Right but I think most of our issue (or at least mine), is that they washed their hands and said not my problem. When their code of conduct allows it to be their problem, they just don’t want it to be!
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I 100% agree with this.
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How about a bunch of folks go to the convention and stand up in a big meeting and ask TPTB why they refuse to enforce their own policies vis-à-vis abuse? It would be very interesting if someone with serious cajones stands up and drills down in a big town hall meeting on why USEF continually chooses to ignore sections of its own charter.
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Thanks, Marigold.
I read Matt Brown’s post slightly differently - I think the wording is open to different interpretations.
The way I interpreted Matt Brown’s post/meaning was along the lines of:
- a lot of people are acting shocked at the videos of Andrew McConnon, but maybe some of them have been somewhat wilfully blind to all the indicators of abuse that they have likely been seeing (or accepting) from many people in the industry.
- It’s not sufficient to nail this one person to the wall, when the real, over-arching problem is that the governing bodies haven’t created a safe reporting structure that takes allegations seriously, protects reporters, follows through on investigations and sanctions, and is transparent about doing so.
- evidence of this problem are the examples of when a professional like Matt Brown tries to report and is met with ambivalence or even active push-back from officials
- Matt Brown recognizes he has done wrong things in the past, and has learned from it, including how to identify when he may be close to losing his temper, so that he doesn’t lose his temper and take it out on the horses. Matt Brown feels that Andrew McConnon has not learned that same lesson, and possibly refuses to.
- Matt Brown is encouraging people to consider how they react to these reports, because other people who are training with abusive practices may be fix-able, but if we vilify them, and especially if they have some mental health issues, that can lead to bad outcomes.
[Edited to remove comment about Amy Tryon]
ETA: a later post states her death was ruled an accidental overdose. If I am wrong in my impression stated above, I am very sorry.
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Ditto to everything stated here. And I appreciate @Blugal sharing an important dose of experience and perspective.
In a different context in life, I too have had to walk away from abusive situations, and choose personal wellbeing and health. And it was complicated and involved profound personal loss. And… that was without even reporting to anyone. If I had reported? The loss and destruction would have been much greater.
Fortunately, a lot of life happened, and life goes on, and I am fortunate and in a very different position these days. So I have empathy for people who are stuck in certain circumstances and have no good options.
But back to the topic at hand. My frustration in this case isn’t even really with fellow 5* riders who are not making formal reports about things they have witnessed. My frustration DEFINITELY isn’t with younger up and coming riders, who are working students or assistants in serious programs, and trying to make their way through the sport to get a spot on a list, or get a grant, or maybe eventually get a spot on a team.
I’m aware that the dynamics involved are… challenging.
I think my anger and grief over this situation is with the people who “were in positions of authority” per Eventing Nation, and who responded to the reporting party’s concerns about abuse with ambivalence.
I’m incredibly troubled by that.
I’m also troubled that when it was clear in June of 2024 that the abuse complaint and related evidence had gone to the FEI and they were going to open an investigation… leadership at USA Eventing and AM apparently did not find a way to quietly reach an agreement that he would not compete on the international stage at Burghley.
I don’t understand that.
I do understand that investigations take time, rules can be tricky, legal aspects of situations can be contentious, and everyone must be careful about setting certain precedents…
And I understand that in a perfect world, we would all have transparency and clarity about everything.
But there is no perfect world. And sometimes putting a quiet “lid” on a volatile situation is the best possible approach while investigations and legal processes play out. And I just have trouble understanding why that didn’t happen here. It seems like that would have been a prudent approach given the situation.
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So propose a rule change if you want to see that go differently in the future.
How many people on this thread have done that? Or even vote when they get the chance, or attend meetings? The truth is that every organization is run by the 5% who show up at the meetings and the 10% who vote.
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Thank you for saying that so well @Blugal. I agree with you. That is how I read it too, I have just done a very poor job of expressing my thoughts. You did it so well.
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Pardon me if I’m misinterpreting but… my understanding is that the videos were released publicly because the FEI has been sitting on their asses since May, taking little to no action, and often days and weeks to even follow up via email. The whole purpose of a public release was/is to light a fire under FEI. USEF has known since May, per EN article, meaning they had ample time to prepare a statement knowing, especially in this day and age, it would eventually come to light publicly.
And to @FitzE point, you can’t seriously be saying that this org, regardless of funding or staffing status, wouldn’t see these videos be released publicly and call an emergency meeting to get a statement. I work in advertising and I’ve seen more effort done for less.
I’m glad you’re such a staunch advocate for USEF doing the bare minimum, but when animals are actively being endangered, it is wholly ridiculous to say that they “didn’t have time” to release a statement. They had months of silence. Any org worth their salt would’ve had an emergency statement ready to go in case something like this happened , or at the least, would’ve been prepared to call an emergency meeting to dress for when it was publicly released.
Edited for clarity (see bold)
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For me, having the entire community hold McConnon responsible for what we have seen is reasonable. There is no context that makes his actions tolerable. There is no doubt that that is actually him on the video and sufficient witness testimony to support taking the videos at face value. Not an AI creation. It is important that outside our insular community, people understand horsemen find this reprehensible. And yes it is appropriate for it to “go through the proper channels” and we will need to wait to see what the final penalty will be. No, I have no empathy or sympathy for McConnon. He committed purposeful and repeated acts of abuse. I have empathy for the rider who makes a mistake that harms a horse and the armchair pundits pile on.
The witch hunt begins as people start to ask who knew and how much to blame them. Obviously, no one blames the working students. The SO/vet? How about the farrier? Body worker? Braider? Owners, students being coached? Old Boys Club? Yes they all probably carry a portion of guilt. But you don’t make anyone more willing to come forward in the future by crucifying people without hard evidence. Much has been said about ULR not making statements. An ULR risks their livelihood by pissing off the wrong person. They have families and employees that rely on them. Should we all speak up? Absolutely. But we should offer empathy to anyone that doesn’t feel it is safe to speak up. And let’s do what we can to make it safe for others to speak out. This is social media’s strength. If the Old Boys Club wants to sweep it under the rug, they can’t anymore. The cell phone may just be the horse’s best friend.
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It is a noble sentiment. Practically, however, our actual governments do this all the time, due in part to budgetary reasons. It’s against the law to drive drunk, to steal, to sell marijuana to your neighbour. But there aren’t enough bylaw officers, police, prosecutors, and judges to catch, report, and prosecute everything that’s contrary to our social code of conduct, i.e. the laws governing us.
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But I am not even talking about censuring him.
I’m talking about AM sitting down with two or three key people in USEF leadership, and discussing the fact that this abuse complaint had moved forward to the FEI, and the video and photographs involved looked AWFUL, and given all the concerns about social license to operate in this sport, and concerns about the future of eventing as an Olympic discipline… PERHAPS for the good of the team and the sport… he should quietly withdraw from Burghley while the investigation plays out, so that USA Eventing could avoid a potential PR DISASTER.
So no public suspension. No official censure. Just a quiet private discussion with TPTB that it’s best for the team and the sport and probably AM himself to voluntarily take a step back and hit the pause button while this investigation takes place.
People do have these sorts of practical discussions in difficult situations like this in an effort to get ahead of potential public relations issues…
I hope that makes some sense.
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In theory, yes. In actuality, no. Some Stewards and TDs only report what they want seen by USEF.
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Burghley is done. USA already has a PR disaster. He is from my area and I was very surprised and angered to see this about him. He was always nice to me when I volunteered at the Horse Park. I guess as he got more rides and went up the levels he let it go to his head.
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You don’t think they’re already making decisions behind the scenes?
I think that’s the way of the world. Like it or not. Leadership at USEF are in those roles because wealthy patrons of the sport support those people being in those leadership positions.
It is what it is. We are where we are. We now have a PR disaster for the entire sport. And it seems like it was probably avoidable to a significant degree. Or at least could have been better mitigated.
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As for the PR disaster people are mentioning.
I am a firm believer things happen for a reason. These abuses have been swept under the rug or kept behind closed doors for long enough it appears. Maybe, just maybe it takes someone like CDJ and some ULR to fall from grace to finally open peoples eyes to what actually has been going on. The whole world needed to see. I do not believe for a second that any of this is happening by chance. The universe has a way of revealing evil intent and bringing it to the light, no matter how hard some people try to keep it a secret. I am hoping now that pandora is out of the box, and outside eyes have been opened it will finally bring about some hope or change for these poor souls that continue to be abused in the name of sport. Or at least it might cause everyone to do their own reflecting and soul searching and be kinder to their own horses. I know it has for me.
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PAUSE for a minute: In the meantime, and while we’re all discussing this sad and horrid situation: What about the horses?
How many horses are still in Mr McConnon’s “care”?
And since the powers to be seem to be taking their own sweet time, I can’t help thinking about them.
We’ve heard about sponsors dropping him and, thank god, about of his owners involved, taking her horse(s) back to safety, but what about the others (if any)?
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According to the EN article timeline, for the period of June-August:
Though we have not been able to confirm that Andrew has yet received a formal notification or charge letter, during this period of time he did become aware that the FEI was looking into the matter…
The witnesses expressed concern to the FEI about the time the investigation was taking, as by the end of August Andrew was preparing to compete at Defender Burghley. The witnesses also requested additional clarity from the FEI in terms of the investigation process and what would be needed to open a formal case. The next reply with an update on the investigation was provided from the FEI on September 11, though we are not privy to what that step is.
Doesn’t say by whom/how he was informed. So yeah, pretty ballsy.
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She was also a fire fighter and paramedic so could have suffered from PTSD and I also recall her having a prescription opioid addiction?
I had a horrible experience as a working student too although not as bad. I will always remember the woman I worked fors mother one day came in and threw all our tack outside in a huge screaming raging fit because there was a couple of grooming boxes left in the aisle (only us at the barn, not messy, just in the aisle). Same place where I didn’t have a single lesson and horses didn’t get turned out. Didn’t stay long.
Amy’s death was ruled an accidental overdose, she did not commit suicide. She had some pain from major injuries that she was dealing with.
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You are completely misinterpreting. Go back and read the EN article posted earlier. USEF turned over the investigation to the FEI promptly. The FEI has been in regular but arguably slow contact with the accusers, developing a case.
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