BTW, I might have turned out very differently if I’d had a father who said that getting punched in the head isn’t necessarily abuse.
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That’s what I saw, too.
Question: The USEF says they have no jurisdiction b/c this happened outside a USEF event. But the Jaffer article notes a clause someone above also referenced: the welfare of the horse must be the priority at all times. So can they not simple deny him membership based on his violation of that clause?
Apologies I forget who first noted the ‘small print’ above.
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But, JER, it’s with an open hand!
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USEF is making a BS excuse for not taking action.
USEF is conveniently forgetting about the USEF Code of Conduct which would most definitely cover AM’s actions.
IME (which is extensive), sport NFs will do anything to protect their favorites. This is typical behaviour rather than unusual and can be reported as an ethics violation to USOPC, who has oversight on NFs.
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I suspect the governing bodies recognize the slippery slope as many more would be vulnerable to scrutiny 
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I would think the Code of Conduct we all agree to when we join USEF (likely by clicking a button without reading) would cover this incident on multiple fronts.
Code Of Conduct | US Equestrian (usef.org)
In addition to the earlier point about putting the welfare and safety of the horse first, there’s also the point about not doing anything detrimental to the image of equestrian sport.
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Them claiming they can’t do anything is just… baloney.
How many people have been fired for not following a company’s code of conduct, when they were not on the clock when the violation happened?
Comeon USEF. Stop passing the buck.
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and since they couldn’t suspend him, surely they could have revoked that grant???
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The grant came from USEA. Apparently they were kept in the dark on the abuse report.
At least that’s what they seem to be claiming
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remember how quick Derek Duvander was let go?
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Fwiw, here is (dressage) thread from when the rule change allowing USEF to sanction riders for non-show behavior was announced in June. I feel like public opinion has changed a great deal just since then.
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Erik Duvander? And was his departure related to abuse?
Why was he let go? I never saw a clear answer.
Hound & Hare dropped AM as well.
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Astute comment. Children are by and large reflections of their upbringing.
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I don’t know why he was it was never stated, just that it was quick and he was gone. Just an example that they can remove people if they want to.
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Thanks for digging up that thread, I’ve been thinking about it since this new incident occurred. One of the disappointing things about the thread was that the rule change came out after the Parra incident in which USEF also had to rely on FEI to take action to suspend him, but there was a lot of pushback in the thread of allowing USEF to be able to take action for things occurring outside of competitions.
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Who’s to say he didn’t? If the official position is that things that happen outside of competition are outside of the organization’s purview, everyone may have felt their hands were tied.
And USEF has proven that they will drop anyone at the tip of hat, while keeping others that should have been gone a long time ago. Maybe some of these people feel that keeping a low profile and trying to do what they can to create change within the organization is a better choice than being ousted for being very public about what’s going on.
I can see both sides; where you would care about the sport and the horses and quietly work to better both and the side that says this is intolerable and will loud about it on social media.
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I’m still reading through, but I missed where he did that.
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It was there and I saw it this morning but I think the moderator probably removed the comment
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