You’re right on the first shot — in your post, that frame is already tight, so more cropping would start feeling forced rather than cleaner. Good cropping is supposed to remove distraction without choking the image, which is exactly the line guides like Digital Photography School and ExpertPhotography keep hammering. The third shot is the better crop candidate, and I can see the case for a slight trim on the second too, mostly to concentrate the viewer’s eye on the rider and load. So yeah — first one stays, third gets the knife, second gets a maybe.