The Kentucky Summer Classic has been stopped also.
What a surprise! Invite your membership from all over the U.S. to show in Kentucky during a pandemic, and the virus spreads!
Too bad about the damage already done…
Cant say I’m too surprised- people are going to be maaaaaad though.
Would be nice if the powers that be would have made that call before everyone shipped to Kentucky though 🙄
I wonder how this will affect shows in general … If MLB is postponing games due to outbreaks, how will USEF continue to hold competitions?
I hope this leads USEF to add another junior year on. So many shows have been cancelled, and for people aging out it is frustrating to not be able to achieve the goals they have set out for themselves. Hopefully the pony parents will rally and push for another junior year added on!!
Except for kids in my barn, who will all outgrow their ponies this year. I know that many here feel this is the right thing. And maybe it is. But watching the heartbreak unfold real-time today, was a horror show. Have a little empathy if you can.
Her post actually communicated tons of empathy, I thought. She acknowledged the frustration for the kids and proposed a solution of adding another junior year. I know that doesn’t fix it entirely, but that post was full of empathy IMO.
You’re right. It was meant to be the general “you” not specific to cate
I’m very sad for the kids and angry at USEF for putting them in the situation of thinking they might get to show and then ripping it out from under them 2 days before it would have started. This decision should have been made months ago. I don’t know who thought that an event that brings in a thousand entries would be able to run with no COVID+ cases on the grounds.
USEF screwed up big time by giving those kids any hope that this event could run safely this year and then pulling the rug out from under them. It was the right decision to cancel, but I feel very sorry for what I imagine is a large number of devastated kids.
I’m glad they finally cancelled. If it saves one person from getting this virus and dying, or having permanent damage, then it was worth it. I wish they would have cancelled it much earlier. I feel sorry for the kids that will miss this, but safety beats a show of any kind.
@supershorty628 said it all. This is just a mess. I can imagine parents are enraged. Right, it’s a pandemic, and that is not the right response, but wow, who wouldn’t be mad about this.
Supershorty628 got it right. It’s a mess. I know parents who did not plan to go even though the kid qualified, and I know of vendors who decided to skip it. Whether the disappointment happened today, or months ago, it’s still a big disappointment.
I am on record as saying the attempt to run PF this year was irresponsible in every way.
I can’t understand the thinking of any parent who would have allowed their child to go in the first place
I agree. The failure to cancel shows that draw entries from all over the country, in the midst of an out of control pandemic, was an inexcusable failure of leadership on USEF’s part. That said, the failure of parents and other responsible adults to refrain from interstate travel with children, for pleasure, during a pandemic, ignoring the advice of public health officials is also very irresponsible.
Lexington now has more cases that they have to trace, as will the states to which infected participants are returning, not to mention the states they traveled through, transportation, motels, airlines, restaurants, etc… This will use up local resources and potentially sicken and kill citizens, whom have been trying to stay safe and have had no say in the matter.
All of this because everyone involved thought that sanctioning and attending these horse shows during a pandemic was a fine idea. The selfishness and/or ignorance exhibited by every adult concerned is appalling.
What about Derby Finals? Will they try to run that show? I know horses from CA that are shipping there now.
They said in the press release essentially that they hope to open “later in the month”… so bet even Junior Hunter Finals is in jeopardy.
@supershorty628 , I agree. This decision should have been made weeks ago. I feel so badly for those kids, but the USEF should never have gotten their hopes up to begin with.
Rose Mount in VA just posted on FB that someone at both weeks there tested positive. I bet this is the beginning of things being shut back down again.
Honestly, I think USEF needs to go ahead and “rip off the band aid” and just cancel sanctioned shows for the remainder of 2020. Canceling shows at the last minute just puts the wellbeing of the horses at jeopardy with unplanned shipping or layups, stresses the riders and trainers, and wastes a boatload of money for the exhibitors, owners, trainers and horse show management.
