Who is Still Allowed to Criticize in Elite Equestrian Sport?

A commentary from the editorial office guaranteed to make you shake your head.

Oh wait, shaking your head is forbidden. Just smile. And hearts. Lots of hearts.

Anyone clicking through some of the comment sections of professional equestrian sport on social media these days will quickly realize: we are living in a dreamlike, cozy bubble. Not only are people cooking in their own juices here, but they keep stirring the pot until even the last trace of flavor and reality has boiled away.

Yet under a video where consistently all critical voices are deleted and only the airbrushed heart emojis and "congratulations" comments are left standing, a fundamental question arises that strikes right at the core of modern elite sport: If strictly nobody is allowed to criticize here anymore - who the hell is supposed to do it?

The Echo Chamber as a High-Security Facility

The principle of the bubble works flawlessly. Everyone follows everyone, everyone applauds everyone, and anyone who dares to raise an eyebrow too many is digitally disposed of. The result is a perfectly sealed echo chamber where the air is so thin and smells so peculiar that people forget what the real world, the normal world, and yes, the non-equestrian world out there actually looks like.

In this bubble, every ride is a revelation, every horse a grateful dance partner, and any criticism, of course, is merely the envy of people who can't even get a foot in the stirrup or ride at the criticized person's level. After all, normal people are supposed to buy the riders' products, courses, go to their Master Classes, etc. Criticism always comes at a very inconvenient time.

Yet this is precisely the problem of self-isolation: those who only simmer in their own juices completely lose sight of how the whole thing looks to the rest of the world. Elite riders mistake their own rose-tinted glasses for the ultimate optical instrument, forgetting that out there sits an audience that simply has eyes in their heads. And when professional riders are suddenly harshly criticized - even though they previously staged an immaculate, cuddly image - they don't know what hit them. After all, they are convinced they are doing everything right. It's just that the some outside the cuddly bubble in the real world apparently see it differently.

Who Actually Holds the Official Critic's Permit?

So if any and all polarizing criticism of equestrian sport is being scrubbed from the internet, a logical question arises regarding the distribution of commenting licenses. If the normal spectator and keyboard warrior, who may have been riding Haflingers for 20 years or simply observes the events unfold, suddenly has to keep their mouth shut - who gets the official seal of approval for expressing opinions online?

To bring some order to this chaos, we have drafted the official Criteria Checklist for Approved Critics:

Who is allowed to criticize?	Status	The Hard Reality
The critical spectator / fan	🔴 Immediate deletion	Has too much time, too good vision, and possesses no Olympic winnings. Categorized as a "hater."
The affected rider themselves	🟢 Allowed (but pointless)	Could theoretically criticize themselves, but traditionally prefer to do so with the words: "My horse and I just didn't have a magical moment today. But it'll be fine. With time and patience. Here, buy my course and walk this path with me."
The affected horse	🟡 Tolerated only	Would theoretically be allowed to voice criticism, but management immediately reinterprets it as purely "harmonious competition tension."
The Marketing/PR department	⭐ Exclusive rights	The only entity that decides what is real. Criticism is directly transformed into sponsor-friendly emojis here.

The Way Out of the Cooking Pot

It is high time for equestrian sport to step out of its self-made comfort sauna and cool down. Because anyone who answers criticism with censorship is not protecting animal welfare, but solely their own ego, the bank accounts and sponsor deals of the riders and helps to uphold a certain narrative.

A sport that is so fragile that it shatters over a critical comments on the internet, throwing such a fit, has a completely different problem than a sloppily executed dressage test: it has simply lost touch with reality.

With that in mind: let's open the windows, let some fresh air into the stuffy bubble - and admit to ourselves that a sport which only celebrates itself, without contradiction, without criticism, will very quickly become boring and will very quickly become irrelevant.

Or, to put it in the words of the digital eraser: 🦄💖

(A critique used to be here, but it got deleted - HATERS!!!).

In that spirit, leave some ❤️❤️❤️

We love you all.

Also the haters!

In the end we all are a big equestrian family.

Like in every family there is somebody you do not like.

But you are still family.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️