one of the nights. At one of the following lessons, she commented on how she couldn't believe how FAST those horses run through the barrels! I also explained to her that the pattern is very small (smaller than the indoor arena we were doing lessons in) so the smallest mistake on the pattern will cost you big time.
By the end of my lessons, I think I got her to realize that she doesn't know anything about barrel racing.  She obviously really knew what she was doing with hunter/jumper and everything, and I enjoyed the lessons, but I have not been back for lessons since because I was really miffed that she was so RUDE to me about barrel racing. She perfectly fit that stereotype of an English rider turning their nose up at a Western rider. And I didn't like that. |
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 Chasin my Dream
Posts: 13651
Location: Alberta | For me I learn all I can from all disciplines....I don't board, but I did get teased when I took my barrel horse to a ranch roping and she did awesome LOL
I grew up rising English, horse shows etc....I would have no issues throwing on a English saddle and going thru the motions if a person questioned my horses ability LOL
like I said I'm always open to learn from everyone I encounter and I think anyone who does is a better horse person for that! |
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | The barn I used to be at here in Dallas was the opposite. The women who rode english were super nice and full of knowledge. I rode with them in my barrel saddle on trails while they rode english. I even swapped out and let them sit in my saddle and I tried to sit in an english saddle. The person that gave me a problem was a man who actually started boarding there several months after I did. He rode western and always had something negative to say to me, he always talked down to me. The entire time I was there I NEVER let on that I have been riding my entire life and that I have a degree in equine science and was taught how to ride by a Hall of Fame world champion cowgirl and cowboy! In the end I had to leave the facility and move to another because he started harassing me and letting my horse out in bad weather or locking her in a section of pasture that had no water. My horse trailer started having screws and latches broken etc....It was getting to the point I was scared for my horse so I had to move on. I guess people need to rant on other people to build themselves up! |
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Cat Collector
Posts: 1430
| I have ran into this lots, The current barn I board at is the most versatile, But it is the first barn where everyone works together and helps each other |
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 Expert
Posts: 2128
| I have never ridden anything other than western (well a racing saddle a couple of times). I am very open minded about other diciplines. I have always loved horses and anything to do with them. I feel though , as a barrel racer we are definatly looked down on by some. I see youtube stuff and online blogs where barrel racers are bashed big time. "they are rough on their horses" "they cant ride" "the do nothing properly" ECT ECT. Just what I have observed in reference to barrel racing. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Southern Pennsylvania | I think it depends on the person. There are 2 girls in the same college class as me who ride English and focus on jumping. One is very friendly and was very supportive when I mentioned that I had always wanted to try it. She even went as far to invite me to a lesson. The other girl dismissed my barrel horse and said something along the lines of "well, at least you don't have to deal with what we (her and a girl who does WP) do to qualify". As in I didn't have to work hard to get points and make it to congress. (Disclaimer: I own a paint and have no intention on going to either world show. However, I did not discuss what level I compete at with her.)
Edited by SunnyGotMeGood 2014-02-07 9:55 AM
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Stereotypes....