ASHBA and WCHS kerfluffle

[red_mares]

Your area isn’t everywhere.

Part of the reason registrations are down is because OMG, we can’t have Amish with Saddlebreds! So they are breeding, selling and showing Morgans, DHH & roadsters. Unless it’s mare to breed to a DHH, most won’t take an ASB as a gift. They are the equivalent of a Ford Pinto or Hyundai Accent - cheap and prone to breaking down.

At least half of the shows in the Carolinas are non-USEF and no one is upset about that. The park classes fill, as do the open pleasure, CP, Show pleasure have at least 5 entries. There plenty of gaited horses and driving horses and ponies. Generally only one or 2 fine harness horses, a cob tail pony & a harness pony or two. The hunter & western classes have 4 or 5; a nice class, but not enough to split…

You know what is great about the Hackney people? They don’t pretend ponies are everything to everyone. If you want a road pony or pleasure driving pony, great. If you want a hunter, try a Welsh.

[Alterration]

I’m sorry? I didn’t think I meant to imply that it was, but MO was pretty darn important as a saddlebred and saddleseat home. So to see classes not full is not good.

It sounds like I peed in your wheaties somehow, and I certainly didn’t mean to do so. And I’m not sure what you mean about your statement - there are lots of saddlebreds who are more sporthorse oriented. Might be better to have a use than to get thrown away, no?

I like a good saddlebred and I love the saddleseat classes. I have one that might make a shatner horse and one that may actually make a show pleasure horse although he has been a dressage horse and hunter country pleasure horse. I’m not anti-saddleseat in the least.

But let’s face it - there are so few stables and most people’s exposure to the discipline is negative. So where does that leave a breed whose main focus is the discipline? I can throw a rock here and hit like 20 hunter stables and there are only two saddlebred barns within an hour radius of me - which is two more than existed where I lived before - which had none.

But maybe I am completely misinterpreting your post. If so, mea culpa!

[Alterration]

Morgans and DHH are promoted outside the breed as sporthorses as well - and Morgans even have some dressage at their shows.

Amish folks are not buying/breeding as many saddlebreds because they can’t get the cash for them. Sporthorse people will buy DHH & Morgans in a heartbeat, but the perception of the saddlebred is that it is only good for saddleseat riding. The association and shows were way late to add the variety of classes.

I came to saddlebred land from sporthorse land after borrowing one for dressage. I would have never thought to purchase one until that mare. Then I gradually learned about the breed and found a whole world that I knew literally nothing about.

I also never would have considered a hackney until I learned about saddlebreds. The sporthorse saddlebred was a gateway drug

[luvmyhackney]

Just got the latest USEF email, so this is about a ribbon in the road pony class. Geez. USEF official lost status or whatever the correct term is. Not surprising when I saw who the trainers barn and USEF official were. The good ole boys club is strong and well.

The KSFB is wrong in moving away from USEF but I don’t and won’t spend my money at the KSF so those that are concerned about this change will vote with their dollars. They will still show up as their clients want the WC and WCC distinction.

Btw registrations are down because saddle seat is dying and can’t be sustained without more grassroot interest. They do not support AOTs at all, btdt. Farriers that can do shoeing packages are incredibly hard to find. None in my area. I spend less money putting my horse in training at an olympians barn than with a top ASB show trainer. It’s wild.

[Alterration]

Yep, apparently the USEF steward that screwed up the road pony placings was fired by USEF and just so happens to be on the board of the other org. Someone just filled me in on Facebook because I was still all wtf. Gross.

Melissa Moore is anti the move to ESC, and she has some clout I should think, but I’m not sure who else does.

The lack of AOT support bothers me greatly. Heck, I don’t care about the shoeing (make them all go keg shod with a pad a normal farrier can put on, I don’t care and all the tail nonsense can go the way of the dodo) but amateurs are the backbone of all equine sports - with the exception maybe of racing, but that has betting to help support it.

Do people keep breed show morgans at home? @clanter how common is it? I know you know

I know my friend has an AOT saddleseat Arabian. I’m not sure how many breed show Arabian people there are.

It’s super common in AQHA land. I don’t understand why saddlebreds can’t get with it!

[luvmyhackney]

I can’t PM you but yes so much drama and once you connect the dots, you realize who’s pulling the strings.

It costs 100k plus class sponsorship to get a class added to KSF and has to be approved by the board. Best thing they could do is start their own inclusive show similar to Morgan Nationals.

[Alterration]

I saw the cost to add a class today. Wild. No wonder it took so long to get the HCP class added.

Honestly that would be the best outcome. I have a LOT of friends in ASB land who would welcome more classes and a National show controlled by ASHBA. I just hope it isn’t too late.

Did you mean you can’t because of my settings? Or for some other reason - I just want to be sure I don’t have something wonky!

[clanter]

@Alterration

Do people keep breed show morgans at home? @clanter how common is it? I know you know

At the upper level many are not. Just a guess on my part but maybe about 40% are “backyard” horses. I base my guess on the stabling arrangements at the Morgan Grand Nationals where the “lessor” exhibitors for the most part are placed in the far away stalls.

My daughter shows her Morgans (which are kept in our backyard) as an independent private exhibitor under the tutelage of a professional. Her stalls are next to the professional, unless one knows there is nothing to denote the break point We have known the show secretary for decades, she makes sure that daughters stalls are arranged as desired.

I must add her “free” Morgan that the trainer gave her after her three old broke a leg was in tears after daughter took his horse to from just setting in a pasture because he did not have the time for the mare in less than eighteen months to winning three national and one world championship. And none of those class were easy wins, all were very well attended.

When she told him he needed to go pickup his breeder award for having breed a world champion he asked What Horse of mine did that? Lexie… he and his wife broke out in tears

[Alterration]

Thanks @clanter - I figured the number was fairly high, but wasn’t sure where it was.

[Alterration]

Today’s letter from USEF (demanded by the KSFB) makes it sound even more like sour grapes.

KY_Fair_Board_World_Championship_Horse_Show-Class_52_resp_ltr.04.11.24.pdf

In addition, the KSFB has said they aren’t going to fix the other violations, so the KSFB will not seek an affiliate agreement for the futurity classes. I’m not a breeder but I’d be pretty hot about this if I were one.

The bulk of the ASB people that I speak with are as frustrated with the KSFB as I am. Hopefully the ASHBA can find another show location.

[clanter]

regarding American Saddlebreds, my wife as a teenager had those. Also we met each other while working for Saddlebred barns. Her barn nearly all were being shown under saddle, where I worked all of my charges were shown in harness, we kept passing each other taking horses to and from the warm up rings. She was a Gold Metal Equitation rider who passed that on to our kids who all but one rode as if they were born in the saddle. We got Morgans as we wanted a breed that was more child friendly.

American Saddlebreds versatility is overlooked, the breed is so often shoehorned into show world people fail to see the breed’s abilities. We for years rode in competitive trail (NATRC), while we were doing that an American Saddlebred, Winged Tempo, held the record for total miles in competition at 20,710 Miles (nearly the distance around the world at the equator) He competed for about twenty years so averaged 1,000 miles a year in judged rides.

[NaturallyHappy]

I grew up w a retired parade horse saddlebred. He did everything- I rode him to school, jumped courses bareback w no bridle, did homework sitting on him backwards w his rump as a desk…

[clanter]

@Alterration

Hopefully the ASHBA can find another show location.

there is the UPHA American Royal held in Kansas City, that show has a history going back in the 1890s, Mexico, Missouri was once noted as the “Saddlebred Horse Capital of the World” they might just want it back

[clanter]

@NaturallyHappy

I grew up w a retired parade horse saddlebred

we used our “show horses” for parades and any and everything else, this horse was our first Morgan who we bought from a breeder who had Morgans and Saddlehorses which was common at the time in Kentucky.

This horse was bought as a long two year old was kept in Kentucky for two years to be broke to be kid safe, she was shown in the Kentucky county fair circuit that often had the amusement rides next to the show horse ring, after two years of that nothing never phased her. daughter had this horse at her middle school when a medical helicopter landed nearly next to her, horse never moved or even looked at it.

[luvmyhackney]

It’s a hackney pony class not even an ASB class.

[skydy]

The St. Louis National Charity Horse Show used to have a huge Saddlebred presence. Harness, Carriage, and Ridden.

That was around 30 years ago though. I don’t know what it’s like now.

[Alterration]

We still have a lot (that’s my area) and it would be a great location since it is central. No idea what kind of political mess that would cause though.

[Alterration]

@clanter

American Saddlebreds versatility is overlooked, the breed is so often shoehorned into show world people fail to see the breed’s abilities. We for years rode in competitive trail (NATRC), while we were doing that an American Saddlebred, Winged Tempo, held the record for total miles in competition at 20,710 Miles (nearly the distance around the world at the equator) He competed for about twenty years so averaged 1,000 miles a year in judged rides.

Agreed. They are not only versatile, the same horse can do multiple things. But they do get pigeonholed, and that’s a shame.

[clanter]

@Alterration

that’s a shame

forever I drove by the statue of John B. Castleman setting on his five gaited American Saddlebred mare Carolina that was in Cherokee Triangle in Louisville, Castleman was the founder of the American Saddlebred Horse Association

The last I heard this was removed then placed in storage by court order

[jvanrens]

Which has nothing to do with the current situation.