Young Equestrian Faces Her Critics With Kindness Following Adult Bullying Incident

Our noteworthy media mention of the week goes to a wonderful piece from Channel 8 ABC Tulsa that tells the tale of how one young equestrian chose a path of kindness when reacting to harsh social media criticism about her riding skills.

Paris Nottingham is not only a member of the Oklahoma State University Equestrian Team, she’s also the Team Captain. In addition, Paris is the Oklahoma State Spirit Rider, an equestrian selected to have the honor of riding a black horse named “Bullet” down the field following every OSU touchdown.

During her first game as Spirit Rider, Paris and Bullet had a rough go of things and Paris was bucked off, in front of approximately 40,000 people in the stands. That number increased dramatically when a video of the incident was posted online. What followed was an  embarrassing display of harsh social media criticism about Paris’ riding skills, that came surprisingly from “adults.”

Even the most talented riders have been bucked off once or twice, or even much more than that! In fact, as the old cowboy quote goes, “If you haven’t fallen off a horse, you haven’t been riding long enough,” or “You ain’t a real cowboy until you’ve been bucked off at least three times.” But for most of us, it doesn’t happen in front of thousands of people.

We applaud this young equestrian for the grace and kindness she exhibited in a difficult situation.

Click here to watch the video from Channel 8 ABC Tulsa.