Are any of my ASB friends here keeping an eye on this?
For those not in the know, the main championship breed show for saddlebreds is called the World Championship Horse Show and it is owned/run by the Kentucky State Fair. The Kentucky State Fair Board decided to drop USEF and go with a different organization. I’ve heard that it was in light of what happened to the kid whose horse collapsed and it took too long for the ambulance to get the kid, but that doesn’t seem to make any sense.
Anyhow - the main saddlebred association, the ASHBA is now considering severing ties with the WCHS because it can’t maintain USEF membership and still have classes at the WCHS due to USEF rules about memberships and associations.
It’s a cluster.
Most of us in the saddlebred world welcome a change of leadership since many of the classes that competitors want are NOT at the WCHS and it has dragged its feet on others, causing harm to the breed, but it is so totally up in the air about which way the whole thing is going to go that it is going to make for a very odd show season.
My hope is that it shakes some things loose for the sporthorse side of things, but it’s weird to go through. Anyone else following it?