These stories make me think about how many chances most of us took growing up. Take horses out of the equation and our behavior as horse crazy kids would be seen instantly as very risky. Imagine if we had told our parents we were going to hang out in a large outside building all day in a very remote area with total strangers? Add horses, and it makes sense. Add a fancy barn and “oh yeah, sure”.
Can you envision her planning that ahead of time and convincingly maintaining the illusion of being completely unconscious while the male dressed her and carried her back to the barn?
Can you imagine her years later, as an adult, deciding to risk putting her private life and reputation on the line by filing official complaints?
I can’t.
However I can easily imagine an adult looking back at a horrifying event which happened while she was a teen, and realizing that was brushed off by the adults in charge as “kids will be kids” at the time was actually a sexual assault. I can easily imagine her wanting justice and accountability and wanting to prevent anyone else from being victimized.
Can you?
Is she not allowed to share the things that happened behind closed doors? She would be an asset to the victim, I hope she is more clear about what went oh
Yes I know. I’ve used it myself.
That’s a pretty strong post… I doubt she would have made it if she hadn’t already spoken to investigators.
Super concerning that Robert Dover so aggressively defended Ben, attacked and questioned the timing of the suit, and denounced an alleged victim of sexual assault within the dressage community. If the allegations are proven true I really hope Dover’s participation in horsemanship clinics, d4k, young rider programs, and USDF is reconsidered.
Yes I know. I’ve used it myself.
Anyone who would see that phrase as indicative of a lack of honesty in the statement demonstrates a fairly rudimentary understanding of the justice system and an ignorance of legal writing, even for someone who is not a legal professional.
However I can easily imagine an adult looking back at a horrifying event which happened while she was a teen, and realizing that was brushed off by the adults in charge as “kids will be kids” at the time was actually a sexual assault. I can easily imagine her wanting justice and accountability and wanting to prevent anyone else from being victimized.
Can you?
I can understand this. Well stated.
Super concerning that Robert Dover so aggressively defended Ben, attacked and questioned the timing of the suit, and denounced an alleged victim of sexual assault within the dressage community. If the allegations are proven true I really hope Dover’s participation in horsemanship clinics, d4k, young rider programs, and USDF is reconsidered.
He was very outspoken in support of George Morris when that ban was announced. It made a negative impression on quite a few people.
Can you envision her planning that ahead of time and convincingly maintaining the illusion of being completely unconscious while the male dressed her and carried her back to the barn?
Can you imagine her years later, as an adult, deciding to risk putting her private life and reputation on the line by filing official complaints?
I can’t.
However I can easily imagine an adult looking back at a horrifying event which happened while she was a teen, and realizing that was brushed off by the adults in charge as “kids will be kids” at the time was actually a sexual assault. I can easily imagine her wanting justice and accountability and wanting to prevent anyone else from being victimized.
Can you?
Brava!! This post is spot on.
Girl is 14. She is still intoxicated from a date rape drug. She may or may not fully realize at that point that she was assaulted. She may know and be ashamed and hide it from her parents. It may take a couple of years for her to realize it had lasting results and to see how SS works and be mature enough to talk to her parents.
Agreed, she may not have known that day that something else happened. But the filing mentions Ben taunted her after letting her know he still had her bra in his backpack and asking if she’d gotten her period. So she and her parents may have been dealing with just the drunk thing initially and the other info was not gained until later given that she was incapacitated at the time.
Amelie Kovac (who worked for the Ebelings for 4 years) just posted this on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/amelie.kovac/posts/pfbid02wKaLCbJh1wnDLbv3pYZExGj6NoGimX9JmANxodbzJEP5r6krdievtnNwpbKTPqz6l
Interesting that several women are commenting to say things at that barn/with Ben were not okay for a long time.
Super concerning that Robert Dover so aggressively defended Ben, attacked and questioned the timing of the suit, and denounced an alleged victim of sexual assault within the dressage community. If the allegations are proven true I really hope Dover’s participation in horsemanship clinics, d4k, young rider programs, and USDF is reconsidered.
He did the same with George Morris. It was very disappointing (and unwise IMO) and really coloured my opinion of Robert.
If my 14 year old got drunk at a barn where we were boarding and training… That would be it for me with that barn. Even if my child had voluntarily participated, and no assault like this had happened, etc etc. I simply would lose confidence that it was a safe environment, and it would be time to move on before anything worse happened.
Over and over in these stories, we hear things like, “That was the only place in the immediate area to offer a high enough level of training for ‘Jane’ to pursue her dreams of competing at X,Y, or Z level, etc etc…
As a parent… I just cringe at that. NOTHING is more important than my children’s safety. Period. And 14? They most certainly are still a minor… and it’s actually a bit of a vulnerable age as they are in that adolescent phase of testing boundaries, with a lack of understanding of adult risks, and sometimes they are blind to the bigger picture, and just not thinking about long term issues in a meaningful way yet.
Completely agree!
If my child looked to be in that kind of condition, she would be on her way to the emergency room. End of story- not her choice.
A link to RD’s statement
Robert Dover is actively commenting on his own post now dismissing a young girls opinion due to her age and trying to flip it around asking what if she had been raped
Asking what if she had been raped, with a winky face at the end of the comment.
Meanwhile I’m having wicked deja vu as I screenshot stuff so I won’t forget. It’s like August 2019 all over again. Again this is crushingly sad.
I’ve screen shotted everything as well. It blows my mind what these women risk to come forward and how quickly they’re brushed aside. @Knights_Mom
I’m sure she’s probably involved in the lawsuit somehow. There are 30 defendants, after all, and probably many witnesses.
In some places it says 30 defendants, in others it says 50.
Also, in one place it says the sexual battery occurred in April 2017, but in another says November 2017.
Does no one proofread these things, and how would inconsistencies like this affect a suit?
In some places it says 30 defendants, in others it says 50.
Defendants or plaintiffs?