Andrew McConnon horse abuse

[FitzE]

I have another question. The new rule change to take effect Dec. 1: why did it not take effect immediately as allowed under the Extraordinary Rule Change (see below)? Was this change not made as an Extraordinary Rule Change and, if not, why not?

The case that it would create or continue a severe hardship for horses if not expedited is clear. That is further supported by the organisation saying in this case, oh, darn, if only the rule was already in effect we could respond to this egregious situation.

If it was made as an Extraordinary Rule Change, why was it not made effective immediately? Why the long wait from approval until Dec 1 for it to take effect when there was the option to have it effective immediately?

[bolding below mine]

3. Extraordinary Rule Changes.
   a. An Extraordinary rule change is defined as: (i) one that, unless expedited, would create or continue a
   severe hardship or a gross unfairness to the Federation, its members or their horses, its Licensed Competitions, or its Recognized Affiliate Associations; or (ii) one that is certified by a Recognized Affiliate Association Board or Executive Committee by a formal vote that without passage would disadvantage the membership of the Recognized Affiliate Association. The rule change proposal form must contain a statement describing clearly how the proposed change meets the above criteria. The Rule Change Coordinator must then get certification that the proposed extraordinary rule change in fact, does meet the necessary criteria to bypass the normal rule change process. Such certification will come from the Legislative Committee in conjunction with the General Counsel, or at least two Federation Officers.

b. Once the proposal is certified, and with a required minimum five business days notice, the Board of Directors at any meeting may entertain and take immediate action on such an Extraordinary Rule Change. However, the five-day notice requirement may be waived upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board present with the reasons for the waiver stated in their meeting minutes.

c. Extraordinary Rule Changes shall be effective as specified by the Board of Directors and if not specified,
shall be effective immediately upon passage.

d. Following adoption of any Extraordinary Rule Change, prompt written notice must be given via the Federation’s web site.

Source: https://www.usef.org/forms-pubs/s9SeSv4S0Sc/gr--general-rules

ETA: This article says it was an Extraordinary Rule Change so why not effective immediately?
This article also answered my question re: where are they finding they have no reach to address abuse outside competition. They are finding it in GR838 addressing abuse/evidence of abuse at a competition. They are forgetting or ignoring the CoC then.

https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/usef-proposes-rule-changes-strengthening-its-ability-to-punish-abuse-off-show-grounds/

[Jealoushe]

Thank you for looking into this!

[Jackie_Cochran]

Reading about all the abusiveness to horses by the “top” riders led me to remember when I started riding over 50 years ago.

When I took lessons from Kay Russell at North Fork School of Equitation from the very beginning what I heard from her was “YOU ARE ABUSING YOUR HORSE!!!”

After a while I stopped hearing that phrase because I stopped unknowingly abusing the horse, and it went on to how my seat was bad &/or hands were abusing the horse in specific exercises.

I only had lessons from her for 3 months. I can still hear in my mind her yelling that when I mess up. SHE taught me how not to abuse the horses I ride.

If Kay Russell can teach me, handicapped and all (though I was not diagnosed yet, she was the first one to tell me something was WRONG with me), not to abuse the horses I ride why can’t other riding teachers also teach their students not to abuse their horses?

Kay Russell taught Forward Seat ala Littauer. One of the things that led me to adopting the Forward Seat as my method of riding is that Littauer was very clear about how not to abuse the horse. I was TAUGHT not to abuse the horses even when I did not realize I was abusing them.

To me all these abusive “top riders’” teachers failed their students, and the horses their students ride because it is obvious that these teachers did not teach these riders NOT TO ABUSE THE HORSE.

I am far from a perfect rider, and the first thing I ask my riding teacher when the horse acts up is “What am I doing wrong?”, because the horse is telling me I am doing something wrong. Sometimes she can answer right away, other times we have to get into the nitty gritty of the horse had these physical problems which affects how they react to the rider even when the problem was years ago, other times she does not see me doing anything wrong but after riding for decades I believe the horse first.

Kay Russell taught me how not to be an abusive rider. I shudder to think how I could have tortured these noble horses if she had not taught me. Of course this shredded my ego, that is fine my ego deserved to be shredded.

If riding teachers do not point out when a rider is abusing a horse it seems to often end up with the rider blaming the horse for the problems that the horse’s rider causes directly, which often leads to abuse.

Riding teachers, especially riding teachers for those riders headed for the top, NEED to teach the riders when they abuse the horse so the rider can correct themself, the teacher need to teach the student how it affects the horse and its performance, and how not to abuse the poor animal.

Thank you Kay Russell, and every horse I ride also thanks you.

[bugsynskeeter1]

@Jealoushe

How does Vittoria P from Italy get 4 years for missing a drug test and yet AM is still currently free to compete. Just crazy.

Italy has federal doping laws and those often supersede the regulations of associations as they are stricter than most of them. That suspension is likely due a reciprocity and not FEI actually doing anything.

[DMK]

About the CoC… (opens handy dandy USEF rule book app, does a search)… It’s not specifically annexed into the rule book and the one and only mention is in GR702.

However GR702 can’t escape its relationship to Chapter 7 Violations and Penalties, Subchapter 7-A Individuals and of course GR701 General" which tells you what all this applies to.

Sure if you hang your hat on just the CoC it seems pretty broad. If you figure out that it’s not even IN the rules as an appendix and is only referenced in that singular instance (the app has a search function), it seems to have a far narrower application. Also, to the best of my recollection (dubious at best), it’s not something that requires acknowledgement as a condition of membership renewal. I went into my athlete dashboard and there’s no reference there either, so that tells to support my dubious memory.

I had a pretty nice career keeping a highly regulated industry on the straight and narrow when it came to said regulatory environment, and said regulatory environment was and is notoriously layered among agencies and very complicated. But I would call this language pretty straightforward!

But again, opinions are exactly that

[Angela_Freda]

@Virginia_Horse_Mom

Well… you had a point. As of yesterday, PETA’s official social media account up and shared the video of McConnon.

The reactions are entirely predictable.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day

[LilRanger]

@FitzE

This article says it was an Extraordinary Rule Change so why not effective immediately?

What? Make that happen in the middle of show season?!?
You know those dodgy lawyers told them to wait, as calendar year starts are much easier to organize.

All kidding aside, maybe they needed the time to set up their procedure and case management process. Having recently gone through a massive organizational shift of my own, it took us a year to orchestrate. So I can see them wanting some time to put the details into place.

Does it mean that horses will suffer? Yes. But systemic abusers aren’t going to stop their practices on January 1, 2025 because of this.

[Bosox1]

Do we ever expect a statement from AM?

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

Well… at this point it seems like it isn’t going to help him much. I would assume that the clients who are going to leave him have already made that decision, and the clients who are going to stay have made that choice as well.

And… the people in the broader eventing community have also formed their opinions. My guess is his friends are talking to him privately about the matter, and most of the rest of the community who is appalled and upset by it are going to give him the cold shoulder.

The FEI is in the midst of investigating it all (supposedly), and according to more recent reports, he’s cooperating with them. That’s all understandably a private process for now though.

As for USEF, the way I read it is that this behavior won’t fall under the new rule going into effect at the end of the year. So if the FEI doesn’t sanction him, there’s a chance he won’t be sanctioned at all.

Sooooo… on a practical level… it doesn’t seem wise for him to make a public statement. It’s probably smart to sit back, hope the investigation results in minimal sanctions, and hope that with time and distance and a few loyal clients, he can make a career comeback. He wouldn’t be the first pro to do so. Heck… Paul V still coaches plenty of people and has had a thriving business for years.

[Blackeventer]

Fully agree wih your realistic and rather depresseing assessment…
Which all boils down to a “much ado for nothing” conclusion.
The future of equestrian sports is then, in a more dire situation than what we could’ve dreaded, isn’t it?
And first and foremost, the situation of those who are the pillars of our sport, the horses.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@Blackeventer

The future of equestrian sports is then, in a more dire situation than what we could’ve dreaded, isn’t it?
And first and foremost, the situation of those who are the pillars of our sport, the horses.

I personally wonder about the future of eventing as we know it. Will there be pressure to remove it from the Olympics following 2028? It seems like there is some significant risk for a number of reasons. Stories like this one certainly don’t help the situation.

[Jealoushe]

and still not suspended. Not making much sense at all.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

As far as I can tell, we don’t even know where the report currently stands in the FEI process. It’s not very transparent.

[AmmyHour926]

In a few weeks this whole situation will likely be on the back burner for everyone involved, including the public.

[Whoaovergo]

This seems about right. I’m honestly expecting him to continue to have a thriving equine business. If Ellen Doughty Hume can do what she does and still operate/compete/run a business - I suspect AM will as well.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

It will be interesting to see how soon he is out and about competing again. Then folks will have a better idea as to which clients have stayed with him, and which other local professionals seem willing to continue being generally cordial to him, and to look the other way.

[NeedsAdvil]

anyone who has kept their horses in training with him through this should be ashamed. And anyone who continues to do business with him should also. It always amazes me that people continue to support these abusers when there are actually some good trainers out there not doing shitty stuff.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

One of the owners of his top horses literally moved to a nearby town in NC to be closer to AMs operation.

If she stands by him through this mess, and he keeps that horse as well as Wakita (who he owns)… and he doesn’t get a lengthy FEI suspension or ban… he will probably survive this professionally speaking.

Just my best guess.

[NeedsAdvil]

Sad. For the horses. The fact that he hasn’t made a statement tells me everything I need to know.

[Davignport]

I just don’t understand, and never will, how someone who sees this abuse, keeps their horses with him. It would appear too many people own horses for the wrong reasons.