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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Thatâs how we got into this mess, forging real process and relying on âTPTBâ to do the right thing.
Do you really think TPTB are the USEF employees? No, they are rich funders and owners. Once you let them start making secret decisions behind the scenes you get this kind of mess.
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You donât think theyâre already making decisions behind the scenes?
I think thatâs 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 weâre all discussing this sad and horrid situation: What about the horses?
How many horses are still in Mr McConnonâs âcareâ?
And since the powers to be seem to be taking their own sweet time, I canât help thinking about them.
Weâve 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 matterâŠ
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.
Doesnât 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 didnât have a single lesson and horses didnât get turned out. Didnât stay long.
Amyâs 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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Iâm assuming that was not recently, but rather well before SLO concerns became party of USEFâs governance? If so, itâs unfair to compare old rules to new situations.
You still have to pay $ to challenge ammy status, and that does make sense otherwise USEF would just be a clearinghouse for ammy grievances, but you actually have an obligation to report animal abuse on the showgrounds.
Was it really regular contact though? The EN reporting on this particular point was noted just a few posts ago, and it sounded like the reporting parties didnât even hear any status updates from the FEI until September 11th⊠AFTER videos leaked on social mediaâŠ
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Allow me to clarify â USEF has been aware of this since May. So in regards to Amberleyâs opinion on them not being able to provide a statement because it âhappened over the weekendâ, seems patently false. They have had ample time to respond and prepare a statement and, frankly, as I noted, should have had a statement set in case it did get publicly released.
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FEI did actually correspond with the reporters, but yes very slowly and sporadically. This was from an earlier section in the article for the same time period:
Throughout this period of time, the witnesses verified, the FEI took several days or even up to nearly two weeks to respond to emails, prompting the witnesses to follow up inquiring about the status of the investigation.
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Gotcha! Thanks
I feel for you. I too have a horse that suffered some of the worst abuse as a young horse in the hands of Andy Kocher. She was ridden with electric spurs. The damage that was done to this lovely young mare has taken so long to undo. The horses are the ones that carry the internal scars from systematic abuse. We didnât realize who had done the initial training from ages 3-5 on her, and wondered why she was so reactive to the leg among other things. We will keep her for life. We cannot imagine this horse ever having to go through abuse by anyone else in her life. They donât ask for this. The videos trigger something deep inside me as well.
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I think some people have been confused about the USEF - which knew in May - and the USEA, which Rob Burke stated learned of this in Sept (this past weekend).
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I donât believe for one second that USEA only learned about this a few days ago when the rest of us did.
The thing I continue to struggle to understand is why all of these organizations âappearâ to have closed ranks to try to protect this guy. I follow eventing, but not super closely. I never heard of this guy until a few days ago. Yeah sure heâs competing at five star but when you read the entry lists at badminton and Burghly, there are slew of English riders Iâve also never heard of. Iâm not trying in anyway to diminish their accomplishments to get to the badminton level but at the same time there are also a lot of people playing in the NBA and the NFL and MLB that would not warrant the protection and closing of ranks as some of the superstars.
Someone said up thread that perhaps these types of reports are becoming more and more common and they just donât have the resources to deal with them. That I actually understand. But at the same time, as someone else said you canât ram social license to operate down everyoneâs throats and then not even uphold your own stated objectives.
Itâs so hypocritical my eyeballs hurt from rolling them
ETA- the powers that be in the organizations canât have it both ways. If they want to do lip service on. SOCIAL license to operate- then they darn well better be ready that if they do not address situations in a timely and transparent fashion - that the SOCIAL ability for the public to disseminate this type of information will supersede their ability to control the internal narrative.
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Dear Blugal your health should always, always come first.
In your case it sounds like this was more than 10 years ago, maybe even 30 years ago.
Your coaches behaviour was wrong and probably criminal by todayâs standards. You should not be ashamed of what happened to you but I understand why you are. I am still ashamed of being raped at 13. I am learning how to NOT be ashamed but it is not an easy road.
Speaking your truth here is a wonderful step toward learning you did not cause the trauma, and are not to blame.
We, (g), have grown and learned about abuse and mental health exponentially. The internet has certainly helped.
30 years ago I had never heard of domestic abuse, gaslighting, coercion, systematically calling someone demeaning names being abuse etc.
Abuse like that was normalized in my childhood home. Someone or something needed to teach me that being abused was not NORMAL.
We are now being given the opportunity to stand up for animals but must not harm ourselves while doing so.
Approx. 25 years ago I saw a relative put her sons horse on a trailer after the horse show and beat the living shit out of it. The horse ran out on a barrel during a barrel race. The beating was at least 2 hours later. This happened during a local fall fair.
I told people whom I trusted but I did not âreportâ this behaviour to anyone official.
I was stunned, flabbergasted and overwhelmed at the time that anyone could do this.
I relive this trauma every year during a specific fall fair and am ashamed I did not speak up for the horse, and more importantly for her 2 children who witnessed this beating.
Now, at 62, I have the knowledge to manage this better.
Feel no guilt for not reporting. Maybe one day you will be able to. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
The world is changing in regards to what is ânormalâ vs âabuseâ. Clearly seen in the US right now by 13 year old incest victims being made to leave their state for health care. Hopefully we will all continue to speak up for those who cannot.
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In addition to a list of suspensions, the FEI Case Status Tables page provides case statuses, grouped by various categories and accompanied with a last updated date.
Andrew McConnon is not listed in any of the case status tables. I have no idea if this means there is not currently a formal open/active case in progress with the FEI Tribunal. While Cesar Parra is listed on the âOther Casesâ table, CDJ, like AMC, is not found in any table. So, again, I am unsure if anything meaningful can be gleaned from these docs, especially as those I might expect to see AMC on have not been updated since the FEIâs apparent latest communication (reported by EN as 09/11/2024).
Although each case table mentions âmandatory Public Reportingâ (specifically, only that it does not apply to cases involving Minors), I have been unable to locate any elaboration on the scope of âmandatory Public Reportingâ within any FEI documentation Iâve accessed and searched.
All that being said, there are specified timelines in the Internal Regulations FEI Tribunal document and these being clearly laid out vs. the observed timeline, IMO, suggests a formal case with the FEI Tribunal may not have been initiated.
For example:
- The Claim
-
30.1 To commence proceedings, the Claimant shall send a written notice to the
Respondent, as set forth above, setting out the infringement(s) alleged to have been
committed, including the specific rule, regulation, or principle alleged to have been
infringed and a statement of the facts upon which such allegations are based, unless
the procedure is otherwise provided for in the applicable rules. This Notice shall be
referred to as the âNotification Letterâ. -
30.2 The Notification Letter should also notify the Respondent of their entitlement to
respond in one of the following ways:
a) to admit the alleged infringement(s) and, if the Claimant is the FEI, accept certain administrative measures specified in the Notification Letter, in which case the Respondent shall have no right of Appeal against such measures; or
b) to admit the alleged infringement(s) and have the sanctions determined by the Hearing Panel; or
c) to deny the alleged infringement(s) and have liability and (if applicable) sanctions determined by the Hearing Panel. -
30.3 The Respondent shall have a period of ten (10) days following receipt of the Notification Letter to send their initial response admitting or denying the alleged infringement. This initial response shall be referred to as the âReplyâ. The Respondent is not obliged to submit a Reply but failure to do so may allow the Hearing Panel to draw an adverse inference against the Respondent.
-
30.4 Within twenty (20) days of receiving the Reply or, if the Respondent does not submit a Reply within the deadline specified in Article 30.3 above, within thirty (30) days of
sending the Notification Letter (whichever is earlier), the Claimant shall submit their
claim (the âClaimâ) to the FEI Tribunal, with a copy to the Respondent. The Claim
shall contain:
a) a copy of the Notification Letter;
b) a copy of the Reply (if any);
c) the Claimantâs full claim brief, setting out its case on the issues it believes
the Hearing Panel will have to resolve;
d) written statements setting out the evidence of each witness (fact or expert)
that the Claimant wishes to put into the record before the Hearing Panel in
support of its case, with a statement from the witness attesting to the truth of
the contents of the statement (or, in the case of an expert witness,
attesting that the statement accurately sets out their opinions on the matters
in issue);
e) copies of all documentary evidence that the Claimant wishes to put into the
record before the Hearing Panel in support of its case;
f) copies of any legal authorities relied on by the Claimant in its brief; and
g) whether or not the Claimant requests an oral hearing (in person, by
videoconference, or by telephone) before a Hearing Panel. -
The Claimant may apply to the FEI Tribunal Chair for permission to submit anything
other than what is specified above. -
The Claim shall be sent by email to the FEI Tribunal (fei.tribunal@fei.org), with a copy
to the Respondent.
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Iâm pretty sure if you go to âtable of suspensionsâ the very first one, CDJ is on it
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