2020 Pony Finals Canceled

[Applecore]

Just as a thought experiment.

Say 4 horses at KHP this weekend came down with EHV-1. How many people would be up in arms about pony finals being canceled? How many people would say 'we’ll sign a waiver! Let us show!" or “but we’ll stay in our own barn and only go to the arena to compete!” and all this other stuff you see people saying.

Why do we treat horse diseases and quarantines more seriously the HUMAN ones? The vast majority of horses with EHV-1 will have a fever for a few days and recover uneventfully with no long term effects. A small percentage will get neurologic signs, an even smaller percentage will be euthanized or die, not unlike covid-19. It boggles my mind that people won’t take a human disease as seriously as we take a horse one.

[trubandloki]

@Applecore

Just as a thought experiment.

Say 4 horses at KHP this weekend came down with EHV-1. How many people would be up in arms about pony finals being canceled? How many people would say 'we’ll sign a waiver! Let us show!" or “but we’ll stay in our own barn and only go to the arena to compete!” and all this other stuff you see people saying.

Why do we treat horse diseases and quarantines more seriously the HUMAN ones? The vast majority of horses with EHV-1 will have a fever for a few days and recover uneventfully with no long term effects. A small percentage will get neurologic signs, an even smaller percentage will be euthanized or die, not unlike covid-19. It boggles my mind that people won’t take a human disease as seriously as we take a horse one.

If I remember correctly, when all that type of stuff was happening people did keep showing and said and did exactly what you posted. So your analogy is failing.

[foursocks]

@Backstage

I’m curious - what happened to your show fees? Were they refunded in full? I was at a show on the weekend, and we wondered what the protocol was as none of us has noticed anything in the prizelist. We may have missed it, though, it wasn’t a huge concern to me given the low risk in our area and my own current lifestyle.

They were perfect and immediately canceled my entries and zeroed my balance; I have a credit card on file with them but they don’t charge anything until you close out your bill at the end. This was a big AA show but I was just shipping in for a few classes for the day due to scheduling conflicts. It was very sad for me personally (my horse just got a 3 hour Theraplate treatment and an alfalfa buffet in his comfy 2+1, so he was content), but I am happy with how they handled it.

[ladyj79]

FWIW, horse shows are not like schools.

schools provide an essential service.

Horse shows do not. At all.

A significantly better analogy is a horse show is an amusement park.

It in no way at all provides an essential service. It is purely a luxury hobby.

[merrygoround]

@poltroon

Right, just get it over with and have them die of COVID now. It’s not like old people have any life or interests other than their children. Party on, dudes!

Hey wait a minute. My life and interests are important to me, even though I am technically"old". Who else would pontificate loudly on their approaches to teaching humans to communicate peacefully with horses? I have a job!!!

[punchy]

@MHM

If the picture was taken today (Sunday), technically they were not breaking any USEF rules, since there was no horse show taking place today at Kentucky.

They may have been breaking the rules of common sense, but that is a different issue.

O hey well if the show hadn’t started yet then…

I believe there are plenty of states that would like to shut down everything, including their borders, because that what it takes to control the pandemic. But I’m not sure states can legally shut their borders, it would be impossible to police, they can’t afford to pay unemployment to their citizens for months maybe years, and they can’t afford/don’t want to deal with the political blowback of making these tough calls. So they restrict what they can and as for what they can’t, they hope that common sense and civic duty counsels people to do the rest. So I’m really tired of hearing people say ‘it’s legal in my state’ and ‘we followed the guidelines’ when doing stupid shit like traveling en mass to a pony show from all over the country. And shame on the USEF for encouraging them.

[Moesha]

@foursocks

LadyJ’s comment about how everyone thinks their travel is essential and so on makes me angry because it is very true. It points to the individualistic focus that trumps everything at the expense of the rest of society.

A couple of weeks ago I headed out to a show with my jumper- my first one of the season, due to COVID shut downs and horse injuries. We hauled 1.5 hours there only to be turned away because their temperature gun thingy read me as having a temp above their safety limit. My first reaction was confusion and then a spark of indignation and then I took a breath and it occured to me that had I been at the show already and heard that they were letting in people with high temps I would be PISSED and would definitely pack up and leave. So, for the good of everyone, I turned my rig around and drove back to the barn. <— This is an example of looking beyond one’s self interests and accepting that when one is in a society, one should act as if other people’s interests are also important.

I am by no means claiming any sort of extraordinary moral virtue; I think this should be a normal reaction. The fact that every single person I told reacted as if some great injustice had been done to me was crazy. When I pointed out the show was simply observing basic COVID safety protocols and we should be relieved that they reacted that way, that shift in perspective from me to all of us tended to have people nod their heads in agreement.

Why is this work of shifting perspective necessary? Why are we so selfish in this country? I actually have many answers to this (I’m a social scientist), but I think it is an important thing to think about right now.

I didn’t have any symptoms, including a fever, by the way. I tested myself with three different thermometers when I got back to the barn and then again at home. I tested myself daily for the next week, as did my husband. I have a feeling I got caught in a momentary tech failure, but again: how was the show to know this? They did the right thing, and I feel much better about going there to show next time.

This - this is so honest and so on point. Thank You!

[gottagrey]

Originally posted by Moesha They should have found a solution long ago for Pony Finals - maybe regional or localized finals this year instead and could have allowed something to happen for the kids instead of this situation.

This is/was exactly my feeling as well especially considering many people weren’t even able to start showing until a couple of months ago. USEF / USHJA should’ve worked together and with any of their sponsors to put their efforts into supporting regional/ local finals. These are unusual times and as such, leaders need to think outside the box, be creative. When you think of school systems debating on whether or not to even start, holding (or not) should’ve been a no brainer IMO

[skrosenthal]

@mbhorse

And this is why I think USEF needs to step up to the plate and cancel the remainder of the 2020 show season. Or at a minimum limit people to showing in their own region. Unfortunately it’s become clear that a number of USEF members and/or their support staff simply can not follow the guidelines. Thus, it’s time for USEF leadership to do the right thing, make the hard decisions, and actually provide leadership to keep their members safe, so there can be a healthy and robust show season in 2021.

Regrettably, USEF made its position pretty clear in the e-mail it sent out, where it talked about how horse-showing was nonessential, but was an “industry” that deserved support. We all know people make money on horse shows, and that’s part of what the thing is…but did we have to say it out loud?

[oldhorsegal]

Can everyone just move along about this cancellation!? It was very last minute and that’s a shame. Kids and parents were disappointed, but life will go on thankfully because it was cancelled.There will be another horse show, another pony finals. Just wear the mask and follow the rules so we can get back to a degree of normality and start to safely enjoy the activities we love!

[trubandloki]

@oldhorsegal

Can everyone just move along about this cancellation!?

???

Why?

Seems like a legit topic to discuss on a horse forum.

[Jo]

@oldhorsegal

Can everyone just move along about this cancellation!? It was very last minute and that’s a shame. Kids and parents were disappointed, but life will go on thankfully because it was cancelled.There will be another horse show, another pony finals. Just wear the mask and follow the rules so we can get back to a degree of normality and start to safely enjoy the activities we love!

Nobody is forcing you to read this topic…

[2bayboys]

@skrosenthal

Regrettably, USEF made its position pretty clear in the e-mail it sent out, where it talked about how horse-showing was nonessential, but was an “industry” that deserved support. We all know people make money on horse shows, and that’s part of what the thing is…but did we have to say it out loud?

I don’t understand this. Horse shows are a business. There are many many people who make their living because of horse shows. Do we pretend otherwise? Does it take away from your enjoyment of shows to know that people are claiming the income they make from the business of horse shows on their tax return?

[paw]

@2bayboys

I don’t understand this. Horse shows are a business. There are many many people who make their living because of horse shows. Do we pretend otherwise? Does it take away from your enjoyment of shows to know that people are claiming the income they make from the business of horse shows on their tax return?

No, just that it’s clear the USEF is on the side of the (horse) business-people and nowhere else. A sane federation that cared for all of its members (not to mention the non-associated people in the venues) might have made different decisions.

[trubandloki]

@paw

No, just that it’s clear the USEF is on the side of the (horse) business-people and nowhere else. A sane federation that cared for all of its members (not to mention the non-associated people in the venues) might have made different decisions.

I do not find it weird that any federation is trying to keep the businesses that make up its members actually in business.

[Tiramit]

I, too find it strange that the USEF has acted as if there are only two options available: in-person shows or nothing.

I belong to quite a few organizations and the ones that have adapted to the pandemic world are thriving. The Dublin Horse Show conducted all of its competitions virtually last month. Other organizations are pushing out learning and virtual competition options.

Yes, showing is a business, but it’s a business model that at best won’t be normal for the foreseeable future. Anyone fighting that is deluding themselves. Best estimates have widespread vaccinations taking until next summer / fall. This isn’t over by a long shot. Fortunately showing is not the only way to engage and earn within the horse world and it’s time for businesses to become creative (I’m thinking of Anne Kursinski) and for riders to rediscover why they started riding in the first place. Showing is a destination, not the journey.

[MHM]

@Tiramit

The Dublin Horse Show conducted all of its competitions virtually last month.

How exactly did that work?

[Tiramit]

@MHM

How exactly did that work?

I didn’t participate as a competitor, but as a spectator it was cool. They did a mix of media and judged it virtually. All results were posted on social media. You can still see it on the show’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dublinhorseshow

[poltroon]

@Tiramit

I, too find it strange that the USEF has acted as if there are only two options available: in-person shows or nothing.

I belong to quite a few organizations and the ones that have adapted to the pandemic world are thriving. The Dublin Horse Show conducted all of its competitions virtually last month. Other organizations are pushing out learning and virtual competition options.

Yes, showing is a business, but it’s a business model that at best won’t be normal for the foreseeable future. Anyone fighting that is deluding themselves. Best estimates have widespread vaccinations taking until next summer / fall. This isn’t over by a long shot. Fortunately showing is not the only way to engage and earn within the horse world and it’s time for businesses to become creative (I’m thinking of Anne Kursinski) and for riders to rediscover why they started riding in the first place. Showing is a destination, not the journey.

An advantage of figuring out ways to play with the virtual technology is that it potentially also increases accessibility to shows and decreases costs. There is nothing like an in-person show, especially an in-person show at a fantastic world class venue like the Kentucky Horse Park. But that’s a long way from the grass roots, and if we can figure out how to make some kind of showing and progress available in places where it’s less expensive to keep horses, we can bring up more horses and riders from more places and potentially lower cost. Virtual training creates additional opportunity for coaches who can be comfortable and effective using that technology. It doesn’t have to be all negative.

[poltroon]

Several livestock competitions, especially fairs, have run online via videos this summer. These are competitions where the judge usually is touching each animal to feel what is fat and what is muscle. It’s not the same as a live, in person show, but it’s not without value either. Some of our local kids had already made a habit of online coaching via facetime for their showing skills, since the top coaches are all a few hours away.