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Your Body And Your Horse Can Be A Team · Equestrian Tea Time

• 0:00
  Isabeau Solace: Hello everybody.
• 0:01
  Isabeau Solace: Welcome back to Equestrian Tea Time.
• 0:04
  Isabeau Solace: Today we are sharing a conversation between my co-host Emma Jenkinson and dressage Judge and owner of Mindset Equestrian, Karen Fulcher.
• 0:14
  Isabeau Solace: Karen was very gracious putting up with us back when we recorded this in January.
• 0:20
  Isabeau Solace: The technology gods were not with us on that day, and we had to do a lot of wrangling.
• 0:26
  Isabeau Solace: But it was very much worth it.
• 0:28
  Isabeau Solace: Karen has a lot of great ideas and great information to share.
• 0:33
  Isabeau Solace: They started their conversation by discussing the 20% rule and plus size riders.
• 0:39
  Isabeau Solace: They then moved into plus-side rider clothing brands.
• 0:43
  Isabeau Solace: And then they moved into something I think a lot of riders need to hear, how to advocate for yourself as a learner and for your horse as a partner.
• 0:50
  Isabeau Solace: Karen and Emma explore a particular reframe.
• 0:55
  Isabeau Solace: Are you pushing your horse or are you partnering with your horse?
• 0:58
  Isabeau Solace: They also pull back the curtain under size judging, what the actual criteria are and what judges can and can't say to riders at Ringside, and how Karen's program through Mindset Equestrian can help you walk into the arena, actually understanding how you will be assessed.
• 1:14
  Isabeau Solace: Um they close out with a candid look at the realities of building an online equestrian business.
• 1:20
  Isabeau Solace: So grab your tea.
• 1:21
  Isabeau Solace: Here is Emma and Karen, and thanks for listening.
• 1:25
  Emma Jenkinson: Hi Karen, can you hear me okay?
• 1:27
  Emma Jenkinson: I can.
• 1:27
  Emma Jenkinson: Can you hear me okay?
• 1:29
  Emma Jenkinson: Yes, I couldn't find the video though, but I do now.
• 1:33
  unknown: All right.
• 1:35
  Emma Jenkinson: So good morning.
• 1:36
  Emma Jenkinson: Thank you so much for joining us.
• 1:38
  Emma Jenkinson: What I wanted to talk about today was plus size riders and also about that 20% rule.
• 1:46
  Emma Jenkinson: And your thoughts on that.
• 1:50
  Karen Fulcher: My thoughts on that.
• 1:51
  Karen Fulcher: My thoughts on that are people who can't do math very well and very regularly.
• 1:57
  Karen Fulcher: Um, I as a judge get to see all kinds of uh partnerships.
• 2:01
  Karen Fulcher: And most commonly I see a ton of tall or large kids on small ponies and small adults on large ponies where the 20% rule doesn't seem to apply because the pony's cute.
• 2:12
  Karen Fulcher: Uh I go to quarter war shows all the time where there's no question the 20% rule doesn't apply because it's a man.
• 2:18
  Karen Fulcher: And I feel like a lot of times the 20% rule is just an easy way to kind of attack uh visual uh issues with riders, right?
• 2:27
  Karen Fulcher: I mean, as if we don't already know that we're plus sized, we don't need that pointed out, as if we're not already aware.
• 2:33
  Karen Fulcher: So the best thing, in my opinion, to do is make sure that our attack fits us and our horse well and to check for signs of tension all the time.
• 2:41
  Karen Fulcher: But I I do really feel like it's just an easy out and an easy way to kind of um scream that there's uh abuse going on because of someone's weight when there's abuse going on like every other rider in some capacity, either with a poor fitting bit or a poor fitting saddle.
• 2:59
  Karen Fulcher: Um and I just think it's it's it's rubbish.
• 3:02
  Karen Fulcher: I've done enough interviews with enough saddle fitters where they've also debunked it.
• 3:06
  Karen Fulcher: I've taken enough lessons with enough Olympians that are they have no problem with my weight or how I manage my weight.
• 3:14
  Karen Fulcher: It's about balancing the saddle and whether or not our tack fits us and our horse so that we can better aid them to lifting their back if that's what we're doing as far as exercises go.
• 3:27
  Emma Jenkinson: I've heard a little bits and pieces of this on your social media, so it's nice to put it all together.
• 3:33
  Karen Fulcher: Well, to be fair, I mean, it's not like we're riding small ponies, right?
• 3:37
  Karen Fulcher: Or underweight horses.
• 3:39
  Emma Jenkinson: And back in the day wouldn't they have been a lot smaller horses that we were dealing with and things like that.
• 3:45
  Karen Fulcher: I I I'm fortunate enough to work with uh a purebred Spanish Mustang, which is as the original conquistors brought over from Spain as the horses here.
• 3:54
  Karen Fulcher: And they're used to full-grown men back in the day who were definitely in shape, eating their protein with armor on.
• 4:02
  Karen Fulcher: And this guy's petite and hardy.
• 4:03
  Karen Fulcher: The Arabians are petite and hardy.
• 4:05
  Karen Fulcher: There's a lot of petite and hardy horses, however, you know, I think it's just really easy for a lot of people to just blame a look whether or not we see any kind of um sensitivity or disruption to fluidity.
• 4:18
  Karen Fulcher: And that's just a shame.
• 4:20
  Karen Fulcher: But I do appreciate, however, that there's a lot more saddle fitters and um outfit designers that are accommodating the normal bodies that are now um comfortably riding in equestrians.
• 4:34
  Emma Jenkinson: And that's a perfect place to slip in here.
• 4:37
  Emma Jenkinson: What are a couple brands that you work with that are going to fit us plus size ladies?
• 4:42
  Karen Fulcher: I mean, I know the bigger brands, like like Smart Pack has done a really great job.
• 4:47
  Karen Fulcher: Um, I think they used to have they used to have the fuller fill fillies, they did fantastic.
• 4:52
  Karen Fulcher: Um, the Hunter people are getting more into um plus size, you know.
• 4:57
  Karen Fulcher: I I started with Bell Eck.
• 4:58
  Karen Fulcher: Uh, they go to an extra large.
• 5:00
  Karen Fulcher: However, I'm a size 18 and on all of their shirts fit me.
• 5:03
  Karen Fulcher: PH Glothing Co is one of my first uh people who continuously checks in with me.
• 5:09
  Karen Fulcher: How does this fit you?
• 5:10
  Karen Fulcher: How does this fit your plus size clients, pants-wise, shirts-wise?
• 5:14
  Karen Fulcher: Um, I adore her.
• 5:15
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and she's always wanting to accommodate, never wants to leave anyone out.
• 5:20
  Karen Fulcher: I know um the Blossom Creek lady with the the winter beautiful clothing that um I just met recently during the giveaway, uh, also saying white, how can we accommodate both smaller, petite, and larger, um, both in height and in weight and and roundness.
• 5:36
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and then Teandro, Equestrian, she is very adamantly trying to make sure no one feels left out.
• 5:43
  Karen Fulcher: I actually feel bad for the men now because I I feel like we really have some great brands here that are, oh, Castell, like I'm wearing an XXL and Castell, they've really upped their game and it's too big on me.
• 5:54
  Karen Fulcher: Um, so I think a lot of brands are really working on getting um much more accommodating within the size range for sure.
• 6:03
  Emma Jenkinson: Yes, I think nowadays there's actually some britches on the market that I can order.
• 6:09
  Emma Jenkinson: I just like things a little bigger because I have some kind of deformity and pain there.
• 6:14
  Emma Jenkinson: And so like tight britches are just not what I like, but I like bridges.
• 6:19
  Emma Jenkinson: So any tips for improving your riding or finding a more balanced seat if you're a bigger or smaller rider, because that's really I think what's important here versus a weight, but riding that weight differently to help your horse.
• 6:38
  Karen Fulcher: I think balance is a relative thing that most riders are not taught to accommodate.
• 6:44
  Karen Fulcher: And what I mean by this, I I was pretty, you know, I'm I'm a child of the 80s, right?
• 6:48
  Karen Fulcher: So we were taught to be in forward position in two point four hours on end, right?
• 6:52
  Karen Fulcher: And we have that muscle memory.
• 6:54
  Karen Fulcher: However, most instructors in the time that we're allowed, um, feel kind of pressured to go ahead and push on towards you, you know, meeting your riding goals.
• 7:04
  Karen Fulcher: And we tend to just, you know, evaluate what we can at the time because we don't want to be met with combativeness and or lose a client, right?
• 7:11
  Karen Fulcher: The problem that a lot of people have is as we sit more, as we age, our our hips and or shoulders and or backs tend to adjust.
• 7:21
  Karen Fulcher: And when we're sitting in the saddle, a lot of times we're seeing the profile of a rider.
• 7:26
  Karen Fulcher: Um, as an instructor, as as we take photos, we're seeing the profile and we try to adjust the profile instead of the cause, right?
• 7:33
  Karen Fulcher: A lot of people want to have even stirrups, though their hips might not allow for that.
• 7:38
  Karen Fulcher: And and uh, you know, I had some riders with me um this past weekend when I was judging, and they were like, hey, the the stirrups are uneven, because they were trying to find things that they could learn to visually, yes, but the hips are even and this rider's shoulders are even.
• 7:49
  Karen Fulcher: So let's allow for their hips to be a little uneven.
• 7:52
  Karen Fulcher: If that allows, if a longer stirrup allows for them to swing their leg much more freely versus having to adjust their whole body, um, then let's allow for that.
• 8:00
  Karen Fulcher: I think a lot of people aren't taught to be dynamic in the saddle and really move around.
• 8:05
  Karen Fulcher: And I could be using the wrong word, it might be static, but the the the word meaning can can I teach my muscles to move versus strain and push into a shoulder bag?
• 8:14
  Karen Fulcher: Can I teach my body to allow and move with the movement of this horse and adjust with the movement of this horse?
• 8:20
  Karen Fulcher: Can I start to really own myself and know where I need to maybe shift to help better balance an unbalanced horse?
• 8:26
  Karen Fulcher: That's also a huge impact on this statement because I can teach you to be completely balanced on a non-moving animal.
• 8:34
  Karen Fulcher: And then the animal comes in and is completely unbalanced, and it's extremely frustrating at that point.
• 8:38
  Karen Fulcher: When we have an unbalanced horse, uh, and I mentioned this, I think, in a video recently, where at camps I have riders play tug of war.
• 8:46
  Karen Fulcher: And the goal being, of course, to get the flag across the line.
• 8:49
  Karen Fulcher: And the rider never thinks about what they look like, they think about the goal and how can I adjust better to reach the goal.
• 8:56
  Karen Fulcher: And as trainers, a lot of us are much more willing to adjust our position to help the horse better understand what we're asking of them and better adjust their their own balance and become more fluid andor strong.
• 9:10
  Karen Fulcher: And then, you know, if we're getting ready to show, we'll adjust uh to have a little bit better equitation.
• 9:16
  Karen Fulcher: But I tend to think that most um non-professionals, amateurs that um it's it's generally called, tend to ride towards a look, not necessarily the functionality for them and or their horse.
• 9:28
  Karen Fulcher: And that's kind of where I wish our community would better help.
• 9:32
  Karen Fulcher: If I've got a really top-heavy rider, I'm not gonna teach them to kind of strain back.
• 9:36
  Karen Fulcher: That is a strain that's gonna cause a huge strain on their backs, it's gonna cause pain.
• 9:40
  Karen Fulcher: I'm gonna teach them to maybe do things one-sided, maybe elongate their body, maybe allow themselves to shift around a little bit so that their parts are a little bit more balanced and better to help and aid into the transitions or whatever movement you may be asking for.
• 9:56
  Emma Jenkinson: Um, so this is something I've just started.
• 9:59
  Emma Jenkinson: I'm gonna try asking kind of the same question in all of our episodes.
• 10:03
  Emma Jenkinson: So, what advice would you want to give, like your top advice to a younger person?
• 10:08
  Emma Jenkinson: I know your daughter's going into the industry, um, possibly.
• 10:13
  Emma Jenkinson: And just what would you want to tell them about going into your industry?
• 10:21
  Karen Fulcher: What advice would I give a young person going into the industry?
• 10:26
  Karen Fulcher: Observe and take uh take what best suits you, your core, uh, your heart.
• 10:33
  Karen Fulcher: Um, be willing to adjust, be willing to advocate for yourself and your horse.
• 10:38
  Karen Fulcher: Um, be willing to learn from as many as you can, be willing to ask questions.
• 10:43
  Karen Fulcher: I think uh a lot of times we kind of go with the flow and are pushed to go with the flow.
• 10:48
  Karen Fulcher: I did talk to somebody about this yesterday that most working students are youthful because they're much easier to manipulate and kind of um adjust and keep quiet.
• 10:58
  Karen Fulcher: And I think asking why we're doing things and and stick to your core.
• 11:03
  Karen Fulcher: Like, is this something that you're comfortable with?
• 11:04
  Karen Fulcher: If not, be be able to move along.
• 11:07
  Karen Fulcher: Take what you can, and that might even be uh I will never do that.
• 11:11
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and then try to stay off social media.
• 11:14
  Karen Fulcher: Uh I I I'm fortunate that I did not grow up or go through my first divorce um on social media, uh, or my life would probably look different now.
• 11:24
  Karen Fulcher: But uh yeah, find a core group, find find some sort of like release, but stay off social media with the negativity.
• 11:30
  Karen Fulcher: Try to find grace and and professionalism if you can.
• 11:35
  Emma Jenkinson: Yes, I think I was just writing about exactly what you said of thinking about my internships back in the day, and I just I didn't know who I was quite or what I wanted, you know, what my morals were in the first place.
• 11:48
  Emma Jenkinson: I didn't even think what we were doing, and then so hard to hold your ground.
• 11:53
  Emma Jenkinson: And and I also really didn't know I didn't even have any questions to ask.
• 11:57
  Emma Jenkinson: I was just very starstruck of everywhere.
• 12:01
  Karen Fulcher: I I do say this fairly regularly.
• 12:04
  Karen Fulcher: I have no issue admitting I have been an abusive person, either due to my environment, due to the pressure of my environment or the coach in front of me, or because that's what I knew.
• 12:15
  Karen Fulcher: That is why I am where I am now.
• 12:18
  Karen Fulcher: I'm now able to see differences and adjust.
• 12:21
  Karen Fulcher: So I I was telling someone, um, like the same person yesterday, uh, when I was in Europe, we we pulled horses, we popped them as they went over fences.
• 12:30
  Karen Fulcher: And she was like, Why would you do that?
• 12:31
  Karen Fulcher: And I was like, Well, I was 18 and everyone I lived with did it.
• 12:34
  Karen Fulcher: And I just I just assumed I didn't know that this is how we did things.
• 12:39
  Karen Fulcher: And I think to really see the deep, dark side of our industry, there's a lot there, which is why I'm not on that aspect of the industry that I'm not comfortable with and I will not do.
• 12:49
  Karen Fulcher: However, I am happy to own that I have done horrible things and will never do them again.
• 12:56
  Karen Fulcher: But that also helps me to understand that some of these horses that have come from situations, I know what they might have been through, and now we can better um adjust and guide them to a more positive training scenario.
• 13:08
  Emma Jenkinson: Awesome.
• 13:08
  Emma Jenkinson: Yeah, I think biggest one like question everything doesn't matter if you're new and even people taking lessons is to if it doesn't seem right, ask why.
• 13:17
  Emma Jenkinson: And if they can't tell you why, like yes, why are we doing this?
• 13:21
  Karen Fulcher: Why are we adding this?
• 13:22
  Karen Fulcher: Why are you adjusting this?
• 13:23
  Karen Fulcher: Yes, because remember, as instructors, our job is to teach you to be able to ride without us.
• 13:29
  Karen Fulcher: As trainers, my job is to be able to explain to you why I'm doing this now and may not be doing it later.
• 13:35
  Karen Fulcher: This is the point in training, right?
• 13:37
  Karen Fulcher: And and that's that's our job.
• 13:38
  Karen Fulcher: We have to be able to explain it.
• 13:40
  Karen Fulcher: There might be moments where I'm like, hey, I'll get back to you in a minute.
• 13:42
  Karen Fulcher: We need to address this right now, but we should be able to be knowledgeable and confident enough to answer that question and humble enough to say, I don't know the answer to that.
• 13:52
  Karen Fulcher: I will reach into research it and get back to you.
• 13:55
  Emma Jenkinson: Yep.
• 13:55
  Emma Jenkinson: And that, yeah, at least that.
• 13:57
  Emma Jenkinson: And we love that.
• 13:58
  Emma Jenkinson: We love teachers who are also already learners.
• 14:02
  Emma Jenkinson: Let's keep learning, right?
• 14:04
  Emma Jenkinson: We can all keep learning, and it's great.
• 14:06
  Emma Jenkinson: And on that note, the other question I'm gonna start asking everybody is what are one or two things um equestrians can do to put their horse first?
• 14:17
  Emma Jenkinson: A little nod to Isabel's past podcast called Putting the Horse First.
• 14:21
  Emma Jenkinson: But just in your opinion, one thing that people can do to put their horses first.
• 14:29
  Karen Fulcher: Realize that each horse is an individual, and that horse is your partner, and you are their partner, which means you're their advocate, you're their coffee buddy, you're their vent system, you're their caretaker, you're their everything for the hour, two hours, three hours that you're with them.
• 14:46
  Karen Fulcher: Document how they are, how do they adjust to things differently?
• 14:49
  Karen Fulcher: And start to think I instead of maybe a lot of people want to take the horse into that corner and she just keeps showing on the corner and they're not observing how the horse might be reacting to the corner.
• 14:59
  Karen Fulcher: Does my horse need to feel like they have a partner or someone that's pushing them, right?
• 15:03
  Karen Fulcher: Can I feel like I have a partnership here, which means now as a partnership, we're going into the scary corner?
• 15:09
  Karen Fulcher: Or is this the horse that needs to see it, address it, and then be like, okay, I'm good.
• 15:13
  Karen Fulcher: So I think knowing your horse, knowing your horse's response, being able to really kind of think about what your horse needs in a situation, and then be comfortable telling your instructor, hey, I'm gonna stay out of that corner right now.
• 15:24
  Karen Fulcher: It's it's not worth it.
• 15:25
  Karen Fulcher: He'll get really hyped up.
• 15:26
  Karen Fulcher: But I'd really like to keep him below threshold.
• 15:28
  Karen Fulcher: So I think really knowing your partner well, as if, you know, you could go buy them a Christmas gift or birthday gift without even thinking, right?
• 15:36
  Karen Fulcher: You could order their coffee before they get there.
• 15:38
  Karen Fulcher: That kind of relationship is the goal, in my opinion, to have a really good partnership connection and be a good advocate for your horse.
• 15:46
  Karen Fulcher: So if you know your horse well enough, you should be able to know when they're not feeling right, when they're not mentally right, when it's just not the time, and or when they can be pushed a bit.
• 15:56
  Emma Jenkinson: Well, thank you so much, Karen.
• 15:58
  Emma Jenkinson: I'm gonna start wrapping it up.
• 15:59
  Emma Jenkinson: I know that you have places to be and go, but thank you for joining me.
• 16:02
  Emma Jenkinson: I've been looking forward to this for a long time.
• 16:05
  Emma Jenkinson: So I don't know why all the technical difficulty.
• 16:07
  Karen Fulcher: Um, I wouldn't we always have hurdles, don't we?
• 16:10
  Karen Fulcher: As equestrians, we always get to have a hurdle first.
• 16:13
  Karen Fulcher: Yeah, no worries.
• 16:14
  Emma Jenkinson: Well, thanks so much for being a good sport.
• 16:17
  Emma Jenkinson: And at the same time, I would love to uh have you now just talk about your online program and what you have to offer that people who might listen might come and come to you for.
• 16:31
  Karen Fulcher: Yeah.
• 16:31
  Karen Fulcher: I appreciate that.
• 16:32
  Karen Fulcher: Thank you.
• 16:33
  Karen Fulcher: I do have social media, uh, I do have a YouTube channel, uh, TikTok, Instagram, which throws everything over to Facebook, which I'm very rarely on, um, as far as my business page.
• 16:43
  Karen Fulcher: I do clinics and I judge and I apprentice a lot because again, I'm here to learn in every industry that I possibly can within the equestrian world.
• 16:51
  Karen Fulcher: And that said, I keep a private subscription page.
• 16:53
  Karen Fulcher: Thank you so much for mentioning that.
• 16:55
  Karen Fulcher: Uh, we do meet on Facebook, it's just easier.
• 16:57
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and I do a live uh once a week, sometimes with the horses, sometimes I bring in videos or magazines or we just discuss.
• 17:05
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and that we meet on Mondays.
• 17:07
  Karen Fulcher: And I also share lessons that I'm teaching throughout the week that I will not post on social media.
• 17:12
  Karen Fulcher: I am not here to let anyone be subject to what I'm willing to put myself out there for because I want people to realize they're not alone.
• 17:19
  Karen Fulcher: They're not alone in how their hips work, they're not alone in how their reaction is, they're not alone in, hey, it's too cold for me to ride, or I'm riding in the rain.
• 17:26
  Karen Fulcher: There's so many different aspects, and none of them are wrong.
• 17:29
  Karen Fulcher: It's just where we are on our journey.
• 17:31
  Karen Fulcher: So I do have that group.
• 17:32
  Karen Fulcher: Um, you can sign up on my website for it, or you can message me about it.
• 17:35
  Karen Fulcher: And I thank you so much for even being supportive and mentioning it.
• 17:38
  Karen Fulcher: I really appreciate that.
• 17:40
  Emma Jenkinson: No, I'm looking forward to that.
• 17:41
  Emma Jenkinson: And you know, I'm friends with um Gabby.
• 17:44
  Emma Jenkinson: We met through podcasting and we've gotten quite close.
• 17:48
  Emma Jenkinson: And um she has mentioned what each other, she's like, you know, I had I wouldn't have known and I even have been on your website, but she's like, you get that 20-minute mindset call with Karen if you do that, and I think that's so cool.
• 18:01
  Karen Fulcher: So I I I do hope to start my own podcast this year.
• 18:05
  Karen Fulcher: I have wanted to for a long time, and and my own anxiety holds me back, my own feeling not worthy enough holds me back, and technical difficulties, right, holds me back.
• 18:13
  Karen Fulcher: But I think this year is the year, right?
• 18:15
  Emma Jenkinson: It's well, let us know if we can support you in any way in that.
• 18:19
  Karen Fulcher: I appreciate it.
• 18:20
  Karen Fulcher: Yes, thank you so much.
• 18:22
  Emma Jenkinson: I've been w wanting to do virtual and but I don't really ride um because of my health.
• 18:29
  Emma Jenkinson: Like winter's got me inside anyway.
• 18:32
  Emma Jenkinson: However, I have quite an interest in learning how to judge, but I don't know how we would do that online.
• 18:39
  Emma Jenkinson: Kind of want to learn the ins and outs, especially of maybe some little dressage tests.
• 18:44
  Emma Jenkinson: So I was wondering if that's something we could do over virtual.
• 18:49
  Karen Fulcher: It is something we can do over virtual.
• 18:50
  Karen Fulcher: Um, I I have thought about doing um uh like a month thing where we meet on a certain day at a certain time within a group, potentially on a Zoom, where we discuss.
• 19:00
  Karen Fulcher: Um, I think enough people don't realize how to break down what we are as judges are allowed to judge you on.
• 19:07
  Karen Fulcher: A lot of common on.
• 19:09
  Karen Fulcher: We cannot coach you.
• 19:10
  Karen Fulcher: We have to be kind and guiding without coaching.
• 19:14
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and and I think enough people do not realize where the criteria of all the movement is.
• 19:19
  Karen Fulcher: It's written on the page, right?
• 19:20
  Karen Fulcher: Um, why some horses do better than other horses.
• 19:23
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and and generally it comes to tempo and fluidity in between.
• 19:27
  Karen Fulcher: And then I don't think enough instructors right before show sit where the judge is going to be sitting to see where our flaws are.
• 19:34
  Karen Fulcher: Um, most of us are on the side or in the middle of the arena, and that changes the angle drastically.
• 19:40
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and so it really, and and again, I I do videos where I seem so catty and I feel so bad about it.
• 19:46
  Karen Fulcher: Of what you wear makes a huge impact on what we visually see.
• 19:50
  Karen Fulcher: Um, because if you're coming down the center line and your spurs are and your stirrups are all sparkly, you look frantically moving those legs in the saddle.
• 19:59
  Karen Fulcher: If you've got pinstripes and you are a little unbalanced, I'm now glancing at you, and now I'm freely able to say you're now my problem versus the horse being the issue, right?
• 20:09
  Karen Fulcher: Um yeah.
• 20:10
  Karen Fulcher: And so I think we we do talk about those a lot.
• 20:13
  Karen Fulcher: We do talk about it in the subscription page.
• 20:14
  Karen Fulcher: Uh, last night we actually discussed uh profile photos and how lighting angle, uh you know, even placement makes a huge impact on how the confirmation looks.
• 20:23
  Karen Fulcher: And so we do discuss that a lot, but I'm more than happy to discuss that.
• 20:26
  Emma Jenkinson: That is very encouraging to hear.
• 20:29
  Emma Jenkinson: And on recording, just has virtual lessons.
• 20:35
  Emma Jenkinson: I know several people who just take lessons that way.
• 20:38
  Emma Jenkinson: It is quite effective uh for someone like her who can really see what's going on on a video to really give some good instruction.
• 20:46
  Karen Fulcher: Well, I I will mention so what I do is and I I encourage a lot more people to do FaceTime versus Pivot.
• 20:52
  Karen Fulcher: Pivot quits tracking and then I have to like go in and override it, and I keep kind of losing, but I can hear your tempo, so I can kind of keep talking through that.
• 20:59
  Karen Fulcher: But it becomes a bit of a mess sometimes.
• 21:02
  Karen Fulcher: Um FaceTime, it's just it's just a screen, like you're right.
• 21:06
  Karen Fulcher: And I'm able to then take my phone and video whatever I've got.
• 21:10
  Karen Fulcher: And let's say you're on the computer and I can even have the laptop going if I need the tablet going, and then you can hear my voice coaching you, and then I send it back to you in Facebook Messenger.
• 21:21
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and that makes a huge difference because I don't think a lot of times we get to see ourselves in the saddle.
• 21:26
  Karen Fulcher: We get to see that moment.
• 21:27
  Karen Fulcher: Um, most of the time, people want the scary moments or the the fiasco moments, but and that's fine and that's for them.
• 21:32
  Karen Fulcher: But I will always say, Hey, do you mind if I post this on the group?
• 21:35
  Karen Fulcher: This is something I see so common, and I want people to realize you're not alone in this.
• 21:40
  Karen Fulcher: And so um, everything that you'll see when you join the group is is people have said yes, share, share away.
• 21:46
  Karen Fulcher: Absolutely.
• 21:48
  Emma Jenkinson: Well, awesome.
• 21:49
  Emma Jenkinson: Well, I don't want to take too much of your time.
• 21:51
  Emma Jenkinson: I know you have a lesson after this, but thank you so much, Karen.
• 21:55
  Karen Fulcher: My pleasure.
• 21:56
  Karen Fulcher: Thank you for having me.
• 21:57
  Emma Jenkinson: Of course, and I do hope to have you on again for a couple other subjects.
• 22:01
  Emma Jenkinson: I'd love to talk to you sometime about online business and how that's going because you do have quite a bit of followers, and we're just very curious, honestly.
• 22:11
  Emma Jenkinson: Uh, I make no money.
• 22:12
  Emma Jenkinson: I I genuinely that too.
• 22:14
  Emma Jenkinson: I think people need to hear that.
• 22:16
  Karen Fulcher: Like, I make I make no money.
• 22:17
  Karen Fulcher: I have done everything in my power to figure out how to make more money.
• 22:20
  Karen Fulcher: What I do is I try to stay positive and think it's going to come back to me in other ways.
• 22:26
  Karen Fulcher: Um, and it it has been a long time coming.
• 22:30
  Karen Fulcher: Uh, I don't get frustrated online.
• 22:32
  Karen Fulcher: I do get frustrated with like hauling to like driving to lessons when I think people are rude to me.
• 22:36
  Karen Fulcher: Um, because that is like me spending time and money and effort.
• 22:39
  Karen Fulcher: But I no, I don't make money.
• 22:41
  Karen Fulcher: And most of the equestrian world isn't gonna pay.
• 22:43
  Karen Fulcher: They'll send you clothes, but they don't pay um us, they don't have the ability to.
• 22:48
  Karen Fulcher: The equestrian world's pretty tight.
• 22:50
  Karen Fulcher: So um the money is is not there as far as this being something.
• 22:55
  Emma Jenkinson: I think we could all use the reality tech, but I also think that the online aspect of business is just a reality now for everybody.
• 23:02
  Emma Jenkinson: Yes, and there's so much about it I would love to just discuss with you sometime because people don't quite a lot of older school people are are coming around to virtual instruction, um, online horse shows, and the fact that if they want to run a business, they may have to branch out to going on the online.
• 23:21
  Karen Fulcher: Yes, absolutely.
• 23:23
  Emma Jenkinson: Well, we have to adjust sometime or something like that.
• 23:26
  Emma Jenkinson: Absolutely.
• 23:26
  Emma Jenkinson: But I will just definitely reach out and thank you so much for being here.
• 23:30
  Emma Jenkinson: Thank you for having me.
• 23:33
  Karen Fulcher: Thank you.