Give them 5 minutes. It’s Monday morning out here in the wild west.
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I’m not surprised considering Ian Miller keeps getting appointed Chef up here in Canada and it’s well known what an emotionally abusive a** he is.
Seems like there’s a lot of turning a blind eye once these riders get to the ULs. Is it celeb worship? Or just too many intertwined connections?
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Actually this is exactly the part I question. My point was that owner had no reason to send the horse, she’d put a decade of blood sweat and tears into, to Andrew’s barn for zero personal gain if she had any suspicion that he was a less-than-exemplary horseman. That was years ago, yes, but he’d been in the area long enough to have a professional reputation.
I don’t know how old the videos are beyond at least a few months since they were sent to the FEI, but without video evidence how much does anyone really “know?” What can be proven? Dozens of traumatized horses can come out of his barn, his grooms and working students can see things firsthand and that’s how he gets a bad reputation but what is actionable without receipts? Is it realistic to expect teen and 20-something employees to go to authorities to report animal abuse with only their own witness testimony? Is it realistic to expect an owner whose horse comes back from training with welts to file a police report? And what would the results be if they did?
I’m sure some of his owners have known for a long time exactly what goes on and continue to send him horses, so I’m not suggesting that he hasn’t been protected and enabled to some extent. I will say that I used to volunteer quite a lot at his local show venue and never noticed that he’s a harsh rider or unpleasant person. I certainly believe awful things were happening in his own barn, but I do think in moments like this when damning evidence comes out there’s a lot of “I saw him ride with short reins or swear at a horse once at a show so I knew he was an abuser all along” that’s just noise. The real issue is the huge gray area with people who are going to take lessons with and send horses to an ostensibly nice guy who rides well rather than believe vague anecdotes.
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Wrote to them both, thanks.
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I haven’t read all the replies, but I just had to say that the videos and images actually made me feel sick to my stomach.
That the FEI and USEF/USEA have sat on this for months and allowed him to represent us overseas sickens me. After all the widely publicized horse abuse cases this year, don’t you think they would action this quickly? I’m not surprised at all, though. They take token actions (such as suspending Charlotte Dujardin, which they should have done, not arguing with that) and think that’s enough.
I refuse, and have refused, to join USEF until they actually do something about horse welfare rather than just talk about social license to operate. Until it hits them in the pocketbook, with people refusing to renew memberships and attend their shows, they have no incentive to actually do something. Sadly, like many corporate entities, it’s all about the money and avoiding anything that would jeopardize their revenue.
How can any of us support an organization that allows this to happen?
However, it requires putting some of our own goals aside to do so. And I think the problem is–there are too many people that prefer to look the other way because ribbons and results are more important than standing up for the horses that provide those to us.
I know a lot of people on this forum do recognized events, and I’m not trying to single you out, but if we are going to make a difference, we have to consider making some sacrifices ourselves. Other than letter writing and refusing to give the money, what are our other options? I’m asking that sincerely because I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can.
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Thanks for sharing your personal perspective and thoughts.
I have sympathy for the owner of the FEI horse you mentioned… the recent news must be unnerving and upsetting for her.
I do understand what you are saying in that it’s challenging for teenaged working students or young adult staff members who are trying to make a serious go of it in this sport to report abuse in a program like this. The reality is that there certainly can be repercussions for reporting… even with policies in place trying to prevent repercussions. It’s a small and insular sport.
I also have sympathy for the position some of the owners are in. When you have a horse in training, there is much you don’t see, even if you are checking on your horse multiple times a week, and watching rides and competitions regularly. Stuff happens. Even with good programs. Unfortunately, BTDT. There are comments online claiming some of his owners are well aware of how tough he is and keep their horses with him because they want to win… I’m a bit skeptical though. Time will tell I guess.
The part of the recent revelations I’m struggling with is mainly related to Allie Conrad’s post. Per her comments, her horses were in training with him almost a decade ago. One in particular sounds like it was beaten in a manner similar to the videos everyone has now seen. And apparently the horse was very fried by the treatment. She didn’t fully grasp what had happened or put puzzle pieces together until after the horse had left his program. And as she was working through the aftermath, multiple other pros commented that this was not the first horse to come out of AM’s program with these issues.
So combine that story with these photos of welts on three different horses, the videos, which seem more recent, and… that APPALLING photo of a horse standing with its head tied to its front legs… while on cross ties…
It’s impossible to conclude anything other than that there have been serious issues with the way this guy treats horses in his program for a long time. Clearly people knew. Working students come and go from bigger programs and word gets round.
Sadly I do understand the nature of people being quiet about stuff like this at the top levels of the sort, and not making a public stink or officially reporting issues. Dynamics are challenging. But… at the same time… I am still struggling to understand how he got that grant last year. There are other riders who could have been supported.
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How devastating for them to have found out this way 
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That’s awful. I can’t imagine seeing a video like that of one of my horses on social media… glad they have gotten them home.
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I believe (this is all from speculation of looking at posts from the page) that the horse was with AM due to his normal rider at PDF being pregnant, and thankfully it appears the horse has been back home for a while.
I cannot imagine the feeling of finding out in such a way that someone you trusted would come out like this, but appreciate them making a statement about it!
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Just saying, if I found out someone had been punching my horse in the head I’d be out for BLOOD. I cannot imagine how the owner feels to find out this happened to their horse, or what else may not have been caught on video.
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When I say heads would roll…. you’d be seeing my mugshot on CoTH if a trainer did that to my horse.
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Imagine opening a video purported to show horse abuse, then the sickening realization that it shows YOUR HORSE. I can’t even imagine the grief and the rage I would feel.
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Important to mention that David O’Connor also lives in the same area as AM…and anyone who knows that area knows how small the horse community is…
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I couldn’t even imagine…when I read the statement from pdf eventing I gasped out loud sitting at work.
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If by same area you mean USEA area II? Otherwise it’s about 5 to 6 hours apart. In all my time in Southern Pines I saw a lot of big names, never O’Connor.
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No he doesn’t. McConnon is in the southern pines area
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I’d immediately press charges. What’s in the videos is criminal animal abuse.
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Wasn’t there a story about Charlotte Dujardin in the NYT? Can we get that author to do an article on how the governing body for Olympic equestrian sport is repeatedly turning a blind eye to allegations and proof of horse abuse? First USEF sticks its head in the sand regarding Cesar Parra and now we learn it has done nothing about McConnon even though it has known for MONTHS about his abuse of horses entrusted to him. People at USEF need to be named and heads need to roll…
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