Rating: - Young Rider Full of Ads
I purchased subscriptions to both "Ask" and "Muse" for my daughter (9 years old) and am thrilled at the lack of advertising in those magazines. I subscribed to "Young Rider," as my daughter is very much a horse lover. I was dismayed to find it full of advertisements. And not only that, but poor quality ads, irresponsible ads perpetuating gender stereotypes (e.g., males do not wear pink) and blatant consumerism ("From hoof to toe, wear the brand.") While I'm using the magazine as a means for teaching media literacy, we certainly will not be resubscribing. As to the content, it does seem informative, especially for a beginning rider, though the writing is not particularly compelling. And the articles are hard to find amidst all the marketing, making it visually confusing. While my daughter picked up her first issue of "Ask," sat down and did not get up until she'd read it cover to cover, she picked up "Young Rider," glanced through it, tossed it back down and has not yet returned to her first issue. And this is a child who is horse crazy -- not much of a testimonial for a horse magazine!