Debated starting a new thread but it’s still relevant on this one with the whole leaving USEF nonsense.
Anyone following the travesty of a few individuals that are trying to ruin the entire breed for their cash grab as saddlebreds are failures if not shown at WCHS?
I’m in various Saddlebred facebook groups and read what comes across. Hoping to get back to at least having lessons in the fall (when my care will be paid off) and doubt I’ll ever have the money to be in that rarified air. (But you never know 
)
A post that I was concerned with was Hagen Saddlebreds (not sure on spelling) said that if any of the horses they bred ended up being in the Hunter or Western divisions, they’d consider their breeding program a failure. Wow. I’m sure before these divisions were created, a lot of big breeders had horses that would have fit in those divisions. I hardly think Dodge Stables, etc. considered their breeding programs ‘failures’.
Someone replied Hagen should take a serious look at their breeding practices if they produced these types of horses and were not breeding for them.
Every breeder (I hope) follows the rule breed the best to the best, but you’ll not always get the greatest, no matter what you do. Look at the great Thoroughbred mares that were superb on the track, but ‘not so good’ as producers. And if you don’t have mega-bucks, the best you can afford probably isn’t a winner at WCHS.
Anyway, it’s too bad there aren’t the B and C shows that were around when I was young (60’s and 70’s); like in all parts of horse sport, not everyone can afford to keep their horses with a trainer, pay those show fees, etc. And some people enjoy having their horses at home, and you can keep a Saddlebred at home, and those folks should be able to show their horses off in a setting that works for them.
Like every sport, it’s not only the rich who should be able to enjoy it.
I am so perplexed at what is going on right now, tbh. It’s a tiny breed and this mess just keeps getting messier.
The bit about if it’s not a WCHS-worthy horse it’s a failure is awful. That type of discourse should have no place within the breed. Should breeders strive for quality athletes with sound minds and good dispositions? Absolutely! But those aren’t the qualities that get you to WCHS. What gets a horse there is a particular neck attachment and knees that pop to the sky. And that is, IMO, ruining the breed.
If WCHS had more divisions and types like some of the other breeds I’d say, well then there’s something to strive for, but hunters just made it in, ranch horse still doesn’t have a place and true sporthorses have 0 representation there.
It’s why these quality athletes are ending up ruined on the road or sent to slaughter as yearlings.
It’s just gross.
Then you always get the “well how many of you are members” and I had been a member for many years but couldn’t renew my membership with the disastrous new site and I’ve emailed twice last year and only just heard back from the info@ email. But a registry that isn’t interested in my horses (as they are sport-type) or my participation since I have no interest in showing at WCHS is not one I want to spend money on.
What a mess.
My wonderful horse as a child was a retired parade horse Saddlebred. I jumped him w no bridle, rode him to school, trail rode him, and did 4-H. I used to sit on him backwards and do my homework on his rump. 
Unfortunately, one side of this equation really only wants to see their breeding program produce horses that win at the Kentucky State Fair, that currently owns the title “World’s Championship Horse Show”. If they leave KSF, which will men leaving behind decades of history and a whole lot of habit, it would be a fairly seismic shift in the breed.
Someone mentioned Hoppy above. Not a fan. Personally, I have never seen him do anything that didn’t benefit him, first and foremost, and to my knowledge, he has never supported the diversity of the breed.
Melissa is USEF all the way, as I understand it. She’s a judge, and a good one, and judges a bunch of horse shows each year. She also has started and is supporting a division at horse shows for young hunters. I know for a fact that she takes the welfare of everything that she breeds very, very seriously.
I do not like what the USEF has done. Yet, I support Melissa. It’s a tough situation.
My problem with leaving USEF is look how many saddle seat folks are listed on the SafeSport banned/suspension list. You will recognize many names.
Plus microchips will be required if they stay with USEF. Hard to throwaway foals with microchips.
Only thing USEF did was hold WCHS accountable for the violations.
The whole board nonsense is wild and feels like something you would see in the movie “Best in Show”.
I’ve offered and tried to volunteer but was told I’m not active in the breed. I’m an active member but if they leave USEF, I won’t renew.
There’s no required age to microchip so I doubt that will stop a breeder from dropping off a dozen rejects at a sale barn.
Why would someone turn away a volunteer just because they are “not active in the breed”?
BEST IN SHOW - yes that’s totally what it reminds me of. I’m just watching thinking…this is nutty!
I think the affiliation with USEF is necessary if the breed wants to be relevant at all. Saddle seat as a discipline is almost dead, and sporthorse people will side eye a breed unassociated with USEF. That leaves you with what, gaited horse associations? The ASB is only loosely a gaited breed (I know I know, them’s probably fighting words). These horses sit in such a weird spot in the equestrian public’s mind.
No - but a lot of the times the horses that are there are already broke and just didn’t cut it for WCHS. Far too many nice horses go through. Nothing wrong with them, just didn’t have “that” quality.
The Amish are picking up a lot of them as well. That’s historically what has happened, and these formerly pampered athletes spend a really hard life on the road only to be dumped again when they can no longer haul families for miles.
So do you want to let the AQHA, APHA and the other breed registries know they aren’t relevant? They’ve done fine without USEF since they started up. I’m sure USEF would love them to come under their umbrella, think of all the extra dues they could collect but I doubt it will ever happen.
No - and actually it’s kind of funny because I ALMOST put in a statement that the ASHBA just doesn’t have the numbers like the AQHA does to support not being a part of USEF, but I didn’t because I couldn’t phrase it correctly. LOL 
Yes, but most of the big breeders put the babies in the in-hand classes for futurity $$ then dump them as 2-3 year olds after they realize they aren’t going to WCHS.
Microchips to show would allow us to trace the bad actors.
True, there just aren’t all that many Saddlebreds anymore. Which is a shame, they’re a lovely breed. A friend of mine had a gorgeous black mare that could win English Pleasure Championships on Saturday night and hack around the half mile training track like an old horse on a loose rein on Sunday, or even more impressive after a week of no riding.
Because I don’t do the show world anymore and have my ASB as a sport horse.
I want the breed to get away from tail sets, cutting tails, heavy shoes with metal bands, and follow SafeSport rules.
It is definitely not lost on me. I maintain my AQHA membership AND my APHA membership, but I’ve let my ASHBA membership lapse. I get a ton out of the other two memberships, from discounts to really hecking nice magazines. The AQHA’s riding program (which I don’t participate in, but always think that I will) is such a great way to promote the breed since it’s open to all breeds.
I frequently hold them up as a model - sure, there are lots of skeletons in those closets too - but at least they’ve figured out that all the types of stock horse are useful and loved by someone or a group of someones.
I’ve got 50/50 in my barn, stock horses and ASBs. I love them all.
I get in a way what the purists are saying BUT that day has passed and gone and isn’t coming back. Either you grow your breed by welcoming other classes or your breed dies.
As an outsider, I think it is really sad that a unique and historic American breed is doing so poorly. There are apparently fewer than 1300 registered each year, including partbred. Morgans seem to be doing much better. Does anyone looks at ASH for the Olympic disciplines or even just for leisure trail riding?
Got this email yesterday
ASHBA Member Update- Unauthorized Information
We are aware of unauthorized information that includes the ASHBA logo being circulated to members, including one about the upcoming member vote on the proposed bylaw amendment. That sheet falsely implies ASHBA advocates voting yes on the proposed bylaw amendment. The Board of Directors recommends to VOTE NO on the proposed bylaw amendment . That information sheet was not approved or authorized by ASHBA and does not speak for the organization. We are investigating and taking appropriate steps to stop this unauthorized use of the logo and false endorsement of a voting position.
There are a few people who are training them for dressage and doing very well, some at GP.
Some get trail ridden, yes, there are some ASB jumpers, endurance horses, Fox Hunters and a few even do barrels and cow events. They are a tremendously human oriented, versatile, horse.
The problem is one of marketing. People see the saddleseat horse and think “crazy”. And while there are definitely individuals on the spicier side, for the most part the look and what they actually are are two totally separate things.
Then you couple that with the fact that they got associated with the American South, which gives them a bit of a bad rap, they do look very different as youngsters (they tend to look very lanky and weedy, because they are very late to mature and they are long necked anyway), people think of them as gaited horses and a lot of people have strange biases against the gaited horses as sporthorses. In reality only some individuals can be taught to gait…and then the confusion with them with Standardbreds and Walkers (people think they are those breeds) and you’ve got just a big mess of misinformation and bias.
There are people trying to change that, but the association has been incredibly slow to accept that the horse can do anything other than be a peacock of the show ring.
They are starting to award points for sporthorses etc but there’s no mechanism inside the association to show them as such. They’ve been pretty slow to include anything that is on the “working” side as well.
And don’t get me wrong, these horses have some flair. They are showy, personable, characters. Think of them kind of like the theater kids in high school, few are understated. You’ll get noticed on a saddlebred.
The biases seem to be so pervasive in the outside world. I’ve been told by other sporthorse people that my ASBs are crazy, can’t canter, etc etc. In reality, they are just kind of snorty, have a naturally higher head carriage, and don’t tolerate fools.
And they all have to canter, the show canter is a tremendously collected teacup canter (although yes, many saddleseat trainers do it improperly), racking properly requires strong hindquarters and a lot of sit, and to even be able to do the knee thing requires a tremendously free front end.
It’s hard to watch. There’s little market for youngsters that won’t make it at WCHS. You can pick up a nice sporthorse prospect for $3000 because the market just isn’t there. They’ll likely for that price been driven, sat on, trained some. You will have some things to undo, but it’s not hard - these horses are wicked smart. Some people will say it’s really hard to get them over their backs but I haven’t experienced that at all. The only thing I will say is that the Gumby neck takes some getting used to. You cannot cheat and pull on that inside rein because it is so incredibly obvious.
I ride mine in bosals and cavessons to start. I find I can access the shoulders much more easily and it gets me around some of the Gumby. By the time I transition them back into a bit they already have much better body control and are less likely to ride like a loose spaghetti noodle.
They are great horses, poorly understood by many. It’s a shame.
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